“I was once told that wearing yellow makes people think you’re friendly,” Brooklyn-based Mya Gelber told Cup of Jo recently about her primary-colors-filled wardrobe. “So, I’ve always had yellow in my closet for interviews or moments where I want to come across as approachable.”
The same holds true for interiors: Add a dash of yellow, and boom: instant sunniness. Don’t believe us? Have a look and just see if you’re not cheered:
Above: A single yellow light in Beata Heuman’s Spirited London Home… (Photograph courtesy of The Modern House.)
Above: …and in A Villa Remodel on the Isle of Sikinos by Kapsimalis Architects. Photograph by Yiorgos Kordakis, styling by Ioli Chiotini, courtesy of Kapsimalis Architects (@kapsimalisarchitects).
Above: Spotted at The Waldoboro Inn in Maine: pale lemon floors.
Above: A yellow door at Little Mill Abergavenny: A Once-Upon-a-Time Holiday Cottage in Wales.
Above: No need to commit to painting a full piece of furniture: This vintage 1960s desk just has a butter-yellow top. Photography by Jonathan Hokklo, styling by Ashley Helvey, from Ses Sucreres and Hevresac, Two Subtly Stylish Hotels in Menorca, Spain.
Above: Yellow in the kitchen. (About that fixture: It’s the Grohe Essence Single-Handle Faucet.) Photograph by Jenn Verrier, courtesy of Fowlkes Studio (@fowlkesstudio), from Modern Design Meets the Center-Hall Colonial: A Washington D.C. House Gets a Bright New Guise.
Above: Bold yellow, armchair edition. Photography by Chris Mottalini, courtesy of BoND, from A Revived NYC Garret with a Space-Saving Bed in a Box, Before and After.
Above: Sometimes all that’s called for is a couple of beeswax candles. Photograph by Christian Harder (@christianharder) from Simple Good Things: 13 Ideas to Steal from a Shaker-Inspired Farm & Fermentory in the Catskills.
Above: A lounge spot in marigold, as seen in American Style in Marseille: Studio Classico Designs a Shaker-Inspired Bakery. Photography by Marvin Leuvrey, courtesy of Studio Classico (@studio_classico).
Above: A single throw pillow is all you need, per this quiet moment in Considered Things: A 1717 London Townhouse, Rescued from the Wrecking Ball. Photograph by Paul West (@consideredthings).
Above: Also per The Monica Hotel in Denmark.
Above: A yellow pot…
Above: …and French market bag in a French kitchen. Both photographs from Nomibis: Two French Shop Owners’ Whimsical, Always-Changing House in Reims.
Above: “I love a good loo in a photo, especially when it’s this color!”, Beata Heuman says on Instagram. Photograph by Simon Brown from Required Reading: ‘Every Room Should Sing,’ by Designer-of-the-Moment Beata Heuman.
Above: A yellow settee in a light-filled corner. Photograph courtesy of House of Bullet from This Is the House I’d Leave Amsterdam For”: A Family’s Airy, Springy 1893 Quarters in Haarlem.
Above: Yellow on yellow: a sink skirt and stripey tile. Inspiration from Bert & May Arrives in NYC (With Two New Encaustic Tile Ranges).
Above: An ochre sink skirt changes the room at Glebe House, A Guest House and Restaurant in Rural Devon. Photograph by George Chesterton and Olive Guest.
Above: Perhaps a yellow range? The answer was yes for a client who calls it their favorite color (though “I advocated for the marigold yellow enamel over a more lemon yellow,” says designer Penelope August). For more on this project visit Layers of History—and Color—in an Artist Couple’s 1828 Manhattan Townhouse. Photograph by Devon Banks, courtesy of Yun Architecture.
Above: In the case of Suzie de Rohan Willner of Toast, the yellow Aga came with the kitchen. Photograph by Rachael Smith from ‘Snippets from Our Lives’: At Home with Toast’s Suzie de Rohan Willner.
Above: Paint ceilings yellow for an unexpected jolt, se seen in Daring Color Ideas to Steal from the Finn Juhl House in Copenhagen…
Above: …and at Sågverket Möten Rum & Kök in northern Sweden. Photograph from 9 Ideas to Steal from the Scandi Summerhouse.
Above: A yellow curtain amplifies sunlight. Photograph courtesy of Atelier Vime (@ateliervime) from Atelier Vime in Brittany: An 18th-Century Childhood Home Lovingly Updated.
More color inspiration:
