12 yellow living room ideas to brighten up your lounge
Here are 12 ways to introduce yellow into your home, from bright accents through accessories to bold colour drenching.
Bright and beautiful, a yellow interior invites the freshness and vibrancy into the home. As a colour option, yellow has many tones, ranging from bright sunshine tones to earthy tones and light, understated tones.
Enter interior design and colour psychology - yellow is a great interior colour that can help evoke the freshness and liveliness of the season. When it's bright and bold, it’s a top pick for dopamine decor if you want to inject joy and cheerful vibes. If you’re looking for a lighter tone, the trending butter yellow may be right up your alley.
Thanks to its versatility, its yellows’ wide range of hues are sure to provide. Without further ado, here are 12 ways to introduce yellow into your home, from bright accents through accessories to bold colour drenching.
1. Experiment with small pops of yellow
Whenever considering adding a new colour to your home, it's always a good idea to walk before you run. For instance, even a small canary yellow plant pot works to instantly light up a pastel hued room. Fresh yellow flowers require even less commitment, and are a nice natural touch for any space.
If you are new to using yellow in the home, start off small and get a feel for how it works for you. Less expensive accessories or soft furnishings such as cushions, vases and throws are a great place to begin.
2. Explore playful touches of yellow interior design
If you’re feeling good about the sunny hue, the next step is to expand its presence in your home. Look for design features that can be accentuated with a splash of yellow paint, like a door archway, an alcove or even on the insides of cabinets.
A crafty idea would be to paint an alcove in the living room to create a stylish focal point. The sunny accent goes well with wooden accents and live greenery to promote a feeling of the outdoors.
3. Move on to yellow furniture
Vibrant, bright yellow can add a wow factor when used against the backdrop of monochrome decor and makes a real style statement.
Then bring it up a notch by investing in larger, long-lasting accessories like furniture. For example, update a wooden chair by giving a few chairs a coat of lemon yellow paint. White and yellow is a safe pairing to try for a fresh springtime feel. Ground the look with white walls which provide a textural warmth.
4. Pair yellow with natural textures
Yellow is a naturally uplifting colour we associate with joy and optimism. It’s also considered an earth tone, which makes it easy to bring in other earth tones and natural textures. Wood tones and textures like oak or walnut go beautifully with yellow and bring out its earthy undertone.
Bring in wooden accents through furniture, like a wooden coffee table, sideboard or even the sofa legs. A jute rug or rattan armchair are other complementary accents. Aside from wood, choosing soft cotton or linen upholstery will soften the space and create a light and airy vibe.
5. Dedicate one area completely to yellow
Want to brighten up a corner in your living room? A honey yellow reading area helps reflect light plus encourages creativity and imagination, perfect for delving into your next novel. The warm and inviting hue goes particularly well with oak tones to create a cosy, easygoing ambience. Add depth and texture with burnt ochre pillows, throws for snuggling and a plant or two for fresh air while you read.
A good tip is to find the tone that complements your room's furniture or fittings the most - muted, earthy yellows like mustard and ochre have a brown undertone and so look great alongside natural materials such as bamboo and oak.
6. Introduce yellow patterned wallpaper
Besides paint, choosing yellow wallpaper is a cheerful way to switch things up. It’s a sunny way to experiment with yellow – think striped wallpaper, marigold yellow florals or an earthy yellow tone that will ground the room.
Before starting, think about what type of wallpaper suits your decor style the most. Striped wallpaper or floral patterns go best with classic or understated interiors. If you want to go maximalist, choose a busy pattern or print that will brighten the space and create maximum impact.
7. Choose velvet for a glamorous feel
Yellow’s energetic vibe goes well with velvet’s sumptuous texture. Choosing velvet as the sofa upholstery pick will give the living room a luxurious feel. Velvet’s texture will bring out yellow’s rich depth and make it feel more vibrant.
To prevent the space from feeling too bright, pick accents that will soften or balance out the space. This can be with dark wood accents, indoor greenery or a neutral tone throw or pillows.
8. Embrace a yellow wall
From a pale parchment yellow to a bold, earthy mustard, yellow is a versatile wall colour option that can work for most styles. Consider the ambience you want to create with yellow. Softer, muted tones are calming and relaxing; while brighter yellow tones will energise your home.
For example, paint your way to a calm and gentle living room with a soothing parchment yellow, and complete the look with light wood furniture and equally muted colours like grey and ivory. But if you love hanging plants and want an urban jungle kind of vibe, let mustard yellow’s earthy undertones complement your greens and draw out their best side.
9. Go light with butter yellow
The butter yellow trend, with its warm yellow tone, works as a 'new neutral' as it complements light brown and off-white tones while also stylishly contrasting with sky blues and deep greens. The amount of light your room receives should also determine what butter yellow shade you choose. If you have a dark living room, a butter yellow tone with a lighter undertone will help perk up the room, while a living room with lots of sunlight will benefit from a more honey undertone.
10. Brighten a space with a yellow ceiling or light fixture
When in doubt about where else you could try out a yellow tone, look up. A yellow ceiling instantly perks up a room for a lighthearted and airy feel. For those who are in an experimental mood, a striped ceiling may just be what you want.
Another idea is to look for a yellow light fixture with a metallic finish that will brighten up a room with both light and colour. The striking contrast of yellow up high makes the space seem taller while showing off your daring personality. Choosing a more muted yellow tone helps the yellow light make more of an impression as a feature colour.
11. Softer spaces can use yellow and grey
Comfortable and contemporary, yellow and grey is a power couple that just works, every time. Grey living rooms can be enhanced by bright, vibrant pops of yellow, which complement the cool tones, adding extra personality.
Little pops of vibrant butterscotch yellow easily perk up a grey setting while bringing in warmth and personality. Vary the yellow tone through different layers, like in the form of a velvet sofa or hanging artwork. In a modern, minimalist setting, the warm undertones of yellow does wonders to balance a potentially cold grey setting.
12. Go all out with yellow on yellow colour drenching
Not for the faint of heart, a yellow-on-yellow colour drenching moment makes a bold statement. As with all palettes that use the same colour abundantly, the trick is to have varying shades and a good mix of texture. Use darker tones to accentuate wall features, yellow flowers for a textural break and a grounding yellow tone on the walls for visual interest. Meanwhile, a little cheat is to add hints of gold - which is essentially a dark, metallic yellow!
FAQs
Is yellow paint outdated for a living room?
No, yellow isn’t an outdated choice for a living room. Trends have shifted from bright yellow tones to earthier or more muted shades of yellow, like ochre, butter yellow and mustard yellow.
Does yellow make a room look bigger?
Yes, yellow can make a room feel bigger. Go for lighter and creamier tones of yellow as it will reflect the natural light and make the space feel light and airy.
What shade of yellow is best for a living room?
Determine the direction of your living room. North-facing rooms are cooler and receive less natural light while south-facing rooms are receive a lot of natural light. East and west-facing rooms depend on the time of day, so this should be taken into account with what yellow tone you pick.
Do green and yellow go together in a living room?
Yes, they do. Pair green and yellow together for a vibrant and fresh contrast in the living room. This colour pairing works well with tropical-inspired decor and mid-century modern interiors.
By following these yellow living room ideas in our guide, you now have the tools to create your very own vibrant yellow space. For more colour ideas on how to decorate your living room, check out our dopamine decor guide and brown living room ideas.
