10 Ways to Decorate with Yellow
Yellow is the new pink, that's what they're saying! With spring coming and going like the tide and snow when summer should be just around the corner, decorating with yellow is a great way to bring the sunshine into your home.
We're not talking the primrose yellow of 20 years ago, this trend is for warmer ochres and buttery yellows. It's a bold colour to use over a large expanse, although I'm loving the yellow kitchens that are starting to appear. But keeping it more low-key, yellow has always been a colour I've used for accents in my interior, it's my 'red thread' if you will - a colour thread that weaves its way through all the rooms in my house, linking them together. Here are some examples to inspire you. These images aren’t from a professional photo shoot and nothing has been styled, I just want to show you how this colour sits in my home, unedited.
1. Yellow lamps. These very basic lamps started life as bedside lights in my previous house, and now sit in my living room windows. They are simple and the base is barely there so it doesn't obstruct the view, and they make it feel sunny even on a grey day.
2. Yellow curtain. A bolder choice and more of a commitment, curtains need careful consideration for how they fit within the composition of a room, both open and closed. I love the way this warm buttery yellow works with the plaster pink walls in my bedroom, and although the window is north-west facing, this colour gives the light a warm glow as it shines through the cloth in the mornings.
3. Yellow accent chairs. This is such a joyful colour combination, and really lifts a period interior. It's the colour of the sun and they sky, and feels much fresher and more up-to-date than the grey and yellow that was popular in the noughties.
4. Yellow cushions. Cushions are such a quick and simple way to update a scheme, and there is a shade of yellow to suit almost every existing colour palette. I made this mustard velvet ones years ago and they frequently swap locations between the bed and the sofa.
5. Yellow trim. A really subtle way to bring in an accent is on the trim of soft furnishings such as cushions or curtains. I often use bolder colours in this way to lift a colour palette. I used this pom pom trim to edge my son's curtains.
6. Yellow flowers. The easiest update of all, flowers bring a touch of joy to any room. I rather like colourful dried flowers, and my husband used to buy me yellow roses every month (though it seems to have worn off since we got married…).
7. Yellow rug. This washable beauty is from Weaver Green. It’s super soft and you’d never know it was made from recycled plastic bottles!
8. Yellow towels. These are definitely more of an ochre. I orginally bought them for a bathroom with moss green walls and white marble tiles, but they’ve really come into their own against the plaster pink walls of my new en suite.
9. Yellow window. I can't claim this as my idea so no photo, but I first saw it in the kitchens of Skye McAlpine and Joa Studholme and recently Kate Watson Smythe has been dallying with it. I love the way it adds a bit of sunshine to the light coming in the window - it would be great for a bedroom.
10. Yellow art. Art is such a great way to bring colour in, and can be a useful starting point for a whole colour scheme.
If you’d like detailed ideas for how to bring yellow, or indeed any colour, into your home, book a Colour Consultation today!