BHG.com
Home Improvement Ideas
Home Exteriors
Curb Appeal Ideas, Makeovers and Photos
22 Ideas to Steal from Our Favorite Ranch-Style Homes

22 Ideas to Steal from Our Favorite Ranch-Style Homes

By Jessica Bennett

Updated February 19, 2020

Alise O'Brien Photography

Ranch-style homes come in many shapes, styles, and sizes. Whether you love the old-school vibe of 1950s-era style or the updated contemporaries of the 21st century, these curb appeal-boosting ideas can help your home look its best. Draw inspiration for your next exterior remodel or landscaping refresh from these ranch homes.

Start Slideshow

1 of 22

'60s Ranch Redo

Anthony Masterson

Once overgrown with trees and hidden from view, this ranch-style home's mid-century charm is now on full display. Wood elements, including the front door and horizontal slat siding across the side yard, add warmth and texture to the white brick facade. Large windows surrounding the double-doors create an open, airy feel inside.

Advertisement

Advertisement

2 of 22

Symmetrical Ranch Exterior

Granen Photography

More classic than contemporary, this ranch-style home relies on traditional garden forms for beauty. A double row of staggered-height hedges lines the walkway, supplying both a border and a carpet of pretty green. For added visual direction, the homeowners painted the front door a stunning, rich black, flanking it with elegant containers and flowering topiaries.

3 of 22

Modern Ranch-Style Home

Michael Garland

To relieve the monotony of a single-color facade on a ranch-style home, consider a complementary material that adds texture and pattern. The asymmetrical front porch of this contemporary ranch house is accented with horizontally oriented stone. Richly stained support beams and pillars add natural color that picks up on undertones in the accent wall, while the open porch design helps to connect the home to the site.

Advertisement

4 of 22

Colorful Ranch-Style Home

Alise O'Brien Photography

Bright, cheery, and just plain fun, the exterior of this ranch-style home offers lots of curb appeal inspiration. A pretty collection of plants, including low-growing shrubs, provides a minimalist complement to the bright yellow siding color. The landscaping accents a low-slung, Asian-inspired fence that offers a sense of privacy without completely blocking the view.

5 of 22

Ranch Curb Appeal

Updating your home's exterior doesn't always require a full remodel. By working with its existing features, you can give the facade a whole new look with a few creative updates. Use these tips to enhance the curb appeal of your ranch-style home.

6 of 22

White Ranch House

Edmund Barr Photography

An all-white color scheme proves the perfect match for this stunning mid-century-style home. Paired with a sunny yellow door, the bright white siding helps maximize the home's low profile and the sense of airiness in the landscape. A short retaining wall carves out a sidewalk-adjacent nook, while a narrow inset of shrubs dresses up the driveway.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

7 of 22

Calming Ranch-Style Aesthetic

Laurie Black Photography

A little bit Zen, a little bit contemporary, this home uses clever details and a pared-down color palette for sophisticated style. With low profiles and a muted design, the trees and trellis add interest without overwhelming the single-story space. A cheery red color directs visitors to the front door, while half walls offer welcome spots for entryway task lights.

8 of 22

Colorful Exterior Accents

Edmund Barr Photography

One way to dress up a mostly neutral color is to provide an unexpected pop as contrast. Here, chartreuse paint highlights the window and door trim. A wide circle walk and inset garden bed filled with a collection of foliage-focused plants helps to soften the long overhang and low profile of the home.

9 of 22

Mid-Century Modern Ranch

EMR Photography

Mid-century modern in its influences, this sleekly styled home offers a number of enviable curb appeal details. A low-slung retaining wall deftly maneuvers down a slope, with a wide walk interrupting its movement and directing traffic to the front door. Narrow trees offer privacy without blocking the home's profile.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

10 of 22

Cottage-Style Ranch Home

Ryann Ford Photography

This ranch-style home takes on a charming cottage aspect, thanks to a few cheery details. A bright turquoise door provides an unexpected pop of color for the front entrance. Lighter-colored siding helps the roof (lined with a darker shade) from feeling too heavy, while slightly raised flower and shrub beds provide separation between the lawn and the foundation of the home.

