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16 Ways to Decorate with Yellow

From buttercup to gold, discover how to add instant cheer to your home

Sunset
1 /16 Thomas J. Story

Modernizing a classic look

Going for a slightly bolder shade of yellow paint keeps this antique-filled kitchen feeling fresh.

2 /16 Andrea M. Gómez

Bright spot

Turn an under-the-stairs nook into a focal point with a marigold painted chest and a vase filled with green foliage.

3 /16 Thomas J. Story

Contemporary glam

Bright yellow is like a vitamin C shot for a room. It makes plain white look modern and crisp. Use it in at least three places so it doesn’t look random. Black makes the yellow-and-white combo sexy.

4 /16 Thomas J. Story

Heath-tiled kitchen

Flush-mounted lights on the soffit and under the cabinets show off hand-tooled yellow Heath tiles on this kitchen wall. The soft gray walls and mushroom-colored concrete counters subtly complement the tile.
5 /16 E. Spencer Toy

Burst of sunshine

A sunny yellow paint, Benjamin Moore’s Soleil (AF-330), paired with white furnishings creates youthful cheer in this girl’s room. Collage art from Petit Collage and curtain fabric from Sunbrella add bold pops of color. White floral decals from BLIK Surface Graphics are easy to apply and remove, allowing you to add instant, affordable art to any wall with vinyl graphics.

6 /16 Jeffery Cross

Quick fix

Add a modern blast of color anywhere in your home with a yellow porcelain stool.

7 /16 Thomas J. Story

Cheerful backdrop

A yellow accent wall adds light to this kitchen while serving as a nearly-neutral backdrop for a colorful collection of often-used items grouped together for a visual display on top of an antique cabinet.

8 /16 Thomas J. Story

Playing off cool tones

A cool gray paint on the wall—this one has a touch of blue—looks crisp in most lights and serves as a solid base for bolder touches like the yellow elements shown here.

9 /16 Thomas J. Story

Turning up the glitzAdd glitz

Use gold leaf over fireplace brick. Metallics make almost any palette more dynamic. Gold leaf, from $10/18 sheets; michaels.com

10 /16 Thomas J. Story

Retro chic

In place of a headboard, this room's designer covered the wall with an eco-friendly obeche-zebrawood composite from Brookside Veneers, giving the room a retro--yet hardly kitschy or old-fashioned--feel.

11 /16 Artwork by Kaypee Soh

Touch of the tropics

Beautiful artwork can come at a reasonable price, and serves as an easy way to add color to any room. This Plumeria print by Kaypee Soh is a perfect example.

12 /16 Thomas J. Story

Cozy patio

Painting this patio overhang a sunny yellow not only draws attention to the architectural feature, it also makes the space feel more intimate.

13 /16 Thomas J. Story

Versatile gems

The school-bus yellow metal stools add instant fun. Designed for indoor-outdoor use, these lightweight seats can follow the party wherever it goes.

14 /16 Thomas J. Story

Mixing old & new

In a bungalow remodel, the living room kept its original paneling, box beam ceilings, and built-in bookcases, but got a face-lift courtesy of Danish modern furniture and a fresh coat of a cheery yet not overpowering color.

15 /16 Jennifer Martiné

Harvest gold hues

Orange-striped blades of grass, apricot-tinged leaves with purple undersides, and matching gold containers make for autumn-inspired pots that wake up an entry or yard.

16 /16 Thomas J. Story

Autumn jewels

Striped yellow fall pumpkins lend a lighthearted twist to the traditional autumn palette. Combine them with yellow Iceland poppies, kumquats, and grapefruits in a sunlit space; leave citrus leaves and twisted pumpkin stems intact for a just-picked feel.