22 Ideas for Ranch-Style Home Exteriors

'60s Ranch Revamp

remodeled front exterior view — 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, add warmth and texture to the white brick facade. Large windows surrounding the double doors create an open, airy atmosphere.

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Balanced Ranch Exterior

white ranch house exterior walkway lined by greenery — Granen Photography

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

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Modern Ranch-Style Home

gray ranch house exterior partial brick front — 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 stones in brown and tan shades. Rich and warm stained support beams add natural color that pick up on undertones in the accent wall, while the open porch design helps to ground the home.

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Colorful Ranch-Style Home

mustard-colored ranch house exterior — 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, Asian-style fence that offers a sense of privacy without completely blocking the view.

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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 property a whole new look with a few creative updates. Use these tips to enhance the allure of your ranch-style home.

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White Ranch House

An all-white color scheme proves the perfect match for this stunning mid-century-style ranch 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.

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Relaxed Ranch-Style Aesthetic

gray ranch house exterior stone driveway — Laurie Black Photography

A little meditative, a little contemporary, this ranch-style 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 welcomes visitors, while half walls offer spaces for entryway task lights.

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Colorful Exterior Accents

gray ranch house exterior with red brick path — Edmund Barr Photography

One way to dress up a mostly neutral color palette 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.

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Mid-Century Modern Ranch

white ranch house exterior concrete steps sidewalk to door — EMR Photography

Mid-century modern in its influences, this sleekly-styled ranch home possesses a number of enviable details. A low-slung retaining wall deftly maneuvers down a slope, with a wide walk leading to the front door. Narrow trees offer privacy without blocking the home's profile.

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Cottage-Style Ranch Home

gray ranch cottage exterior bright turquoise door — Ryann Ford Photography

This ranch-style home takes on a charming cottage feel, thanks to a few cheerful 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.

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Ranch Entryway Ideas

light neutral-colored ranch exterior double brown doors — 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 ties them into the neutral color palette. A single sidelight, a tiered planter, and a bright turquoise chair are added inviting elements.

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Elegant Exterior Accents

light brick ranch exterior chimney with trellis — Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn

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

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Patterned Ranch Facade

awning shutter on ranch style home — Laurie Black Photography

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

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Cozy Ranch Home

gray house exterior on hill white pillars — 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 paint hue grounds the large windows.

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Small Yard Solution

medium brown L-shaped ranch exterior — Michael Partenio Productions

A tiny yard doesn't mean sacrificing attractiveness, 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.

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Traditional Ranch Home

warm brick ranch exterior rounded windows — 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 arched windows add swooping height to the front exterior. 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.

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Climate-Friendly Curb Appeal

ranch house exterior with plants along front and brick pathway — Edmund Barr Photography

Ranch-style homes are a fixture in warm-weather climates, and landscaping should reflect that environment. Drought-smart plants dress up the home's foundation with practical beauty. Light and flowing window treatments, pulled back when the sun is lower on the horizon, help block the harshest rays on the warmest days.

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Retro-Inspired Ranch

L-shaped ranch exterior covered porch white railing — Edmund Barr Photography

A streamlined design 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.

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Mediterranean-Style Home

Mediterranean-style ranch exterior with tropical plants — Michael Garland

A landscape should work with (not against) the style of the home in order to help everything come together. 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 shrubbery.

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Simple Front Landscaping

light neutral-colored ranch exterior green shutters — MC2 Photography

Uniform plantings are a great way to establish 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.

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Privacy-Focused Landscaping

ranch house exterior bushes lining steps to front door — Kim Cornelison

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

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Energetic Ranch Exterior

ranch house exterior with shingle siding red brick steps — Peter Krumhardt

An exuberant mix of greens and burgundy adds 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, like the miniature trellis above the garage doors.

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