Colour study – Yellow

Yellow scares me a bit.  Many websites will tell you how hard it is to use.  And yet – a yellow room can be up-lifting and stunning.  I think this is partly because they are so rare.

Yellow sofa room by Lolikawii

For me yellow is hard to use because it is so bright, and can so easily take over. Plus I live in a hot climate so I do not need more hotness around me.  It needs to be toned down (made lighter and/or less saturated) or used in small doses with lots of neutrals.

However, like all the other colours, there are many varieties of yellow – bright, murky, clear or soft.  Yellow that heads towards green is cool (and even icy), and yellow that heads towards orange is warm.  Easy to see when they are right next to each other – much harder if they on separate items in different parts of town!

Yellow colour sample grid - cool, neutral, warm

Doesn’t yellow behave mysteriously when it becomes less saturated?  Those light unsaturated yellows are beautiful and complex neutrals that would rarely be identified as “yellow”.  Unsaturated dark yellow?  Sludge.  Or Mud.  How I would love to see those names on a paint chart!

Here are some Mydeco products covering a range of yellows -

Some Mydeco yellow products

I have also collected some amazing yellow rooms from around Mydeco.  (And there’s a bunch more I saved on Pinterest)

Yellow with white

This is the room that initiated this post.   What an impeccable use of yellow.  So friendly and fresh.

Yellow kitchen by GiuliaDocet

Soft yellow

If you like things a little quieter these rooms might suit you.

Soft yellow room by Decorj

Soft yellow sitting room by Naki1

Yellow with Black

I don’t do many yellow rooms, but apparently I like yellow with black!

Saffron (yellow) attic room by Toadfool

A much more modern vibe in this stunning room (note the same rug as above) -

Yellow penthouse by Chania

Yellow with wood

Yellow with wood is very classy if it is the right colour.

Classy yellow sitting room by Naki1

Yellow office by Theadora

Yellow with grey

Possibly my favourite combination.

Loft with yellow by Naki1

Masculine living room by KittiFarkas

Yellow with…yellow

When too much yellow is not enough…but the wide range of yellows makes them work.

Daisy yellow bedroom by DecorJ

Yellow nursery by Reedj0218

Yellow with colour

I didn’t find many rooms where yellow featured with other colours, but I do like my bright  blue and yellow version -

Blue and yellow room by Toadfool

This room successfully uses yellow and red/orange – a very unusual but effective combination.

Yellow and red/orange bedroom by Hunny

Unsaturated yellow

Now this is where it gets VERY interesting.  Unsaturated yellow is quite a different animal.  I would call it Olive or Avocado.  It’s hardly identifiable as yellow at all.  But look at the colour from the sofa, at full saturation.  Very definitely yellow.

Yellow! living room by Toadfool

And another one….

Yellow and olive sitting room by Mydeco

There’s so much more to yellow than meets the eye.