Last week Gregory and Janel posted about Pantone's prediction of Mimosa being the "it" color in 2009. While we love the sophisticated look of Mimosa, we went for a more light and crisp yellow called Sparkler.
If Mimosa Isn't For You, Try Sparkler
We can't remember which item was the inspiration for pops of yellow in our space--the bright yellow footstool (in the background) or the paint color (it's been almost three years since purchasing both). What we do know is that we were challenged with a nook of hallway (which gets very little light) so we decided to paint the space yellow.
We wanted to punch it up a bit without going overboard and after much debate, decided on Sparkler. We were pleasantly surprised (and since it's such a small area where we're just passing through--we never get sick of it).
Then earlier this year, we received the best birthday gift ever--a washer/dryer combo. The mudroom became overwhelmingly cramped overnight (we used to be able to open the mudroom door to the back steps to let light in). So we decided to take the leftover Sparkler paint from Glidden to brighten up the small space. We often find ourselves washing dishes and being amazed how the yellow paint brightens up the rather dull mudroom.
What other shades of yellow have you found work well in your space?
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I tried painting my kitchen cabinets yellow for this same reason. Our kitchen has no natural light. The closest window is over 20 feet away in the living room. But painting the cabinets yellow made the kitchen look sickly rather than bright and fresh. Every day I look at them and wonder how to get the light, bright, beautiful yellow that looks so great in everyone else's home!! Am I using the wrong color light bulbs?
view sagekitten85's profile
I love it! My kitchen is a golden yellow and everyone says it's very bright and cheerful, despite having honey wood cabinets and dark counter tops. This brighter yellow looks great with all that clean white and your lovely floors.
view chottomotto's profile
sagekitten - if you need to brighten a room with no natural light, paint it white. end of story.
view Headzo's profile
hardly the end of story.
view outonalimb_2008's profile
Just experiment sagekitten85 - yellow is the way to go for dark gloomy rooms which is why it is so popular in Ireland and Scotland. Sounds like you need to go a LOT lighter. Try the Benjamin Moore yellow color strips, pick a yellow you like, go higher up the strip, then slap some up on a cupboard door. Then just wait until a yellow calls out "I'm the ONE!"
view Bo Placebo's profile
Thanks Headzo, that's the conclusion I've come to... not looking forward to repainting all the cabinets though :(
view sagekitten85's profile
Bo Placebo, that's pretty much what I did and it looked great on one cabinet (the cabinets were dark dark brown before). But when I painted them ALL yellow, it reflected an unpleasant color onto everything else. Maybe I will try a super light yellow that is almost white, but I'm wondering if it will still have the same effect. I would rather not have to paint them plain white but I also don't want to repaint them 3 more times!!
view sagekitten85's profile
Yellow will forever remind me of my best childhood friend's house (the carpeting and sofa), and not in a good way. Cheesy. I've only barely begun to wear it, and I just don't see painting my walls that color. Ever.
view whytephoenix's profile
I just painted my kitchen yellow. We have white cabinets and appliances and we opted to paint the boring landlord brown that was there before. It's a very sunny lemon yellow that I am still scared of (the boyfriend picked the colour). In the daylight the room is sunny and cheery, but at night, with our bad flourescent fixture, it gets a really ugly tone.
Yellow is a hard colour!
Before:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marmarsupial/2908133287/
After:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marmarsupial/3025545631/
view revolution9's profile
Nacho Cheese - Benjamin Moore
in my kitchen! It always looks the lights are on....in a good way!
view Kerith's profile
Using Behr Milkyway Galaxay this afternoon. Soft creamy yellow looks great against the fields of winter grass and in summer when everything is green, it looks like reflected sunlight.
view Kate (NC)'s profile
sorry but in a space truly without natural light, white is the best option.
i lived in a garden apartment and the previous tenants tried to "brighten" up the place with a really bright teal and it didn't work at all. we painted it bright white and it worked out fine. you can always go back and add color through furniture and accessories.
view Headzo's profile
How about both white and yellow? Agree that there can be too much yellow but white often comes out sterile and cold. Like the idea of cabinets and appliances being white but how about making the walls yellow and possibly the bottom cabinets. Neither color should be relied upon to do it all - white to brighten the space and yellow to lighten or cheer it up.
view Bo Placebo's profile
Hmm. I think having the bottom cabinets light yellow could work. There isn't much space for them to reflect on anything except each other (enclosed U-shaped kitchen), it's the top cabinets that are the problem. As far as painting the walls goes, our walls are made of cinder block and it just looks strange for them to be any color other than white.
Thanks to you both for your suggestions!
view sagekitten85's profile
I actually had the opposite problem - 10 foot ceilings and lots of white white walls and a skylight. The kitchen is all along one wall and on the opposite side I painted the wall with Behr Chickadee. I also added sheer curtains and threw christmas lights behind them. There's now a cheeful warm glow in the room.
view akangarooo's profile