Choosing the Right Yellow

Mother Nature does not have a hard time choosing beautiful yellows for her outdoor home. Unfortunately for many of us though, the right yellow is one of the most difficult colors to choose for the walls in your home.  For example, you see a beautiful photo in a magazine where the living room is painted a beautiful soft yellow.  You head to the paint store and after looking through all of the different yellows, you think you find the perfect color match.

  Ideal Home 

You paint the yellow on your walls, stand back and just cry because that soft yellow on the sample chip looks like a giant bright school bus just parked on your wall!  What happened?   With yellow especially, the color you see on the small sample is magnified 100 times in brightness and intensity when you put it on the wall.  And that is fine if you are looking for that primary yellow color. 

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 But most of us are looking for that soft yellow that is not too intense and that does not scream "yellow".  The color of yellow that most of us are searching for  is a muted or toned (meaning color + gray) yellow. This is a yellow that  has a grayish or neutral tone to them such as the colors below:

                   I have personally used all these yellow hues and they all are a soft yellow that looks a bit on the gold side.  None of these are bright yellows. I hope that you remember one of my most important painting tips and one of the best pieces of advice that I can pass on about choosing the right paint color! Remember how important it is to get that sample jar of yellow that you think matches that beautiful picture in your magazine and try it on your walls at home rather than investing in gallons of the color. You can save yourself both time and money and (hopefully) get that "perfect" yellow easier than you thought. Do you have a favorite yellow you would like to share?  Comments?If you need help choosing the perfect paint color for your home, contact me today!