Atomic Ranch Midcentury Interiors showcases the virtues of the popular and ubiquitous ranch houses that sprang up across the country following World War II. It features the exceptional interiors of eight houses, discusses successes and challenges, and shows how to live stylishly. Tips are shared on color, flooring, window coverings, furniture arrangements, and how off-the-shelf components can be turned into custom features. The homeowners’ stories explain why these rooms work, and provide you with resources and ideas for everything from garage doors to the art on the wall.
atomic ranch
MIDCENTURY INTERIORS Michelle Gringeri-Brown Photographs by Jim Brown
“How can we fix up our boring, humdrum ranch house?”
Well, we’re glad you asked. Traveling from upstate New York to Washington, D.C., to San Mateo, California, and various places in between, we found eight great examples of ranch interiors sure to inspire. Flip through the pages of this book and you’ll find kitchens and baths that stand out from the crowd but are still at home in this modest architectural style. You’ll see how the judicious addition of the most inexpensive details can make your house look like a zillion bucks.
The homeowners of our featured homes share their tips on color, flooring, window coverings, furniture arrangements, and more. They turn off-the-shelf components into custom features and talk about both their successes and their challenges. But most importantly, they show how to live stylishly while still having a life. Like you, they have kids, pets, and jobs, and would trade a kitchen floor that doesn’t show muddy footprints for a white carpet any day. Their stories explain why these rooms work, and provide you with resources and ideas for everything from the garage door to the art on the wall.
Whether your taste runs to vintage originality or updated modern finishes, there are sure to be plenty of ideas within these pages that you can borrow for your own home, be it split-level, rambler, traditional ranch, or modernist. Come on inside the amazing Atomic Ranch house with us.
Writer Michelle Gringeri-Brown and photographer Jim Brown launched the quarterly magazine Atomic Ranchin 2004 to help call attention to the underappreciated ranch homes built all across postwar America. Since then, admiration for the charms of this era of housing has blossomed, and home tours, enthusiasts’ groups, and national preservation efforts have followed. The Atomic Ranch community meets on Facebook to discuss all things midcentury, including the name: “Atomic,” referring to the Atomic Age, and “Ranch,” for the architectural style.
Their first book, Atomic Ranch: Design Ideas for Stylish Ranch Homes, was published by Gibbs Smith in 2006.The couple’s work has previously appeared in automotive and shelter magazines. They live in Portland, Oregon, in a 1952 brick ranch.
