Use "caution" when decorating with yellow

Alley, before consulting with Rivalee Design,

 says "Caution" instead of "Welcome"

Alley, after working with Rivalee Design,

repainted in cayenne red and butter yellow.

Yellow may be the most cheerful color on earth, but while nature usually gets yellow right, we humans often botch the job.  What is so hard abut successfully decorating with yellow?  

When I first visited the job site pictured at left I was discovered a screaming yellow that said "CAUTION DO NOT ENTER".  Choosing yellow to brighten a dark alley was not a bad choice, but the shade and intensity were all wrong.


When I created the new palette, I still incorporated yellow, but the yellow I chose looked nearly white on the paint chip.  That is one of the keys - remember that colors intensify as they cover more space and as it reflects itself.

So then how can you successfully decorate with yellow?  Here are three tips to help you bring that sunshine inside.

1. Avoid “yellow”

Choose a color more like sand, or creamy butter.  If the paint chip looks like the yellow of a crayon or daffodil, the color is way too intense for the walls.  

2. Add splashes of yellow

If you are determined to incorporate sunny crayon yellow, start small. Try a soft grey sofa with daffodil yellow pillows and a lemony throw.  Set the table with a dragon red tablecloth and deliciously yellow plates.Try new navy curtains with sheers in sunny yellow. Or add a collection of bright, shiny yellow vases to the room.

3. Use only yellow

When decorating with a bold color, using a monochromatic scheme can make it work.  If you paint the walls a medium shade of yellow, lay blond wood floors with white area rugs and hang white curtains, then splash around some intense yellow accents, the result can be sunny, lovely, and bright.

One little warning...

Whatever variant of yellow you choose, it’s likely to shock you as it goes on the walls.  Don’t panic.  The wall color is only one layer of the decorating in your room.  Try not to make a final decision on the color until your furniture, rugs, art and accessories are in.  This is especially true if you are hiring a decorating professional to create a room for you.  That person isn’t just giving you a paint color, they are giving you a whole room.  


Here’s how it was said in Martha Stewart Living: “Hold that breath when you've finished your walls, and don't exhale until the furniture goes in, for yellow is hot or cool... depending on its neighbors; nothing's as qualmish as an empty yellow room.”  


Well put, and good to remember.