My first response is to always let a house be what it is. And yours is a cute ranch. I think what it suffers from now is too many different finishes. IMHO you could have a problem trying to take it too much in the craftsman direction, simply because of the roofline and traditional small ranch windows.

Have you ever looked at the early houses of Cliff May, a California architect/designer? They are the traditional California ranch. Board and batten, long and low, more Spanish and cottage than craftsman. I think your place could look great like that.

Sorry. I really need to spell check before submitting.... I meant:

....I would highly recommend you consider extending the roof overhang on the gable ends. That shallow overhang and the shallow roof pitch are what bother me the most about ranches I think

We also have a 1960's ranch in neighborhood full of 1400 of 'em. I saw a show on HGTV where they did transform a single-level ranch into a bungalow style. It came out really well, but they did end up changing the roof and gable. You might want to search the HGTV site for this.

Of course, this would look cool, but you have to wonder would a craftsman bungalow look really out of place among the hundreds of ranches.

dainaadelle - We do have a porch 7'x 8' and considered putting columns on it. I decided against it because I didn't want anything blocking my view from the garden window over my kitchen sink. As far as color, I'm still in a quandary. My contractor is encouraging me to stay with lighter colors. The designer I consulted suggested mountain sage green and timberbark or woodstock brown. http://www.jameshardiesidingcenter.com/p_colorplus.shtml I would like to stay in the colorplus options because the color is baked in and is guaranteed for 15 years. However, I have done quite a bit of research and it sounds like the darker colors fade more than the light.
jakabedy - I will look for this at the library. I couldn't find many good images of the Clif May houses. The different finishes are an issue. The house has a stone front but the stone is not used anywhere else. I think it would have been much more cohesive if there had been stone used on the porch and/or the garage side. Having said that, I can't find anything to match and was planning to leave the stone alone. Whatever accent color is used, I will also put on the garage side. Now the only accent is the red shutters on the right gable.
stacyneil - yes, I plan to extend the overhang on the gables. Not sure how much space is under the existing wood but I am hoping to do that.
gsciencechick - Thanks for the lead. I'll look for that!

gsciencechick - The HGTV episode was amazing! Our budget won't cover a 2nd floor but I loved this redo!

No problem! Hope you at least got some good ideas. It's cool that it CAN be done.

..and of course, you will want black wrought iron Craftsman lights and hardware...
I think a sage would work wonderfully with your stone whether you go Craftsman or not.

Dina - A big yes on the lights!

I was a bit surprised by the sage sample here. It looks more like spruce or forest green. I always think of sage as a slivery/gray/blue shade of green. Do you like the James Hardie sage? http://www.jameshardiesidingcenter.com/p_colorplus.shtml