Spot of Sun: Using Yellow Accents in the Kitchen

click thumbnails for larger pics

Taking to heart our readers' suggestions to add a dose of color to my modest galley kitchen renovation, I began sifting through their ideas for the perfect accent. I thought I had written yellow out of our culinary life forever after tiring of sunny walls in our last kitchen, but then I came across AB Chao's glorious kitchen redo , and my heart skipped a beat. Here's a peek into her incredible kitchen as well as into a few other blank canvas kitchens that rely on yellow for a punch of color...

FIRST ROW

• 1 You might remember AB Chao's awesome Louisiana house tour from a couple years ago. Well since then, she's made her pad even more fabulous. With the help of friend, Lori Andrews aka the 10 Cent Designer, her kitchen is just about as refreshing as a cool cup of lemonade on the beach.

• 2 It's amazing how just a few punches of color enliven the entire space.

• 3 A view of AB Chao's breakfast nook.

• 4 Another example of the power of yellow from Living Etc.

• 5 Even one poster has a big impact.

SECOND ROW

• 6 This is more color than we'd want to add in our own kitchen, but I love the bright shock of color.

• 7 Yellow in a country kitchen.

• 8 A simple dose of color.

(Images: 1-3: The 10 cent designer's photostream via flickr, 4: Living Etc., 5: House Beautiful, 6: Canadian House and Home, 7: Country Home, 8:Sunset Magazine )

Comments (11)

My dyslexia kicked in and, at first glance, I thought the headline read "Using Yellow Accidents in the Kitchen".

posted by Cupajo on March 18th 2009 at 12:10pm
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yellow accents in a white kitchen are so fresh and cheerful!

why are the comments disabled on lori's house tour?
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/house-tours/house-tour-lori-and-kens-view-with-a-room-075648

posted by thegeneral on March 18th 2009 at 12:47pm
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Does anyone know where you can get a similar island with 2 shelves?

posted by ahatton on March 18th 2009 at 2:11pm
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Love the AB Chao kitchen! I need to get some of those enamel skillets with the wooden handles... vintage Dansk, I'm guessing?

posted by RKN on March 18th 2009 at 3:38pm
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Yellow is a great color for a kitchen. In combination with white, it looks clean and sunny. Also looks great with some green or blue accents - blue is not the best color for a kitchen, though.

posted by bromelia on March 18th 2009 at 4:13pm
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I love yellow and white together!

posted by travislessness on March 18th 2009 at 4:46pm
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I really love yellow and am looking foward to adding yellow accents in my living room. Hey.. i might even paint the whole wall yellow like in #6.

posted by mvastudios on March 19th 2009 at 6:40am
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lol, thanks for not using the word "pop"! (I count "spot," "shock," "punch," "punch," "impact," and "dose"...)

posted by deidrel on March 19th 2009 at 12:06pm
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deidrel--it took a great deal of restraint :)

posted by LeahDC on March 20th 2009 at 6:15am
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I have an eggyolk-yellow wall in my pantry, and it makes me smile every time I open the door!

posted by Suzyn on March 20th 2009 at 12:49pm
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Yellow is a wonderful color for the kitchen. I painted my walls in a celadon/seafoam green, the molding in glossy white, and the cabinets in a lovely buttery soft yellow. I love it every time I look at it!

posted by kuroneko on March 23rd 2009 at 11:24am
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