Decorating with Yellow: 15 Yellow Ideas to Brighten Your Room
There’s just something about the colour yellow that it immediately emanates a feeling of positivity. From vibrant yellows to more muted tones, when incorporating yellow into your interior, it’s like bringing a ray of sunshine into your space. It’s also an incredibly versatile colour, complementing numerous different colours and giving you lots of different options. If you’d like to use yellow in your rooms but are worried it may be too overwhelming a colour, fear not! We have a detailed guide which looks at the different ways you can bring this wonderful colour into your home, particularly your living room and bedroom.
What Colour Combinations Work with Yellow?
Before looking at yellow room décor, let’s start with the colour itself and what other colours it works well with. If you have a bright shade of yellow in mind, darker colours will provide the perfect contrast, such as navy blue, dark grey and purple – as these provide a cooler aesthetic, they are the perfect partner for a warm, vibrant yellow.
If you’re thinking of a more muted yellow, pastel colours such as pale pinks, blues and greens work well, as do earthy tones.
Before choosing the best colour combination for your yellow interior, you need to decide what kind of energy you want to create in your space, and then choose the right shade of yellow to help you create that.
Combining yellow and white
If you want to create a room that feels both soft and light, combining yellow and white will help you create that aesthetic. Whether you pair white with a muted yellow for a calm décor or choose a bright yellow to create a bolder interior, white provides the perfect contrast to either. If you’re thinking of a yellow bedroom, a bright yellow may feel a little too energetic, whereas a pastel yellow and white can create the perfect calming vibe you want when you head to bed for a restful night’s sleep. From a yellow rug to yellow walls or a yellow headboard, you can create a truly inviting space.
If you’re thinking of yellow and white for your living room, there are multiple ways to incorporate these two colours. Again, it’s about deciding whether you’d like a real energy in your space. If so, bright yellow is the way to go. And it doesn’t have to be too overwhelming, instead you can use a splash of bright yellow, through your sofa, curtains or even just your picture frames.
Combining Yellow and Blue
In terms of colours that go with yellow, navy blue is definitely in the top three, providing the perfect contrast to this bright, warm shade.
Whether you’re thinking of this combination for your bedroom, living room or bathroom, yellow and navy will work beautifully. If using blue on your walls, a mustard headboard will help to brighten your space, and in the living room, a mustard sofa will do the same job.
It’s not just navy blue that works with yellow. From duck egg blues to sea blues and vibrant blues, there is a yellow to complement. Again, it’s about deciding what sort of energy you’d like in your space and choosing the colours accordingly.
Combining Yellow and Grey
As Pantone’s colours of the year in 2021, grey and yellow are something of a dream team and work beautifully when paired together in your interior. If you went for a grey and yellow living room, the calmness brought by the grey contrasts beautifully with the brightness of the yellow. From pale shades to more intense colours, each colour offsets the other. If you choose a grey sofa, yellow walls or accessories will help to bring more vibrancy to your space. If you choose a yellow sofa, grey ensures the yellow isn’t too overwhelming.
Combining Yellow and Beige
Similar to yellow, beige is a versatile colour, which makes decorating with these two together a joy. With a yellow living room, when using a shade like maize yellow, you can create a real softness by adding beige, with both shades having a warm undertone.
Combining Yellow and Black
If you want a bold interior, combining yellow and black is a wonderful option. The warmth of the yellow is kept in check by the black, and the two combined can create an eclectic and vibrant space. With a yellow living room, a black sofa or black accessories can add some balance but it’s also worth adding some white into the décor as well, to ensure that neither colour is too overpowering.
Combining Yellow and Purple
As opposites on the colour wheel, yellow and purple can complement each other beautifully – but as both are quite dominant colours (if using vibrant shades) it’s important to get the balance right. For example, when looking at yellow room accessories, purple is a great option, or if you have purple walls, a yellow sofa is a great way to inject a pop of colour into the room.
Combining Yellow and Pink
A playful and positive colour combination, yellow and pink can be a great option in a living room or bedroom. Pale pinks can complement either a bright yellow or pastel yellow – if you like the idea of a mustard room, a mustard sofa will take centre stage, while a pastel pink on your walls will provide the perfect backdrop.
Combining Yellow and Green
Bring some warmth into your green room with a touch of yellow or calm your yellow room down with the introduction of some green – these two colours benefit each other and help to create a warm, inviting space.
If you’re looking for yellow bedroom ideas that aren’t going to be too bright, add a touch of calming green, utilising rich earthy tones such as olive or pine green to soothe the senses.
General Yellow Room Ideas
Now that we’ve covered colours that go with yellow, it’s time to delve into a little more detail about how to style your room using yellow.
