A black and white scheme could be a great start...you could also try going with a fun accent color such as a teal, or hot pink.if you make these changes, it would really make the yellow more neutral.

Not enough info. What's your style?

For the record, I don't find the color in this space to be "vintage" at all.

It's such a cute place. Neutral doesn't have to mean boring. I think this place has a lot of potential. I agree with Patrick though, I think you'll have to figure out what style you're going for in order to solve your problem.

Without knowing what you have here are a few links that might help.

This is a modern set up that you might like. A sheep skin rug might not work on the light colored carpet as well but you could use some other area rug. Angela Adams has new flat woven rugs that are beautiful, I think. www.angelaadams.com.

http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/home-and-garden/articles/1207-habitat/?print=1

Here's another set up, probably too grown up but I love the mustard yellow sofa.

http://hookedonhouses.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/photo-3-craftsman-living-room-painted-white.jpg

In addition to AT try taking a look at Decor Pad for inspiration.

https://www.decorpad.com/relatedPhotos.htm?photoId=5729

I agree.. black and white in bold, graphic proportions.

Whatever vibe route you go, you need one or two deep and VIBRANT versions of that yellow somewhere in the room... a yellow lacquer coffee table, or two yellow Chinese chairs or two yellow ceramic lamps... something to make it look like YOU picked the wall color. Own it, girl!

Then you can pretty much do anything else you want.

Personally, I'd start with a sun-washed yellow and pale Oriental carpet. Something with golds and tans and creams and pale walnutty browns, which would also make it look like you picked not only the wall color, but the wall-to-wall too. Then still do the "punctuation mark" of an almost-school bus yellow somewhere in the room.

Also, use the whites already in the room. Bring the white down into the room and again, the space becomes all yours. Like two white bamboo-style side chairs that work as occasional chairs in your living room now, and as side chairs in your next home.

And pick furniture that will have a life past this first (GORGEOUS) space. DON'T skimp on a sofa. Buy right, and it will be the only sofa you need for at least ten years.

Again, another space I'd LOVE to decorate!

Is it a fresh paint job? Have you asked landlord if you can paint over it? Sometimes, if you don't pick too bold a color, landlords are willing to let a tenant change wall colors. Offer that you would pay for paint and let him ok your choice(s) beforehand. Or even just painting one wall. Dunno. I like the color but a whole apt?

I totally agree with patrick above. When you're stuck with something, just go with it. Make it look intentional and you will hate it much less. Maybe even love it. Good luck!

I think that the color looks pretty neutral, and once you start adding your own pieces to it it will brighten and liven up the space. What a great place to work with to!

dwelement is right once you just go with what you have and play with it you just might start to love it.

The last apartment my husband and I lived in was this taupe color that we absolutely hated and begged the landlord to let us paint over, but he would not let us. Once we settled in and hung our art and brought a lot of color to the space we loved it so much that when we recently bought a house I was running all over town trying to find a paint swatch to match so that I could paint out new house that color!

First off: I covet your built-ins.

My main suggestion is to decorate as if the walls were white. Don't be intimidated by this color-- it's neutral enough not to get in the way of whatever decorating ideas you have.

Based on the style of the door and the shape of the side windows, it looks like this is a Victorian-style house. Consider bringing in some Victorian-looking furnishings, like a gilded fireplace screen, botanical prints, or a tufted sofa. You can mix these up with more modern pieces, or go whole hog with Oriental rugs and the like. Definitely get a rug of some variety to break up that white carpet.

I hope you'll update us when you have the place decorated! That's always the most fun.

I second cuminafterall! The built-ins are fabulous. I think you'll find that the color will function more like a neutral, so just do what you feel. If you get everything in your space and still don't like the color, ask to paint - I think most landlords are okay as long as you let them okay the colors first - that's what we've done with ours. Maybe just try to pick lighter colors (but not pastels...)

Not a fan of the black and white and yellow idea. Maybe a drab color like olive green would make the walls seem less dirty. The white and yellow seem to be in a competition to see who can look dingier. My bathroom was originally a pale blue and it looked terrible because the tub, toilet, and sink were all a bone color. I painted the walls the color of chocolate milk and it made everything else seem a little brighter and cleaner.

Congratulations! The architecture of the space is lovely, fireplace, built-ins, the doors, and baseboards!

I agree about approaching the landlord, perhaps they will agree to a shade of creme, or white which will be far easier to work around.

I for one envy your wall colors. My landlords put some strange wallpaper choices in at some point. I'm going to try and convince them to let me change it over the summer. It never hurts to ask.

Why not add a deeper yellow in the same family, accented with grays, silvers and hints of black? It's a youthful, contemporary look and I know places like Ikea and Target have accessories in those colors right now.

I think a pale yellow complemented by gray is the perfect soft vintage color combo.

Also slate blue is a nice complement, though not as vintage in feel.

We spent two years in our condo with the main room painted with a similar pale yellow, before we could agree on a more definitive color scheme (and the Pepto-Bismol pink bedroom needed more immediate care!)

While it's not an exciting color, it really works as a warm neutral, so you can treat it as a warm beige.

I think reading AT too much (esp. before even having your own apt.) can convince you that changing everything is the ideal, and everything else is merely a compromise. Your apartment is LOVELY - even the wall color! Really, you win BIG time with this place. Now, you get to (slowly) choose furniture and accessories that you love and that will last through the years. Enjoy!

Rugs and curtains will bring a lot of color to the space.... And don't forget art! Maybe some cool old advertising or propaganda posters....

My first apartment was the exact same colour. It looked like a yellow trying to be white but just came across as dirty pus (sorry). The apartment had just recently been painted but I spoke to my landlord and she agreed to let me paint if she approved my colour choices and if I paid for it myself. I repainted the entire apartment and never looked back!!! It definitely doesn't hurt to ask.

Great apartment! Wonderful bones. I would be very tempted to go pretty traditional with this place, if it were me.

If you stick with a strong, moderately saturated warm palette, the wall color will become a harmonious, invisible part of the whole. I'm thinking cinnabar reds, russet browns, warm olive greens, and possibly mid-gold tones. Don't forget curtains for those windows -- that will definitely affect how much you do or don't see the wall color. A bold print will make the walls fade back.

Alternatively, pale yellow looks dead fabulous with a nautical color scheme -- gloss white, navy and/or pale blue, tan, pops of red and butter yellow. Particularly striking if you can work in a cabana-striped pairing of one of the colors with white. Sand-and-white or pale blue-and white is fresher and more low-key. Navy-and white is more explicitly nautical. The advantage to a nautical or beachy color scheme is that all those fabulous white woodwork built-ins would work with the color scheme.

A third thought - the wall color would also harmonize well with a cottage-style color scheme: painted wood furniture in light, sagey and spring greens, white wicker chairs, and
lots of mixed chintz and stripe prints in coordinating colors. Particularly striking might be chintzes that mix this year's hot color combo of deep orange, cerise pink, and spring green into a ground of white, but anything with a white ground will keep the place looking fresh and airy.

Or, fourth thought, take a look at some books on Gustavian period Swedish design -- another sprightly and airy approach to decorating, with a rather different furnishing sensibility, that would still take advantage of that wall color.

Thanks to everyone for their input! I completely agree with basically every comment--the wall color does tend to have a "dingy" feel, but the more comfortable I get there, the more I think it's charming. I'll try to decorate in a way that lets it speak for itself.

I've been planning some bold yellow accents for some time now; and beyond that, it's nice to be reassured that the walls are neutral enough to accommodate lots of palette choices.

I'll definitely be uploading some "after" shots when I feel like the place is ready. :)