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Looking at things that are uniquely from the heart and soul of the United States, I find that the architecture, vision, and interior designs, of Frank Lloyd Wright fit that category of uniqueness. One lasting contribution of Frank Lloyd Wright is the ranch style home that is found all over the nation.

I grew up in different ranch style homes, and have a particular fondness for this American architectural style. Most of the homes of my childhood, and even now, are ranch style homes. They are everywhere. Actually, the ranch style home came after the other contributions of Frank Lloyd Wright, but it was his vision, that made this architectural style the most widespread, and popular home style from the early 1940's through the 1970's. Unfortunately, not many home builders today make real ranch style homes, but that is not a bad thing since there are so many of these homes in most communities anyway, as long as buyers don't mind having an older home.

The fascination that Frank Lloyd Wright had with horizontal lines, open spaces inside the home, built-in shelves, window seats, high windows, long rectangular forms, oneness with nature, natural materials, natural movement through the home, simplicity, spaciousness, low pitch gable roofs, earth colors, are fixed into ranch style homes. The homes opened up our lives to one another, and allowed for more sense of community within. The thinking of the great America architect is manifested all over the ranch style home.

One of the features of a ranch style home that most identifies it as such, is the very low gable roof, a gable that has a low pitch, and can even be flat in some versions of this home style. Look at the many homes that Frank Lloyd Wright created around America, and you will see the flatness, or near flatness of the roof, and the dominance of the horizontal over the verticle, and how these homes fit right into the local natural environment.

That is why I am so attracted to Frank Lloyd Wright and his architectural achievements. I too, love nature, and grew up hiking, camping and admiring the natural surroundings, not far from ranch style homes. I can't think of another home style that so appropriately fits in, and snuggles with the land forms around it, and the trees that shadow it.

Frank Lloyd Wright did so much more than planting the seed for ranch style homes, but compared to his other architectural works, the ranch home became the most common, popular, practical for most people, and more affordable.

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