A Warm Front

A couple raised on peace and quiet builds a home fit for a crowd.

Growing up in Southern California in the late 1970s, Kelley Sheppard had a loving, but quiet, family home. “My dad just wasn’t into entertaining,” she says. Meanwhile, in rural Utah, Halston Brack was having a similar experience, where spending time with friends meant leaving the house. “Neither of our families had people over much,” Kelley says. “And our homes weren’t comfortable places for our friends to hang out, so we would go to other people’s houses.” The couple met in college and when they later married, they vowed to do it differently. “We wanted to create an old-fashioned home where people could stop by without calling ahead,” Kelley explains. “A place where our kids’ friends, as well as our own, would feel welcome.”

The Bracks set their sights on the suburban West Los Angeles district of Westchester—a place they describe as a throwback to an era when neighbors knew each other by name and kids rode bicycles up and down the sidewalks. Although the area fit their vision of a friendly community, the 1950s-style house on their desired lot clashed with their dream of an open, contemporary home. To reconcile the two, the family enlisted Soler Architecture and Jennifer Dyer of Jeneration Interiors to create a very modern home in the old-fashioned neighborhood.

Kelley’s one concern about going modern was keeping the house comfy for their three kids. “I didn’t want it to be too cold,” she says. Dyer alleviated any worries by incorporating bursts of bright color, graphic patterns and textural fabrics to make the interiors inviting. “People have a tendency to go with dark wood and white walls in many contemporary homes. We wanted vibrant colors that could be seen from all parts of the house,” says Dyer. Because the home’s indoor and outdoor spaces are often separated by nothing more than a wall of glass, Dyer decided to decorate the outside areas as if they were interior rooms.

In the living room, Dyer mixed the glamorous look of Hollywood Regency with the bold, bright colors of the moment. Custom armchairs upholstered in green Dedar fabric inspired the rest of the living room’s color palette, while Jeff Soler and his team covered the clean-lined front door in a sexy snakeskin.

Featuring luxury appliances from Dacor and Gaggenau, the kitchen is a host’s dream come true. The couple turned a narrow walkway off the kitchen into a pantry, complete with a sink and dishwasher, to make party prep and cleanup simple.

A set of vintage chairs that the clients already owned inspired the color palette in the master bedroom. “The chairs were a bold magenta, so we decided to continue the hue throughout the room,” Dyer says.

In the master bath, most of the color is provided by the large windows framing the trees.

“It has great light and very good vibes,” homeowner Kelley says of the office. Although it looks vintage, the desk is actually a custom piece by Jeneration Interiors, and the glass chandelier is from Cyan Design.

“The playroom is really fun,” Dyer says of the kid-centric space, which is outfitted with Giati indoor-outdoor textiles and a multicolored hide rug by Kyle Bunting. “The kids love hanging out there because they can entertain themselves for hours.”

 

“When I think of the house, I think of the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral,” Kelley says. “Big life events and milestones happen with family and friends around.” And with birthday and engagement celebrations, baby showers and end-of-the-school-year pool parties, the home is a hive of activity.

By Kira Coplin
Designed by Jennifer Dyer and Jeff Soler
Photo credit: John Ellis