Oprah Follows This Golden Rule for Paint in Her California Home

Designer and new Queer Eye co-host Jeremiah Brent’s new book, The Space That Keeps You: When Home Becomes a Love Story, was recently published in February,  and his exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey revealed a controversial color choice in the celeb’s Californian home.

Brent was a host for the fifth season of home renovation series Home Made Simple, which aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network in 2015. The duo’s decade-long history has come full circle with an section in Brent’s book that features Winfrey opening up about her relaxing environment at home and her admiration for her outdoor spaces, which includes the “largest private estate of sequoias” within the Santa Barbara area.

But the most interesting detail about Oprah’s home is what’s inside it. According to Brent’s book, the talk show host is a minimalist when it comes to color.

“Today, Oprah grounds her home in whatever makes her feel comfortable,” Brent wrote in the book. “She likes neutrals. She doesn’t like more than three colors in a room — four, max. She doesn’t like a lot of bright things bringing attention to themselves. She wants to feel soothed, and she wants her guests to feel the same way.”

Oprah’s philosophy is fair — a limited color palette is great for a minimalist aesthetic. And in past sneak peeks of her home, you can notice that design style reflected in her wall colors, decorations, and furniture.

During a brunch in 2022, Oprah posted an Instagram showing off the reception room in her California home, and you can see the painted golden walls in the background. And in a separate video from Dec. 2021, a cream-colored staircase is wrapped with giant pine cones and a luscious garland.

Maybe Oprah’s controversial color choices will inspire you to adopt a minimalist decor scheme!