The modern style of home design in the United States flourished after World War II.  Although many styles are considered “modern,” two styles were the most popular.  The most recognizable and perhaps the most popular is the ranch style.  An off-shoot design of the ranch style is the split level house.  There are many examples of ranch and split level homes for sale in Columbus, Ohio and surrounding communities today. Ranch homes give a feeling of sprawling out due to the one story architecture they have.  This style evolved in part, thanks to the invention of the automobile.  Families no longer had to rely on walking to work, the store, or other activities.  Communities soon spread out.  After World War II this style seemed to explode.  Prosperity was seen as owning a large house on more land than ever before.  Since the car was so important to this new lifestyle, this type of home incorporated a built-in garage. 

Other key design elements with ranch homes are big picture windows and a low-pitched roof.  You will see three common types of roof lines with ranch homes.  A hipped roof is most common.  However, cross-gabled and side-gabled roof styles are also seen.  Eaves are seen on these homes with a wide or sometimes moderate overhang.  The materials used for the exterior of these homes include wood and brick.  To give some detail to an otherwise simplified exterior, builders and architects incorporated fancy ironwork for the porch supporting beams.  Another splash of detail used was decorative shutters. 

The split level style of modern architecture evolved from the earlier ranch style.  Designers kept the best parts of the ranch style, and made changes to the rest of the design to make it more suitable for the modern family.  The roof and eaves did not change.  The big change was in the concept of how people lived inside.  The idea was that people needed different areas within the home to perform different activities such as sleeping, quiet activities, and noisy activities.  Each activity was grouped on a different level.  Loud activities such as playing and watching TV, as well as garage activities were kept on the lower level.  Rooms for quiet activities such as the dining room and living room were on the main level.  The bedrooms were in another area of the home.  It is important to note that these homes stagger the levels.  They are not the same as a traditional two or three story home.  This style of building differs from a traditional multi-story home in that there are fewer stairs to get to each level. 

There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Columbus and Central Ohio real estate whether you are interested in Columbus proper, or any of the fantastic surrounding communities such as Powell, Worthington, Lewis Center, Westerville, Dublin, Hilliard, Upper Arlington, Grandview etc. For complete information about the local real estate market including current homes for sale, property values and more please visit the most complete website online dedicated to “Everything Real Estate in the Buckeye State” at www.scarletnrayhomes.com  Please feel free to contact me with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions, and I will be glad to answer them! Call me on my cell at 614-668-4400 or email me at jandrews@columbus.rr.com .  I’m the “Doctor Who Loves House Calls!”