Better Homes And Gardens 18 Stacked Glass Ball Lamp Base

colorful dining room with deep blue ceiling and yellow accents

Credit: Annie Schlechter

Yellow is the color of flowers, lemons, and sunshine. It offers fresh appeal in each of its many variations and adds cheerful brightness to interiors. Use these ideas for decorating with yellow to give any room an infusion of sunny color.

Yellow Decorating Inspiration

bright yellow, blue, and pink living room with patterned chairs

Look to a favorite fabric or piece of art for inspiration on how to decorate with yellow. In this living room, patterned armchairs featuring sky blue, burgundy, and yellow establish the color scheme. The pattern also helps dictate which colors should appear more prominently: Blue takes center stage on the matching sofas, while yellow and red appear more subtly through accent furniture and accessories.

Yellow Color Schemes

grey kitchen cabinets, yellow chairs

Credit: David A. Land

Yellow color schemes bring lively energy to rooms all over the house. The key is to strike the right balance between the sunny shade and grounding hues such as gray, brown, and other neutrals. In this kitchen, yellow chairs work with polished brass hardware to brighten up cloudy gray cabinetry.

Subtle Yellow Accents

white bedroom with yellow blanket

Credit: Anthony Masterson

Decorating with yellow, even in small doses, can quickly perk up a room. This bedroom receives an energizing jolt of color from yellow patterned bedding, but wide swaths of white and dusty blue accents on the wallpaper and pillows ensure the scheme still feels calm enough for sleeping. A fluffy area rug grounds the room and offers cozy texture underfoot.

Happy Yellow Color Scheme

colorful dining room with deep blue ceiling and yellow accents

Credit: Annie Schlechter

In bright shades, yellow pairs well with other happy colors, including pink and sapphire blue. In this dining room, lemon-yellow chair cushions mingle with a pastel pink wallcovering. Vibrant blue millwork on the coffered ceiling counter the warm colors. Mixing in plenty of white prevents the colorful combination from overwhelming.

Decorating with Yellow as a Neutral

living room with yellow chairs blue couch

Credit: Adam Albright

When applied in muted tones, yellow can act as a neutral. It's best to select a shade with subtle brown undertones, like the soft mustard color of these armchairs. Paired with white walls and neutral furniture, the yellow chairs blend into the background to let colorful pillows and bookshelf accessories shine.

Yellow Living Room

eclectic style room fireplace

Credit: Anthony Masterson

Elements such as stone, brass, and wood combine in this living room to create a layered, inviting design. The vibrant golden yellow seen in the painting next to the mantel repeats throughout the room on furniture, throws, and other art. A blue sofa and pillow introduce cooling contrast that tempers the rich wood tones and yellow accents.

Yellow Breakfast Nook

windows yellow breakfast nook tulip table bench

Credit: Richard Leo Johnson

A light-filled breakfast nook is the perfect candidate for a sweep of sunny yellow. Here, the color splashes across fabrics, furniture, wall art, window treatments, and even the light fixture. Pairing the dazzling hue with crisp white makes the space feel even brighter.

Colors that Go with Yellow

banquette nook with blue and yellow pillows

Credit: Laurie Black

Colors that go well with yellow often come from the cooler side of the color wheel. Shades of blue and green serve as crisp complements that make yellow stand out and appear even more vibrant. This window seat demonstrates the effect with a variety of turquoise and blue patterns mixed in with buttery yellow solids.

Gray and Yellow Bathroom

yellow bathroom accents

Credit: Richard Leo Johnson

Gray and yellow form a classic color combination that replicates the look of a partly cloudy sky. This bathroom starts with a neutral foundation of gray floors, off-white walls, and a charcoal patterned shower curtain. Bursts of sunny yellow come through on painted furniture, a small stool, and storage accessories inside the shower.

Yellow Bedroom Ideas

yellow patterned wallpaper bedroom patterned bedding

Credit: Ann VanderWiel Wilde

If you're looking for yellow bedroom decorating ideas with extra zing, pair yellow with purple. The two colors are direct opposites on the color wheel, which makes them complementary. To pull off the look, stick to muted and rich shades, and keep the colors consistent. In this bedroom, the same goldenrod yellow colors the wallpaper, bedspread, pillows, and ottomans. Touches of plum purple accent the bedding.

Yellow Color Combinations

yellow accent table and colorful living decor

Choose variations of the three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) for a bright, refreshing color scheme. Golden yellow, coral, and baby blue offer one no-fail combination. This living room incorporates a few stronger yellow elements to bring out the yellow tones in super-pale walls. Baby blue adds a touch of cool freshness, and coral offers a bit of warm boldness.

Electric Yellow Decorating Ideas

yellow bed with graphic black and white wall

Credit: Brie Williams

Graphic black-and-white patterns can take neon yellow up another notch. In this modern bedroom, hexagon wallpaper plays off the energizing yellow bedspread. The color palette is kept tight, and the wallpaper covers only one wall to ensure the energy doesn't become overwhelming.

