A Hardie Grant Books book

Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House

Daniel P. Gregory

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Cliff May's modern homes epitomize the indoor-outdoor lifestyle characteristic of the American Dream, fusing the open plan/open living philosophy with thetraditional ranch house. Starting in the 1930s, the modern ranch house took the country by storm,migrating from California to Arizona, and Cliff May was the chief proponentof this style. His long, low designs managed to be both modern and traditional,celebrating a casually elegant, indoor-outdoor lifestyle, and drawing inspirationfrom California's Spanish Mexican ranchos while embracing the latest technologicalgadgetry. With their low profi le, large carports and garages, patios,and expansive horizontality, May's modern ranch houses became synonymouswith the nascent California lifestyle and were enthusiastically promoted by thepopular Sunset magazine throughout the U.S. He personally designed and builtmore than 1,000 homes and commercial buildings, and over 18,000 designs areattributed to his offi ce, including the Robert Mondavi Winery and the offi ces ofSunset magazine. Complete with new colour photography, Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House celebrates the best of May's work, from his start building homes duringthe Depression to how he evolved a brand of regional modernity that fulfi lled the public's desire for informal living in the 1950s and 1960s.