How to Instantly Boost the Curb Appeal of Your Ranch-Style Home
Distinct features, boxy exteriors, and a low-pitched roof give you ranch house homeowners a curb appeal challenge.
First built in the 1930s as a spinoff of the bungalow and the ground-hugging Prairie-style houses that Frank Lloyd Wright created, the ranch style boomed during the late 1950s and 1960s. Its rectangular, L-shaped, or U-shaped design, all on one story, appeals to first-time homebuyers and small families, as well as people with disabilities and seniors eager to avoid stairs.
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Ranches are popular in 34 states throughout the South, Midwest, and West, especially in Kansas, Minnesota, and Wyoming. But distinct features like a natural exterior of oak, wood, or brick and a low-pitched roof give sellers and real estate agents a curb appeal challenge, according to Aaron Tobias, a top real estate agent serving the Grove City, Ohio, area.
48% of the agents surveyed in HomeLight’s End of Year 2024 Top Agent Insights report say curb appeal has become the strongest selling point in their market — plus, it entices buyers to come inside in the first place. Here are some expert ways to boost your ranch home curb appeal.
1. Break away from the boxiness
A ranch-style home averages about 1,500 to 1,700 square feet, although some can be as large as 2,500 square feet. But its boxy exterior tends to remind visitors of a shoebox — not a good impression, considering a ranch house tends to have an open interior layout.
Break up that boxy look by adding visual interest and decreasing the number of angles. Brick&batten, a virtual exterior design service in Atlanta, Georgia, ramped up the curb appeal for one Michigan ranch-style home by suggesting a curved flagstone walkway leading from the driveway to the garage.
The Scott family of Atlanta, Georgia, blogged about revamping the exterior of their 1960s ranch-style home, including adding a path of chunky crab-orchard stepping stones from the porch to the street. Not only does the path create a direct and welcoming way to reach the front door, but it also contrasts with the home’s strong horizontal lines by being perpendicular, they wrote.
Installing a pathway costs about $8 to $19 per square foot if using pavers and $11 to $35 per square foot if using flagstone, according to HomeAdvisor.com. For less cost, consider a gravel walkway (starting at about $1 per square foot) dotted with stepping stones, such as these 16-inch square ones in Limestone at Walmart ($3.66 each) or these recycled-rubber ones that resemble flagstone from Gardner’s Supply Company ($29.99 each).
