Mother Nature does not have a hard time choosing beautiful yellows for her outdoor home.
New Hampshire
Unfortunately for many of us though, the right yellow is one of the most difficult colors to choose for the walls in your home. For example, you see a beautiful photo in a magazine where the living room is painted a beautiful soft yellow. You head to the paint store and after looking through all of the different yellows, you think you find the perfect color match.
Ideal Home
You paint the yellow on your walls, stand back and just cry because that soft yellow on the sample chip looks like a giant bright school bus just parked on your wall! What happened? With yellow especially, the color you see on the small sample is magnified 100 times in brightness and intensity when you put it on the wall. And that is fine if you are looking for that primary yellow color.
- ohdeedoh
But most of us are looking for that soft yellow that is not too intense and that does not scream “yellow”. The color of yellow that most of us are searching for is a muted or toned (meaning color + gray) yellow. This is a yellow that has a grayish or neutral tone to them such as the colors below:
I have personally used all these yellow hues and they all are a soft yellow that looks a bit on the gold side. None of these are bright yellows. I hope that you remember one of my most important painting tips and one of the best pieces of advice that I can pass on about choosing the right paint color! Remember how important it is to get that sample jar of yellow that you think matches that beautiful picture in your magazine and try it on your walls at home rather than investing in gallons of the color. You can save yourself both time and money and (hopefully) get that “perfect” yellow easier than you thought.
Do you have a favorite yellow you would like to share? Comments?
If you need help choosing the perfect paint color for your home, contact me today!
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Kelly Bernier Designs
Add taupe walls with that navy. Crisp white wood trim would pop against those walls in taupe. Add a rug with all coolrs, navy, taupe and some of that black, maybe geometric pattern. Those black frames will pop with white matting’s, make them all the same. Curtains taupe again but with navy trim down the edges. Buy the curtains and do the trim yourself with iron on tape. Sounds fabulous!
I have had great success with Behr’s Cracked Wheat. It’s a very soft, subdued yellow that works extremely well in rooms with plenty of light. It doesn’t scream “yellow” but lends a look of perpetual sunshine
However, this color may look too yellow in a room that doesn’t get much light.
I am going to try Sweet Pear- looks very modern and clean. Thanks!
You can really screw up a room with the wrong yellow – but the right yellow makes a room sing. Here are some of my favorites (all Benjamin Moore): Hawthorne Yellow and Yellow Clover are bright yellows that are not too gold or too lemony. Happy Valley is a nice butter yellow, light but warm. And Sweet Pear is my newest favorite yellow – a more modern greenish yellow.