I would never in a million years think to pair these colors, but they look amazing on Halle Berry's porch – her surprising combination transforms gray

The actress's porch challenges my preconceived notions of color schemes, with its welcoming, earthy feel – here's how it's making me rethink gray

Halle Berry
(Image credit: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)

Do you ever see a color combination so strange and wonderful it stops you in your tracks? I felt this way recently when I stumbled upon the yellow walls and gray sofa at Halle Berry's home.

I spotted the actress's back porch idea on her Instagram, and it has honestly changed the way I think about the color gray. Admittedly, the shade has always been my least favorite neutral. It's very cool, and I find it difficult to pair with other neutrals without feeling too drab or impersonal.

However, Halle Berry's porch shows that, surprisingly, a splash of yellow is the ideal way to elevate it. Her outdoor living room centers on a plush gray sofa, grounded on a gray and brown stone-tiled floor. The textured walls are painted in a subtle butter yellow, bringing out the brightness in the furnishings. A small side table with a potted plant adds a touch of earthiness.

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So, what works well about Halle's take on a unique outdoor furniture color scheme? First, the mixture of textures helps to bring the tones together. The cement texture of the walls adds dimension to the butter yellow shade, complementing the gray linen of her sofa. Halle's rough stone tiles bring yellow and gray together in their pocked surface. The smooth glass of her doors adds a reflective element.

Small accents also help to connect the unusual color combination. Floating shelves, a side table, and a cat house in the corner unite the porch as a put-together design.

To style the look, I would recommend combining a range of textures and bringing in a range of colors with small design pieces.


Halle Berry's porch is living proof that it can often pay off to take a risk. Rather than stick to the same tried and true combinations, you can always try something new.

Sophie Edwards
News Editor

Sophie is a writer and News Editor on the Celebrity Style team at Homes & Gardens. She is fascinated by the intersection of design and popular culture and is particularly passionate about researching trends and interior history. She is an avid pop culture fan and has interviewed Martha Stewart and Hillary Duff.

In her free time, Sophie freelances on design news for Westport Magazine and Livingetc. She also has a newsletter, My Friend's Art, in which she covers music, culture, and fine art through a personal lens. Her fiction has appeared in Love & Squalor and The Isis Magazine.

Before joining Future, Sophie worked in editorial at Fig Linens and Home, a boutique luxury linens brand. She has an MSc from Oxford University and a BA in Creative Writing and Sociology from Sarah Lawrence College.

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