How to Choose the Right Yellow Paint

The soft yellow on a chip may seem brighter when it covers a wall.

Yellow is a warm, rich or zingy paint color for your walls. The shade you choose determines what yellow communicates about your room. Bright yellow can give a room vibrancy and energy; a soft, golden yellow conveys a sense of antiquity and wealth. Choose a soft butter yellow for the walls of baby’s nursery. Evaluate your furnishings and how the room will be used as you select the right yellow for your walls.

Instructions

1. Realize that yellows on those little paint chips are often deceptive. What looks like a delicate, buttery yellow may look like school bus yellow on your walls. When choosing yellows, use restraint.

2. Gather different color chips so you can compare them and really see the underlying tone. Like all colors, yellow has undertones. Some have a red-orange cast, some more green, some a hint of brown. This will make a big difference to your finished project.

3. Spread the paint chips out in the room you are going to paint. Look at the colors in the room. If there are a lot of cool colors like greens, blues and grays choose a cool yellow for the walls. If the palette is warmer with spicier red and brown tones choose warm yellow for the room.

4. Pay attention to your lighting at night. While natural daylight is cooler and won't make yellow paint so intense, most incandescent bulbs have a very yellow cast. At night, this will intensify the paint color.

5. Invest in a test quart or 2-ounce tester and put the paint directly on the wall. Then, live with it for a day or so. This is cheap insurance against buying expensive paint, doing all the work only to decide you hate the result.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are going for a very strong yellow, ask the store how well it will hide. Most paints in a "neutral" or "accent" base will require up to six coats of paint.

• If the trim in your room is painted off-white, be aware that it may look gray or dingy next to yellow walls. Pure white or a very pale creamy white looks best. Hold the paint chip up to your woodwork to see how it looks.

References

• The Essential Guide to Decorating; Vinny Lee
• Smashing Magazine; Color Theory for Designers; Cameron Chapman