Ranch Homes With a View: Picture Windows Are One Beloved Trait Marking This Style.

Jan. 2--Walk into Jim and Leta Hering's ranch home and you get a clear view of the backyard through the numerous windows in the living room and dining room.

"We love it," says Jim Hering, 60, a certified public accountant. "We don't even have blinds because the large overhangs provide protection from direct sun. ... Every [window] looks out into the gardens."

The Herings bought the home in 2002.

"The first day it went up for sale, four other offers were on the table," he says. They saw the home the same day, made a higher offer and got the home.

"We liked the bones, the layout," he says. "We liked the windows. You could walk in and feel like you're indoors and outdoors."

Constructed in 1965, the almost 2,600-square-foot home is based on Cliff May house plans, Hering says.

"May, often referred to as the father of ranch-style, mostly worked in L.A., but there are a number of Fresno homes that were based on his designs," he writes in an e-mail. He has spotted other homes in Fresno that look similar to his, he says.

Before the Herings moved in, they renovated the home. The original wood-beam ceilings were filled in and covered to provide better insulation, the old windows were replaced with dual-pane ones, and a mother-in-law suite was added. But many things also were left unchanged, including the concrete aggregate floors, a fireplace in the family room made of adobe bricks, and a backyard rock fountain made by the late Newt Russell, a local sculptor and lawyer.

Some of the classic characteristics of ranch-style homes include a simple, open floor plan, one story and a low-pitched gabled roof with wide overhangs. However, a key feature is a backyard courtyard or patio, according to a 1958 book written by the editorial staff of Sunset Magazine and Books titled "Western Ranch Houses by Cliff May."

"It is here that the pleasures of indoor-outdoor living have been enjoyed for more than a century," according to the book. "The arms of the house usually enclosed three sides of the court and left the fourth side open or closed with a garden wall. ... Around the patio ran the corredor, an open-air hallway and a sheltered lounging area."

Hering's favorite room is the kitchen because of its openness to the other rooms. "It becomes part of the family room, and that's typical of Cliff May designs," he says.

Also, from there you can see three different gardens -- the backyard, the side yard outside the kitchen window and the front courtyard.

"We enjoying gardening a lot, and so we like looking out there a lot," he says.

The reporter can be reached at nzxiong@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6467.

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