Don’t Rip on My Ranch House

I have a confession: I love my ranch house. And this flies right in the face of Slate’s recent article "The Ranch Home Anomaly: How America fell in and out of love with them" which is the second part of a three-part series about the evolution of homes by Witold Rybczynski. (The first article was "Why Do We Live in Houses Anyway?" and the third, "How a Cornfield Became New Daleville" — all excellent pieces, as usual, from Slate).

My home has no curb appeal, is built from ugly brick, has low ceilings, and smallish rooms, but yet, I love it. Why? Because it’s almost 40 years younger than each of my three previous homes (a four-square, a Craftsman and shingle-style), all of which had great curb appeal, but ooh, baby, they were major money pits that consumed every minute of my life (plus, any extra money we had). My little brick ranch — I guess, technically, it’s a raised ranch — requires little maintenance, has big picture windows that let in lots of light, and has four different outside porch/deck/patio areas. Gone are the days of:

• Windows painted shut
• Painted-over wallpaper
• Groaning radiators and creaking pipes
• Ornate trim painted so often the detailing is barely perceptible
• Knob and tube wiring
• Plumbing/heating systems on their last legs
• Detached garages
• Old, smelly basements
• Doors that stick
• Uneven floors
• Slate roofs that cost an arm and a leg to repair
• Asking each other, "What was that (noise)?"

One thing I don’t like about living in a ranch is the connotation, per Ryczynski’s article, that "… the suburban ranch house is considered the epitome of conservative taste…" (i.e., boring). OK, I know that, but my house continues to draw comments along the lines of, "Oh, there’s another room here." "Oh, ANOTHER deck is out here." "Oh, look at all of this space!"

When I first pulled in front of the house with my realtor, I was reluctant to get out. But she said, "You might be surprised. Let’s go take a look." She was right. I know my ranch is not sexy and it lacks curb appeal, but it’s solid as a rock and doesn’t creak. I’m so glad to have my life back.

P.S. Can someone please answer my question on my home about painting brick? I would like to paint it, but wonder about the consequences of upkeep.