"California Ranch" or "Rambler" is what I'd peg. There are a lot of fabulous design aspects of a 1950's/60's house: large open kitchens with attached family room, big slider windows in back for lots of sun, plenty of room for big expansive counter runs (one of the best features of this kind of house, in my opinion), lots of places for natural woods, etc.

Chances are the existing kitchen looks something like this, no?

Which is lovely in and of itself, but I've also seen some amazing ranch house kitchen remodels:

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Here is a link that might be useful: Ranch house variations

Here's a great article on the history of the California ranch house and how it became defined as the '1950's tract house' you mention:

Here is a link that might be useful: The Ranch, an Architectural Archetype Forged on the Frontier

Thank you circuspeanut! The California ranch house makes so much sense considering the history of the area (ranching/farming) and, in fact, the nearby streets with larger homes are exactly what I would have described as ranch style. I guess I was hung up on the smaller size of our home and the nearby homes built in the same tract and didn't think that such a small home could be considered a range house. Thank you!

On a side note, in Maryland they would call that a "rancher". When I first moved there (from a California native), I didn't know what the heck they were talking about. It turns out to mean a one-story home, no basement.
We lived in a two-story colonial with walk-out basement. My son said that his friend lived in a house "with no floors". Hmmm. It was a rancher.

Interesting info all! Thank you for expanding from TKO to THO (either "House" or "History", take your pick).

I was 6 in 1959 when we moved into a similar style house in Long Beach which had been built in 1954---4 BR, 2 BA. There was a door on the side of the house from the driveway entering the kitchen....this was the door we always used. As you entered the door, to the right was a bank consisting of cabinets, sink with window facing the street (no DW back then) then the stove. across from the stove in a corner was a booth with a fake walnut "look" table. The fridge was next to the table just standing there alone. On another wall, next to the door going outside was the spot for the washer/dryer. All the appliances were turquoise! The size of the kitchen was about 9x12 for a family of 6! The 1st thing mom did was put the washer (no dryer til we were grown and gone, clothes hung on line in the backyard...towels were stiff as boards!) outside on the other side of where it was in house...a fence by the kitchen door hid it from the street. The booth was too small for us, so she moved the fridge into the corner where the booth was and put a rectangular table where the fridge was. In 1968 she remodeled, put in a DW, a big pantry in the space meant for the W/D, and a toaster built into the wall near the stove.....we were the Jetsons! Brother has gone back to visit and current owner has blown out the whole front and made a modern K/FR with island, but I retain happy memories of all of us sitting around the table in our little kitchen!

I like the photos circuspeanut posted. To me, one of the defining characteristics of the "California rancher" is the use of mid-tone wood throughout. Kitchen cabinets, baseboards, interior doors, etc... Mine is one of the only ones on the street that still has so much wood and hasn't gotten the white paint treatment. (That's why I didn't opt for the "one true kitchen"!)

I'm super late to the party, but I wanted to suggest - if you are looking for a contractor - we have one who specializes in vintage homes out of Orange. He's super busy, but it's because he's good. We signed a contract in Feb. and are about to begin construction in a few weeks, partly due to our city always being closed for business. Ping me if you want his info.

Also from Maryland and a single story with all the glass is called a "California house" - sort of a cross between and international house and a western style rancher. I've seen one or two from the 50's, but mostly those are 1960's on.

Agree that any single story house from the 1940's on is called a ranch and can come with or without a basement. Pre 1940's is called a cottage or a bungalow whether they are or aren't. Just about anything is called a colonial - including colonial ranchers.

Just a note on names: I've never heard a Californian say "rancher". It's always "ranch house" or "ranch" and ranch houses don't have basements. Once in awhile you'll find one with a small basement for a gravity furnace, but it's barely bigger than the equipment, and occasionally one will be built on a hill with a walk-out, but very few ranch houses are built that way here (SoCal).

B'more's, "California house" sounds more like what we'd call "Modern", but I'm guessing because we don't have "international house". But, then, we locals don't call just any house a ranch. It's a specific kind of house, that's usually L shaped, sometimes long and straight, with a low, peaked roof. It's usually stucco, but sometimes board and batten, though I think some areas do have horizontal siding, you don't see that at all around here unless they're trying to look Eastern (e.g., Colonial) or have been subsequently added by the owners who just like siding. A house shaped like EcoBuzz's with a detached garage might be called a bungalow. Cottages are only cutesy here. :) Small houses are just houses. :)

(I'm not trying to be argumentative here. Just harkening back to my college days when I wrote an excellent term paper on the definition of "house".)

I'm in the LA burbs and that style would be called a 1950 2bed/1bath Ranch (substitute correct date and number of bed/bath).

Yeah, plllog, stand on my side of the continental divide and say that in a breakfast joint and let me know what happens! You won't be able to leave for hours, hon I live in an area that gets down to zero with annual snow fall around 5" to 6 feet. In the summer, temps get up to 110 with humidity levels of 70-95 - this july we didn't have a single day under 90. So, saying something is a California house is also a warning about what it may do to your energy budget.