It's a contemporary rancher with Spanish revival influences on the exterior.

I think a kitchen that was contemporary and had some rustic elements with regards to some material(s) would be appropriate.

If you do a tile floor, for example, use a similar tile to that on the entry court, or black iron hardware, etc.

I went in Ikea yesterday, I'm sure you could design a great kitchen there. I've seen gorgeous reveals here using Ikea cabinets (I think doors are often ordered elsewhere), they aren't always modern.

IKEA has several kitchen styles that aren't modern at all (e.g. all the white styles except Abstrakt and Applad) . However, I think that your house style is contemporary, so even those would work really well with some wood or rustic tiles.

I think the Ikea plain oak Lixtorp or Adel beech cabinets would work. Maybe a section in the white Lidingo or Adel with a distressed butcherblock top. Or reverse that and do white main cabinets with a wood accent piece like a china storage area. Some black iron corbels to support any eating overhang, and maybe a black iron wall pot rack. Black iron hardware. Maybe some patterned Talavera liners for the backsplash, but don't do the whole backsplash in Talavera.

I think of these houses (that went up by the thousands) as 1980s California "Mediterranean" but as I recall they are fairly contemporary inside, not a lot of decorative detail except maybe stucco, open ceilings and an arched doorway here or there? So anything that might suggest -- suggest, not full-blown-- that mediterranian/Tuscan/Spanish vibe should work. Ikea - agree the Lixtorp, maybe the Ramsjo red-brown too. Just not the sleek, very contemporary look, don't think that would jive at all.

I was also thinking Mediterranean and not Spanish, but I think that is because it really is, as Palimpsest said, a contemporary ranch home at its core. The tile roof and stucco could be interpreted as Spanish or Mediterranean. But I don't think that distinction matter terribly much in what you should do, because (a) Spanish and Mediterranean interiors have a lot in common and (b) Since the house is fairly contemporary you would want a fairly toned-down version anyway.

Based on the exterior, I would go with tile floor and not hardwood, assuming you don't object to the hardness of tile (and since I know this is a rental and you don't have a personal stake on how it feels to stand in the kitchen, I don't know why you would), maybe something in shades of terra cotta. Wood cabinets rather than white. I would lean toward a more traditional raised panel cab (which I don't think Ikea offers), but I don't think the more transitional Ikea cabs (like the Lixtorp previously mentioned) would be a bad fit if that's how you want to go.

A kitchen right out of a sales brochure for a generic line marketed nationally would be very appropriate for that house. Now, the owners might have their own ideas.

I'm excited that my initial thought of "contemporary with Spanish Revival influence" was correct! (Palimpsest is quite the expert.) I would probably opt for contemporary cabinets (maybe white or walnut) and then add Spanish Revival details such as saltillo tile (like those at the entry), Spanish tiles in the backsplash, and dark (ORB or iron?) hardware and lighting.

I will need to borrow another book from the library about architectural styles because this book doesn't even list ranch as one of its architectural styles. The closest style in the book to a rancher is prairie school, but this house doesn't like the prairie house in the book.

When we say something is contemporary, is that the same as calling it modern? Since this is a home in the suburbs, I just assumed it was something more traditional.

And, its correct to say that it has Spanish revival elements on the exterior because there's really no such elements of that inside.

If anything, the predominant theme of this house is really red- red terra cotta roof tiles, red saltillo tiles in the front, red bricks for the backyard patio, red brick fireplace, wall paper had red elements. And, if that wasn't enough, the kitchen was all red- red tile countertops and red vinyl flooring.

This post was edited by marvelousmarvin on Wed, Jun 19, 13 at 3:16

When posters suggest to use the black iron hardware, is it because of the black fence in the front? The entrance fence is still okay, but the rest of the fence is in such terrible shape that I was thinking that it'd be easier/cheaper to just take the whole fence down rather than repair/replace it.

And, if I used dark hardware, does that usually go with darker wood cabinets? Or, would it work for white cabinets too?

Ideally, does this mean that the hardware for all the doors should be black iron or orb too? (I'm not going to switch the doorknobs, but I'm just curious)

And, would that kitchen from that movie, Something's Gotta Give, with white cabinets, dark hardwood floors, glass fronts, white subway tile, etc.. work for this housing style because that sounds so different from some of the suggestions on this thread?

I've read that it is so popular because it works with so many types of housing styles, and I was wondering if that also included a contemporary rancher with spanish revival influences.

This post was edited by marvelousmarvin on Wed, Jun 19, 13 at 3:43

The Something's Gotta Give kitchen would not look great in this house. There are two aspects to the house that would limit its compatibility--the contemporary shape of the house itself and the hints of rusticity to the exterior with the tiles, roofing/beams and stucco.

Southern California Ranch

I'd do something slightly on the "rustic modern" side.

Marvin, you house looks a lot like houses in my town. Most don't have a tile roof, but that looks almost like a later addition. Honestly, I would have no expectation that the interior, esp. the kitchen, would echo the Mediterranean vibe of the roof. I might walk in and say, oh, this is different than I expected, but that might be a good thing. Besides, it's a rental. People are going to bring in their own furniture, lamps, stuff to put on the walls. I would keep the kitchen simple and generic and not worry too much about selling it some time down the road.

But really it would be just as easy to do a kitchen that is vaguely contemporary with a mild rustic feel, compatible with the house as it would be to do anything else, so why not just go ahead and do that?

