Ranch-style house

While the original ranch style was informal and basic in design, ranch-style houses built in the United States (particularly in the Sun Belt region) from around the early 1960s increasingly had more dramatic features such as varying roof lines, cathedral ceilings, sunken living rooms, and extensive landscaping and grounds.

Preservationist movements have begun in some ranch house neighborhoods, reinforced by an interest in the style from a younger generation who did not grow up in such homes.

These buildings used single-story floor plans and native materials in a simple style to meet the needs of their inhabitants.

Walls were often built of adobe brick and covered with plaster, or more simply used board and batten wood siding.

Commercial ranch buildings, such as supermarkets and strip malls, typically follow the residential style with simple rustic trim, stucco or board and batten siding, exposed brick and shake roofs, and large windows.

American tastes in architecture began to change in the late 1960s, a move away from Googie and Modernism and ranch houses towards more formal and traditional styles.

Very late custom ranch houses of the later 1970s begin to exhibit features of the neo-eclectics, such as dramatically elevated rooflines, grand entryways, and traditional detailing.

[5] Ranch style houses are occasionally still built today, but mainly in the Western states and, usually, as individual custom.

Many ranch-style neighborhoods are now well-established, with large trees, and the houses often have owner modifications that add individual character to the fairly uniform style.

Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan specified that Walter White's house in the television series be a Rancher.

In an early draft of the script for the series' pilot episode, he described the house as "a three-bedroom RANCHER in a modest neighborhood.