11 of 22

Ranch Entryway Ideas

Atlantic Archives Inc

Symmetry and asymmetry balance each other in this restrained entry. To draw attention to the doors, the homeowners painted them a rich brown, which helps to ground them in the neutral color palette. A single sidelight, a tiered planter, and a bright turquoise chair are inviting elements that add curb appeal.

12 of 22

Elegant Exterior Accents

Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn

Complementary materials are another way to accent a ranch-style home, particularly one that has large, unbroken elements on its facade. Here, a minimalist trellis provides support for a restrained planting that clamors up the chimney. An elegant metal fence borders a small walkout on the other side of the door.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

13 of 22

Patterned Ranch Facade

Laurie Black Photography

Create interest in mostly monochromatic color schemes by incorporating a texture or subtle pattern. The subdued, striped front facade of this ranch-style house keeps the palette from becoming too bland or boring. A restrained pattern for the front walk (a few sizes of oversized pavers turned at angles to one another) mimics the forms of the home.

14 of 22

Cozy Ranch Home

Sarah Dorio Photography

Cottage-like in its coziness, this ranch-style home includes a number of details, including shutters, columns, and a small portico, to create visual variety. Multiple volumes and setbacks indicate different functions of the interior rooms. Its shaded, woodland setting inspired the casual collection of plants, while a deeper hue of paint grounds the large windows.

15 of 22

Small Yard Solution

Michael Partenio Productions

A tiny yard doesn’t mean sacrificing curb appeal, as this ranch-style home proves. With virtually no front yard, the homeowners installed a rock-bordered flower bed with a few sculptural-like plants for visual interest. Bright white trim with gray insets as well as the pattern on the garage helps the windows and doors to pop.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

16 of 22

Traditional Ranch Home

Bill Bolin Photography

Many ranch-style homes built in the 21st century mix traditional-style, two-story home elements in a single-story structure. Here, expansive windows add swooping height to the exterior facade. To counter that sense of drama, the homeowners kept the landscaping simple and symmetrical, with a low hedge, a few elegant evergreens and shrubs, and small patches of flowers for color.

17 of 22

Climate-Friendly Curb Appeal

Edmund Barr Photography

Ranch-style homes are a fixture throughout warm-weather climates, and their landscape should reflect those environs, too. Drought-smart plants dress up the home's foundation with practical beauty. Gently flowing window treatments, pulled back when the sun is lower on the horizon, help to block the harshest rays on the warmest days.

18 of 22

Retro-Inspired Ranch

Edmund Barr Photography

A streamlined palette of materials is a hallmark of many ranch-style homes, and this retro-influenced exterior fits that mold. To enhance the mostly neutral color scheme, the owners kept the landscaping simple, with a base of neatly trimmed hedges lining the front porch and a few slender trees for shade. The edging on the walkway picks up the same brick style and color from the house for a cohesive aesthetic.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

19 of 22

Mediterranean-Style Home

Michael Garland

A landscape should work with (not against) the style of the home in order to better boost curb appeal. This Mediterranean-influenced exterior gets a stylish boost from the tropical-leaning collection of plants on display. The clay tiles, wide porticos, and stucco walls blend effortlessly with the landscaping.

20 of 22

Simple Front Landscaping

MC2 Photography

Uniform plantings are a great way to establish visual cohesion and elegance. This cottage-style ranch home uses elegant, low-growing grasses along both sides of the walkway, which functions as a clever border for a shady flower bed. The landscaping accents the rich green shutters on the front windows.

21 of 22

Privacy-Focused Landscaping

Kim Cornelison

A landscape on a ranch-style home can have different levels of privacy, particularly if more private rooms, such as bedrooms, face street-side. Here, low to mid-height shrubs line the walkway, offering a border and visual direction as well as a brighter element for the neutral color palette. To one side, a mid-height tree offers shade and shield to the street-side without completely blocking the view.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

22 of 22

Energetic Ranch Exterior

Peter Krumhardt

An exuberant mix of greens and burgundy adds visual energy to this contemporary ranch-style home. Lining the brick walkway to the front door, the sidewalk border brings color and interest to the mostly neutral facade. The natural color palette is enhanced with varying textures and charming details, such as the miniature trellis above the garage doors.

Up Next

Advertisement