It would actually be much Cheaper do do a vaguely contemporary with a mild rustic feel kitchen than it would be to do a Something's Gotta Give kitchen too.

I was thinking '80s California too. They do tend to be kinda contemporary on the inside. Not casual exactly but definitely with a mind to enjoying the outdoors. You HAVE to have the sliding doors to the backyard from the kitchen because you're supposed to EAT back there.

I've always been a little ambivalent to the front exteriors of these homes (although the entry on yours is quite enviable) but I've found the interiors to be pretty desirable.

I'd go with a more contemporary white kitchen with tiles like your entrance tiles.

Something like this:

I'd love to see a saltillo tile floor in the kitchen. If you're going Ikea, then maybe the Adel Cream with the oak butcherblock top that you take out in the back yard and beat up with chains and ice picks and rasps before clear coating. The black iron is because that's often seen as a feature in Spanish style architecture. I'd do a modern looking pull in black tones.

Maybe something like this 55276 Amerock pull?

I also like the idea of doing some feature in a wood like a sink base or china storage area or island. I might actually take the Ikea oak doors and wire brush the finish off of them and lightly distress them with a light dry brush glaze on top and then clear coat them again. Ikea is cheap enough that you could experiment to your heart's content to make it appear rustic without breaking the bank.

Would you put butcher block in a rental, though? How hard/expensive is it to install IKEA butcherblock counters?

I'm reading through a book about Ranch houses by Cliff May, and its a bit surprising that we need to differentiate Ranch houses from Mediterranean/Spanish Revival houses since, if I understand what I'm reading correctly, the origin and style of the original Ranch houses were Spanish.

If that's true, I would have thought that we'd group Ranch houses together with Spanish Revival, Mediterranean, etc..

Another interesting thing I've noticed flipping through those black and white photographs of those Ranch houses were how unadorned their cabinets are- they're slab doors with no paneling or decoration.

Also, if I get black cabinet hardware, does that mean I should gradually replace my stainless appliances with black appliances for any appliances break down and need to be replaced?

For Spanish style architecture, are they using black appliances?

I liked the idea of butcherblock island to bring an element of rusticity because I don't trust putting in too much butcherblock countertops. Even if it was my own home, I wouldn't feel comfortable with butcherblock countertops, especially around the sink.

But, unfortunately, that kitchen is too small to put in an island.

So, for a contemporary rancher with Spanish revival influences on the exterior which needs some contemporary and had some rustic elements to be appropriate, would something like this work:

Honed black granite countertop with that honed surface to bring in that element of rusticity and the black color tying it to the black contemporary iron hardware on the cabinets.

Glass subway tile backsplash to bring in the contemporary element.

White cabinets instead of wood cabinets, even though dark wood cabinet would be a better fit for that Mediterraean and Spanish style kitchen. But, I'm concerned about the changing popularity of wood kitchens, and feel it'd be safer to stick with something white.

Would white Shaker-style cabinets work, or is that too Something's Gotta Give?

I'm still trying to wrap my head around what elements in the Something's Gotta Give kitchen that wouldn't work for this house. Would it be possible to do a Something's Gotta GIve kitchen, but give it a slight twist so it'd work for this house?

This post is just what I needed. We are in escrow for a house similar to this! I don't like Spanish style anything, but the house meets our needs. It has that Spanish tile floor from the foyer and throughout one side of the house through the family room/kitchen & powder bath. The other half, living room, dining room and bedrooms upstairs are all hardwood floors. Most of our renovation budget will go to a kitchen remodel that the house so desperately needs. Our budget might not allow us to match the wood floors, so I might do wood grain tile instead. I really want to do a clean white kitchen because the house right now looks so dark with low ceilings dark floors. I have no intention of marrying the roof of the house to the interior style. Is that bad?

Other than the black iron gate, railing and the light fixture, all in the entrance, what other black elements are there? The gate will be removed rather than repaired, right?

To me, the house is more contemporary than Spanish. The trimmings are Spanish but the bones are split level contemporary. Trimmings v bones? Contemporary versus Spanish? Contemporary wiins. I would not match the kitchen to a Spanish/med but I would to a more purely contemporary or soft modern one.

If saltillo is done well, then it holds up but sometimes it gets crumbly or cracks, as per my realtor while shopping for a house in Arizona. I would do a wood floor as it matches contemporary, is seen as timeless, and is desirable to many shoppers/renters.

I would also skip the tile backsplash. Spend the money on a quartz counter if you can afford it.

If you match the kitchen to the 80's mishmash of styles, it may look dated. Glad it doesn't have the palladian windows of the late 80s. Can you tell I am a modern lover? think sochi and gizmonike

Other than the black iron gate, railing and the light fixture, all in the entrance, what other black elements are there? The gate will be removed rather than repaired, right?

To me, the house is more contemporary than Spanish. The trimmings are Spanish but the bones are split level contemporary. Trimmings v bones? Contemporary versus Spanish? Contemporary wiins. I would not match the kitchen to a Spanish/med but I would to a more purely contemporary or soft modern one.

If saltillo is done well, then it holds up but sometimes it gets crumbly or cracks, as per my realtor while shopping for a house in Arizona. I would do a wood floor as it matches contemporary, is seen as timeless, and is desirable to many shoppers/renters.

I would also skip the tile backsplash. Spend the money on a quartz counter if you can afford it.

If you match the kitchen to the 80's mishmash of styles, it may look dated. Glad it doesn't have the palladian windows of the late 80s. Can you tell I am a modern lover? think sochi and gizmonike