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.”

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.