Yellow moves into the spotlight in home decor

Published 5:04 pm Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Step aside, orange. It’s yellow’s turn to shine.

The past few years have seen greens and oranges in the home decor spotlight, but that’s about to change, as the primary colors blue and yellow muscle back into the forefront.

“Orange has started to run its course,” says Jack Bredenfoerder, president of Color Marketing Group, an international association of color design professionals.

As in the fashion world, with its punch of yellow in bangles, bags and high heels, the color often described as “sunny” and “energetic” is returning as a primary accent color in home design.

What we wear often determines how we decorate. “It’s in fashion now, then in our homes,” Bredenfoerder says.

The yellow he sees stepping off the runways is the shade’s calmer tones and combined with neutral colors. Yellow is especially attractive as an accent for whites, grays and black, although Bredenfoerder warns that too much black with yellow make a jarring contrast. Combining yellow with gray can create an air of sophistication.

With the changing seasons, now is the perfect time to think yellow, according to Sonu Mathew, an interior designer and senior manager of commercial and residential design with the paint company Benjamin Moore.

“You can use yellow as a bridge from the cooler colors of summer to the warmer colors of fall,” she says.

Give a room some punch with a yellow bowl, throw pillows, a slipcover or a bedspread. Or make it as simple as a bouquet of fresh yellow flowers.

Mathew even advises painting ceilings with a hint of yellow to create warmth in the room.

As an accent, yellow brightens a room, but a little goes a long way. The safest yellows are the creamy, calmer ones. Too much of a cheerful yellow can prove annoying.