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Fast forward to the Mid-Century Modern Era when May began designing his family’s fourth home, now know as the Cliff May Experimental House. The ranch house style was adapted for commercial use during the time of the style's popularity. As the concept of a "drive-in" shopping center was being created and popularized, the ranch style was a perfect style to fit into the large tracts of ranch homes being built. Commercial ranch buildings, such as supermarkets and strip malls, typically follow the residential style with simple rustic trim, stucco or board and batten siding, exposed brick and shake roofs, and large windows. Ranch (also known as American ranch, California ranch, rambler, or rancher) is a domestic architectural style that originated in the United States.
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Ranch Lifestyle

May began to attract the attention of Southern California media publications as well as civic leaders and urban plan designerrs. “Cliff May is one of the most interesting young men in San Diego,” began a story published in The San Diego Union in 1933. Donahoe took the leap and attended the UCLA interior architecture extension course, and then a part-time job working at the Waterleaf shop design studio in Manhattan Beach on the weekends.
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Rancho Estates
The raised ranch is a two-story house in which a finished basement serves as an additional floor. It may be built into a slope to utilize the terrain or minimize its appearance. For a house to be classified by realtors as a raised ranch, there must be a flight of steps to get to the main living floor – which distinguishes it from a split-level house. Nutrient-rich, innovative plant-based meals are designed by our award-winning culinary team to fuel the body and impress the palate. There’s a new destination to explore as you take your body and mind through a total reset! Donahoe’s sustainable fingerprints are all over this Santa Ynez property, which consists of a handful of renovated outbuildings that create a retreat large enough to host visiting family and friends.
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With that knowledge, it’s evident why May would choose Mandalay as the name of he and his family’s fifth and final home. I like to think May had spent years specifying, studying, and sharpening the lived experience of his architectural plans, their relationship to nature, to Southern California, and to the inhabitants that called his designs home. In the rolling hills near Santa Ynez, Rita Chan—a sustainability-minded interior design firm based in Santa Barbara—created a warm, minimal “ranchette” that represents the best of wine-country living. Built in the early 1960s and recently given a contemporary makeover, the all-white structure is nestled amid a grassy parcel of land spanning almost three-quarters of an acre.
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Donahoe was inspired by the modest, traditional ranch soul of the home, which is understated, classic, and welcoming. They added clean-lined, minimal hardscaping outside and natural finishes like Roman clay and wide-plank tongue-and-groove cladding to the interiors. There are very few mass-manufactured furniture items in the house, an intentional choice that Donahoe makes in all her projects. “A house doesn’t have to look modern to be modern,” Cliff May told the New York Times in 1986. Often recognized as the father of the California Ranch home, May is credited with designing more than 1,000 custom residences as well as the models for more than 18,000 tract homes, most of them in Southern California.

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After this home, and bringing into his design everything he had learned up until that point, May designed the fifth and final home for his family, christened “Mandalay.” We’ll get to that home soon, but a few more things to note that may be of interest. The Cliff May Experimental House is located in the old Riviera Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles. The house is a unique example of the evolution of the ranch-style house. It was recognized as a City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Landmark in 2002. In 2007, design firm Marmol Radziner restored the historic home, re-establishing the open floor plan, replacing the roof, and bringing the home up to current code.
The ranch-style house is noted for its long, close-to-the-ground profile, and wide open layout. The style fused modernist ideas and styles with notions of the American Western period of wide open spaces to create a very informal and casual living style. Each house is set well back from the street, with fencing enclosing the front courtyard to maximize outdoor space and privacy. The large amount of outdoor space was a major selling point for buyers, with newspaper ads announcing the Rancho Estates homes had “4 Times Visual Living Space.” Not sure what that means, but it sounds good!
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Roofs were low and simple, and usually had wide eaves to help shade the windows from the Southwestern heat. Buildings often had interior courtyards which were surrounded by a U-shaped floor plan. Large front porches were also common.[2] These low slung, thick-walled, rustic working ranches were common in what would become the southwestern United States. Cliff May married his benefactor (and developer and real estate agent’s) daughter, Jean Lichty, and designed the first of five homes designed for himself and his growing family. After building this first house in 1936 and moving in, May opened it for public visits and advertised it for sale.
Josh’s BBQ became a mainstay of Santa Fe, but after five years it outgrew its little spot on Zafarano Drive. So in December 2011, the couple expanded their vision and moved to a larger space. Read stories about our past, hear testimonials from guests, and witness the beginnings of a new cuisine.
The homes were designed using a five-foot module and were very cheap and easy to build; according to the Los Angeles Times, because the major elements were pre-cut and assembled, four men could put the basic structure up in a day. Imagine that today when home construction can languish for months and even years. Because of these affordable homes, May and Choate brought mid-century modern living to the Southern California masses in their highly regarded designs for Lakewood Rancho Estates, and today the homes are prized by lovers of the Contemporary Ranch lifestyle. The entry, kitchen, and living, dining, and family rooms as one open area with no intervening doors.
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Though he already owns one Los Angeles home, Martin Short has plumped up his real estate portfolio with yet another residence. Records show the beloved actor, comedian and writer—best known for his work on SCTV and Saturday Night Live, and most recently, Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building—just doled out $2.2 million for some renovated digs in Brentwood’s Upper Mandeville Canyon neighborhood. Originally listed in March for around $2.4 million, Short scored a slight deal on the property. Non-members can add the privileges at checkout through our 30 day free trial, cancellable at anytime.
To create a space for personal inspiration, growth and life transformation. Jumpstart your path towards better health with a shorter, mid-week version of our award-winning fitness and wellness program. The HGTV television show Flip or Flop featured remodels of two Cliff May homes. I hope you enjoyed my mini-deep dive into the life and homes of master architect Cliff May. If a piece of my research may be incorrect or if you have other information to share with me, get in touch. During your visit, wander garden trails, learn from knowledgeable docents and volunteers, meet the barnyard’s resident livestock (horses, sheep, goats, chickens, and ducks), and explore California history.
He continued to build haciendas with the same philosophy as the O’Leary House. His second spec house in Kensington (the Captain and Mrs. William Lindstrom House, a National Historic Landmark, built subsequently afterward in 1933, also sold quickly with all its furnishings. Under a chandelier by Apparatus, the dining nook table is by Dos Gallos. The custom benches are outfitted in practical outdoor fabric by Thibaut (which is Greenguard certified). “Good Ancestor is based on the concept of seriously considering a future world, the generations we will never know, and acknowledging that we are all playing a role in shaping that future world,” she says. From these humble beginnings the Ranch House has transformed into the beloved and award winning restaurant it is today.