Where have I been all my life? Just when I’m pretty sure I know everything and have heard of everything I need to know about home architectural styles, a new term and a new style is placed before me. I’ve been living a lie! I know nothing!
Well, you probably knew that already.
Atomic Ranch What?
Have you heard of Atomic Ranch style before? Please tell me you haven’t so I don’t feel like the only one out there who hadn’t heard this term before. From what I can tell, the phrase Atomic Ranch for homes comes from ranch-style homes, but are “cooler and more contemporary cousins of the ranches.”
Ranch-style homes are generally single-story homes that have an open floor plan, large rooms, and lots of windows in the front of the home. If you know Fort Worth, homes in Wedgwood and Ridglea are in the ranch family of homes.
Atomic ranch homes have a few Midcentury Modern motifs mixed into the design with linear features, pops of color, clerestory windows, and butterfly or flat roof pitches.
Atomic ranches were forward-thinking and exciting with the designs, pushing the Midcentury Modern style to another level, yet, like traditional ranch homes, they are practical and timeless — what was valued back then is valued today. Open rooms, natural light, and clean lines are what today’s homeowner is looking for just like when Atomic Ranch homes were first delivered.
4808 Winthrop Avenue
Located in one of Fort Worth’s best-kept secrets in the Ridglea area — this portion of the neighborhood is separated from the larger Ridglea area by the Ridglea Country Club golf course — the Atomic Ranch at 4808 Winthrop Avenue is a gem of a home.
This section of Ridglea is accessed from Westridge Avenue, which is not a main thoroughfare in Fort Worth. It allows the neighborhood to be very quiet and peaceful with not a lot of car traffic. Frequently you will see people walking in the area and enjoying the quiet streets. It’s in the middle of Fort Worth with easy access to main arterial roads and highways and yet feels very hidden and secluded.
The single-story home of 2,222 square feet has four bedrooms and four bathrooms and sits on a large corner homesite with mature trees. Evenings can not only be spent inside but in the front as well as the back of the home.
While 4808 Winthrop Avenue is not a large home, the flow and open areas — along with great natural light — give a feeling of plenty of space to enjoy.
Inside, the home has been updated with trendy materials and yet keeps the Atomic Ranch vibe going by staying true to what makes the home so unique, cool, and special.
We at Tarrant County Tuesday hardly ever mention or feature secondary bathrooms, mainly because they’re boring, and who really cares right? But in 4808 Winthrop Avenue the secondary tub surround is another tasteful expression of color that tips its cap to the Midcentury Modern and Atomic Ranch theme.
Now that I know about the Atomic Ranch genre of styles I will be on the lookout for more of them to feature. What has happened to the American home of the 2020s (or really since the 1960s) that they are so stale and boring compared to the edgy and unique examples of the midcentury era? It’s a shame that production home builders can’t take elements of Atomic Ranch homes and Midcentury Modern homes and incorporate them into their cookie-cutter, banal, generic-looking designs they are stamping out these days.
For now, enjoy this Atomic Ranch home and all the nuances and quirks that make this one to appreciate.
Mike Garza of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty has listed 4808 Winthrop Avenue for $625,000.