Elegant Yellow Living Room

sitting room with agate lamps throw pillows yellow painting

Credit: Julie Soefer

Yellow shows off its elegant side when used on sumptuous materials and in constrained doses. In this yellow living room, silk pillows color a pretty daybed. The color travels to a pair of agate chunk lamps and the abstract painting overhead to balance the palette.

Eclectic Yellow Bathroom

rustic bathroom with yellow wallpaper tiled floor

Credit: David A. Land

Eclectic patterns and unexpected materials create a one-of-a-kind look in this yellow bathroom. Goldenrod medallion wallpaper pairs with gray trim and a concrete gray sink. Warm wood tones on the ceiling, mirror, and sink base draw out the golden tones of the wallpaper pattern, while black-and-white flooring rounds out the cool tones.

Yellow Bedroom Ideas

yellow bedroom with neutral furniture

Credit: Michael Partenio

Patterned wallpaper featured on just one wall of this yellow bedroom creates a dramatic focal point. Coating the rest of the walls with the same buttery hue as the wallpaper's background color ensures the space looks vibrant yet restful. Ivory, beige, and dark wood furnishings fade into the background, allowing the accent wall to truly shine.

Bold Yellow Wallpaper

bright pink desk and yellow wallpaper

Credit: Gordon Beall

A yellow-on-yellow lattice wallpaper makes this office space unforgettable. Paired with a bright pink desk and colorful accessories, the overall look nods to tropical locales. The vibrant colors work together because each one can be found in the fabric on the desk chair.

Yellow Accessories

blue room with yellow curtains and stools

Credit: Miki Duisterhof

Sunny yellow accessories in this room make the pale blue walls feel fresh and inviting. Two similar patterns are used within the room—one pattern in the yellow curtains and the other in the area rug. Because these patterns are both variations of squares and do not dominate the room, they combine without competing. Repeating the yellow from the curtains on the vanity stools lends continuity and cohesiveness to the space.

Yellow Kitchen Ideas

kitchen with yellow cabinets

Credit: James R. Salomon

When decorating with yellow, vary the saturations used in a room for a look that's sunny but not overly bright. In this kitchen, lower cabinets in saffron are eye-catching, but the upper cabinets in a blonde oak ensure the room doesn't become overwhelming. The backsplash tile picks up the hue of the lower cabinets and serves as a visual transition between the saturated lower cabinets and subtle uppers.

Yellow Bookshelf Display

yellow metal bookshelves

Credit: John Bessler

A trio of striking yellow bookcases adds visual appeal to a blank wall in this living room. The units provide a splash of playful color, and their open design creates a space that can be used for both storage and display. To create a pleasing arrangement, books are stacked both vertically and horizontally, and colorful decorative elements are placed throughout.

Yellow Dining Room

dining room with yellow rug

Credit: Werner Straube

A bold, geometric area rug in sunshine yellow brings the perfect amount of pattern to this dining room without detracting from the room's clean, modern aesthetic. The matching white chairs and table are outfitted with nailhead trim for an upscale look, while a turquoise and red chandelier adds color overhead. This added pop ensures the yellow rug doesn't feel out of place, as does repeating the yellow from the rug on the drapery trim.

Timeless Yellow Decorating Ideas

dining room with yellow accent wall

Credit: Tria Giovan

If you have yellow walls, the color of curtains you choose can set the tone for the rest of the room. Here, yellow walls combine with striking indigo ikat patterns to make a space that's trendy yet timeless. Yellow and blue form a classic color combination, but by using uncommon shades, such as ocher with indigo, the go-to pairing feels fresh. The rich yellow warms up the expanses of white in the dining area, making it even more welcoming.

Vintage Yellow Bathroom

bathroom with yellow walls and floor

Credit: James R. Salomon

This cheery bathroom is bathed in vintage style thanks to the furniture-style vanity, marble countertop, paneled wainscoting, and tiny hexagonal floor tiles. The pastel yellow walls and flooring blend well with the vintage styling and reinforce the warm and inviting feel. Replacing some of the yellow floor tiles with white tiles adds custom detailing to the floor.

Brown and Yellow Color Scheme

bedroom with yellow accents

Credit: Edmund Barr

Lemon yellow accents bring life and vibrancy to this chocolate brown and white bedroom. Pattern comes into play with the trellis fabric on the headboard and window treatments. White bedding makes the room feel clean and uncluttered. Sticking with a consistent shade of yellow helps ensure the design doesn't sway into chaotic territory.

Yellow Color Scheme Tips

beige room with yellow headboard

Credit: Jeff Johnson

One of the best qualities of yellow is that it goes beautifully with tons of other colors, including white, orange, green, pink, blue, brown. To build the perfect yellow color scheme, pick one or two shades of yellow to use as accents, plus a dark neutral and doses of white for a balanced color palette. If you'd like to bring in more color, look to hues that you'd find alongside yellow in the garden, such as green, purple, or red.

Yellow Ceiling Color

kitchen with yellow walls and ceiling

Credit: Anthony Masterson

Painting this kitchen didn't stop at the walls. A lighter shade of yellow was applied to the ceiling for added visual presence as a sunny cap on the already cheery kitchen. Yellow is repeated in the tone of the light oak flooring, creating a cohesive look from floor to ceiling.

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