How To Make Yellow Your Accent Color

If you want to bring a ray of sunshine into your home, yellow is the obvious choice for color. Bright and cheerful, yellow will catch your attention and add energy or warmth to any room, but it can also be overpowering if used too much. Here are some tips on how to make the most of yellow as your accent color in your home:

Creating a Yellow Accent Wall

One wall, one bright color. An accent wall is meant to stand out; and what better color to do that with than yellow? Accent walls are designed to capture your attention, usually to a focal point like an art piece or fabulous fireplace mantel.

You can use various shades of yellow to brighten the room and highlight your showcase feature.

The shade of yellow you should use will depend on the rest of room. Here are a few factors that can help you determine the shade of yellow to use for your accent wall:

Large or small room

In a large, spacious room, you can go as bright as you want with your yellow accent wall.

But in a smaller room, you may want to choose a softer yellow to avoid overpowering the minimal space, even on an accent wall.

If it is a bathroom or small office, consider a butter-yellow that will add warmth without overtaking the limited space.

Contrasting colors

The other colors in the room can help you choose your shade of yellow.

The point of an accent wall is to catch your attention, so contrasting to the colors in the room is preferable.

You can choose a shade of yellow that is opposite on the color wheel than your other walls.

Light blues can be contrasted by an orange-yellow, or neutral earth tones can bring out a brilliant banana yellow.

Harmonizing colors

If you have other shades of yellow in the room, you can go with darker yellow for your accent wall without overpowering.

The monochromatic scheme of lighter yellows with an accent wall that is a few shades darker can be cozy without overpowering the room.

If an entire wall of yellow is too much for your taste, you can still use yellow to bring attention to your focal point. A wall painted with a yellow design can have a similar effect without the shock of an entire palate of this bright color.

Ideas for Adding Energy with Yellow

Yellow is invigorating, which makes it a perfect color for creating an energetic vibe in certain rooms.

While it may not be an ideal choice for your bedroom or meditation room where you want to relax, consider yellow for rooms where you want to be stimulated.

Some ideas for adding a spark of yellow in your home:

Dark rooms without light

If you have a room that tends to be dark and dull, liven it up with yellow accents.

You can use bright yellow trim with white or vice versa for a dark room that needs some painted sunshine.

Yellow ceilings

Instead of an accent wall, consider an accent ceiling.

A bright yellow ceiling can bring energy down from above in an office, kitchen or workout room where you want to feel invigorated.

Backdrop for golden wood

If you have a room with plenty of oak or other golden wood pieces, yellow can be a great backdrop and accent to bring out the flecks of sunshine in the wood.

Consider yellow walls with white trim to bring out the beauty of the light wood.

Accent cabinets or doors

You can bring a bolt of light to your entrance by painting your front door bright yellow.

If you want to brighten a kitchen or bathroom, try painting the doors on cabinets a sunshine yellow.

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Keep in mind that certain colors can work well with yellow, especially contrasting colors.

Certain shades of blues and purples can be used with yellow to subdue the brightness.

A purple-gray room with a yellow accent wall can be stunning but be careful not to combine bright shades of yellow and dark contrasting colors too much in the same room.

ou can go darker on your blue or purple, but then pair it with a softer yellow.

We have experienced painters who can paint your yellow accent wall, ceiling, or add contrasting colors on your opposing walls. You can revitalize your kitchen, office or entrance with a spark of yellow.