Yellow Furniture
Mustard yellow sofa living room ideas are always a good place to start when researching yellow furniture and how it could play a role in your interior. A mustard velvet sofa will command attention but with careful use of your colour palette, it won’t take over the space. If a yellow sofa is too much, start with something small, such as a yellow armchair, or even with some yellow cushions on a dark sofa. It’s important to decide whether you want yellow to simply be a pop of colour in your interior, or a little more than that, and then choose your furniture accordingly.
Muted Tones for Busy Rooms
The colour yellow tends to conjure up a bright, vivid shade but yellow is actually a lot more versatile than that, providing you with lots of different options. In a busy room such as a living room or kitchen, bright yellow may be too much, whereas a more muted tone will actually create a warm, inviting space.
Patterned Yellow Wallpaper
Uplifting, positive and full of charm, patterned yellow wallpaper can really bring your room to life. It can also help to dictate your style, with a range of vintage designs, more rustic styles, or sleek contemporary paper all at your disposal. If you like the idea but think it might be a little overwhelming, why not have a feature wall and get the best of both worlds? With patterned yellow wallpaper as your backdrop, it gives you plenty of options in terms of furniture that you can place in front of it. From a sofa with earthy tones, to a navy-blue sofa, grey sofa or pale pink sofa, there’s a wealth of choice in terms of colour and style.
Using Yellow for a Traditional Style Room
The colour yellow can be used in a traditional or contemporary aesthetic, it’s just a case of choosing how you use it. Think of deep, rich shades of yellow for a traditional interior, on your wall or in fabrics for an armchair or sofa. Alternatively, a very pale yellow will also work well, creating a calm, inviting aesthetic. Bright yellows aren’t ideal for a traditionally styled room, working better within a contemporary décor.
Use Yellow for a Modern Feel
As mentioned above, using bright yellow for a pop of colour works wonders in a contemporary space but there’s also plenty of other shades to consider. For a more muted approach, an earthy yellow, paired with natural textures such as wood, leather and linen, will work well, and if you’re going for a more of a minimalist look, incorporate white into your colour palette, alongside other neutral shades.
Introduce Accent Pieces
An accent piece is a great way to introduce colour into your space without you having to commit to it across your interior. A yellow love seat, a mustard armchair or even a pale-yellow footstool would give you an introduction to this welcoming colour.
Add a Yellow Throw
A nice, easy, and budget-friendly way to add some yellow into your interior is a yellow throw for your sofa. It will give you an opportunity to experiment with different colours and materials and can immediately change the look and feel of your space.
Wall Art
When changing the look and feel of your interior, wall art is a great way to do it. From small touches of yellow to a larger piece, let your art bring some sunshine into your space.
Yellow Bedroom Ideas
From mustard bedroom ideas to pastel yellow, a yellow bedroom can be an inviting, cosy, warm space. From painting the walls yellow, to a feature wall with patterned wallpaper, pair your yellow walls with warm woods and ensure there’s plenty of white to provide a stylish contrast.
Decorating with Yellow for the Master Bedroom
As the place you retire to every night, the master bedroom needs to be a place of comfort and the right shade of yellow can create a calm and relaxing aesthetic. Choose pale, elegant yellows or deep, earthy shades, either on the walls, your headboard or in your accessories.
Decorating with Yellow for A Guest Bedroom
As a room that isn’t used on a daily basis, the guest bedroom is a place you can be a little more adventurous with your design. Depending on whether your décor is contemporary or traditional, don’t be afraid to try something bold – whether it’s a feature wall with patterned wallpaper, a yellow accent chair or a yellow bed to give a splash of colour to a neutral room!
Decorating with Yellow for a Kid’s Room
Children’s bedrooms are a place where you can be playful with your design and yellow is a colour that can play that part to perfection. From a stencil on the wall, to yellow curtains or yellow bedding, yellow is a great choice to create a fun and engaging aesthetic.
Add Yellow Through Bedding
Similar to a yellow throw, incorporating yellow through your bedding enables you to utilise this wonderful colour without overcommitting. And if you fall in love with it, it may give you the courage to look at other ways to make use of this colour!
Add Yellow through Bedroom Cushions, Mirrors and More
Yellow accessories add a wonderful pop of colour and can take a seemingly neutral aesthetic and inject some life into it. From mixing up your bedroom cushions, to a yellow blind, mirror or picture frames, yellow accessories are the perfect place to get started.
Order Free Samples
As yellow can make quite an impact on your décor, before making any big purchases, make sure to order some samples first and see it in situ in your space. At Darlings, you can order up to eight free samples delivered direct to your door, to help with that all-important yellow decision.
