They Turned a Gray Builder-Grade House into a Maximalist Color Explosion
When Leah Marie Goddard, her husband, her daughter, and her son-in-law bought this house four years ago, it was “gray and builder-grade.” The house, located in Caldwell, Idaho, needed a ton of personality, but Leah, a self-described “dopamine artist,” was up to the challenge.
Leah explains that many years of medical issues, including a misdiagnosis and being over-medicated on 17 psychiatric medications, negatively impacted how she saw color. “When I got my life back I decided to stop making decisions out of fear. I had always loved color but been afraid of it.”
“Going without color for so long, I realized the impact color has on our mood, energy, and mental health. When I began designing our home I started with the feeling I wanted to have in each space. My goal is always to feel happiness and positivity because there is already enough gray and sadness in the world,” she continues.
It’s truly been a family affair — both purchasing and decorating the space. “We have done absolutely everything ourselves in this home,” she writes. “We all love color and personal self-expression. We have all worked hard to buy this home. Although it won’t be our forever home, we all believe in making our home our happy place.”
Today, that’s exactly how Leah describes the home’s style: happy, but also colorful, bold, and eclectic. But while it’s those things, it’s also balanced, too. “I never feel overwhelmed in our home,” Leah writes. “It brings me joy to know all the colors make my husband happy. He said he missed color in our home, it was wonderful to have it back. He says the best thing is seeing my personality in our home again.”
This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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