Sunset Magazine April 1945

In the 1940s, we start to see Sunset Magazine get more into house architecture, layout and design. In the West, it was all about the ranch house. The California ranch house design, also known as the "Rambler," was developed in the 1930s and gained popularity in the post-World War II housing boom of the 1940s. It was created as an alternative to the traditional two-story, boxy houses that were common at the time, and was designed to be more informal and suited to the California lifestyle. The ranch house's single-story, horizontal design was meant to blend in with the surrounding landscape and take advantage of the mild climate, while the use of sliding glass doors and large windows allowed for a seamless indoor-outdoor transition and emphasized the connection to nature. The open floor plan and focus on indoor-outdoor living also reflected the changing social norms of the time, as the ranch house was seen as a more modern and relaxed way of living.