Sarah Paulson's calming living room colors are a bright and warm twist on the modern farmhouse trend dominating in 2024

The actress's space embraces a modern but naturally inspired color palette for stunning effects. Interior designers explain why it's the perfect scheme

sarah paulson
(Image credit: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage via Getty Images)

Though modern farmhouse has been dominating the design feed and our Pinterest feeds for the past several years, it does not show any signs of fading. However, in 2024, the look is taking new forms. The modern farmhouse interiors of today are warmer, cozier, and more lived-in than than predecessors. Sarah Paulson's space is the perfect example.

The living room in the actress's Malibu hideaway, designed by Amy Kehoe is a refreshing twist on the modern farmhouse look. It incorporates modern farmhouse staples like light natural wood floors against white shiplap walls, but the decor takes the space in a different, more interesting direction. Paulson's designer has added a textural chocolate brown rug beneath the stained wood coffee table covered in books and decorative objects. A bright green painting above the marble breakfast table draws the eye up, while the cushion-covered gray sofa brings adds a cozy, lived-in feel.

The success of the look is in large part due to Paulson's choice of living room color scheme. Classic farmhouse style is all neutrals, but Paulson's approach is much more colorful. Jennifer Ebert, digital editor at Homes & Gardens states: 'Paulson has incorporated bright colors through the painting on her wall, a green curtain between rooms, a patterned throw pillow on the sofa, and a cobalt blue vase on the coffee table. Against the warm tones of the wood, the scheme makes the room feel all the more welcoming.'

In addition to the colors, the decorative items and soft furnishings, such as the living room sofa, in Paulson's space add much-needed texture. Ebert says, 'Modern farmhouse promotes the classic "clean" look through the use of smooth surfaces and white, but this look can be a bit clinical. The marble on the breakfast table, the natural wood, the cushions, the vases, and the plants around the room disrupt the smoothness of this style for a more dynamic textural look.'

Furthermore, this look is slated to be a huge interior design trend in 2024. Ebert says, 'Over the past few years, we've moved away from extreme minimalism and overly curated spaces. Sarah Paulson's living room is a great example of taking what you love and leaving the rest from the modern farmhouse trend. As people move away from trying to copy a trend exactly into decorating more with personal style, I think that looks like this will continue to become more popular.'

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If you love Paulson's space, you can recreate the look with warm textural details like a patterned rug and natural wood furniture while keeping it grounded with a gray sofa.


Though people think of trends as what is 'in' versus what is 'out' it's more common that beloved looks evolve over time, becoming new iterations of the same styles. Sarah Paulson's trendy, modern farmhouse living room, is the perfect inspiration for how to accomplish this evolution with taste.

Sophie Edwards
News Editor

Sophie is a London-based News Editor at Homes & Gardens, where she works on the Celebrity Style team. She is fascinated by the intersection of design and popular culture and is particularly excited when researching trends or interior history. Sophie is an avid pop culture fan. As an H&G editor, she has interviewed the likes of Martha Stewart, Hilary Duff, and the casts of Queer Eye and Selling Sunset. Before joining Future Publishing, Sophie worked as the Head of Content and Communications at Fig Linens and Home, a boutique luxury linens and furniture brand. She has also written features on exciting developments in the design world for Westport Magazine. Sophie has an MSc from the Oxford University Department of Anthropology and a BA in Creative Writing and Sociology from Sarah Lawrence College.