indoors

t’s one of the first questions we learn to ask—and answer: “What’s your favorite color?”

For Michele Hofherr, the answer has always been the same. “I have three favorites. It

1

doesn’t matter what the trends are, I always come back to the same shades again and

again—blue, brown, and buttercream.” So when she, her husband, Matt, and their

10-year-old daughter, Samantha, moved into a 100-year-old house in Piedmont,

California, Michele accentuated its architectural details with her favorite color trio.

“Carrying colors throughout the house makes it feel consistent and seamless,” says

Michele, a fine art photographer. “The advantage is that everything becomes transferable. A

pillow in the den also works in the living room, and a throw in the bedroom works in the den. It

keeps me doing more recycling and less shopping.” To keep the tight palette interesting, Michele

chose a dominant color for each room and used the other two hues as accents. White trim ties the

rooms together. “I didn’t want a themed house,” she says. “I just wanted a house that was a true

expression of myself, and using my favorite colors was an easy way to make that happen.”

AT H O M E