Cool Color Combo: Mustard & Pink
You guys. It’s February, the days are dark, and I really need some color in my life right now. I saw the photo above pop up on my Pinterest feed, and it was an immediate panacea to my mood: rich mustard yellow and pale mauve-pink is an unexpected, invigorating, and straight-up cheerful combination. Read on for more examples and ideas for this surprising duo.
In Leslie Williamson‘s bedroom, above—featured in Freunde Von Freunden—a pink bedspread and mustard velvet pillows are juxtaposed with crisp white sheets and a dark work of art.
In an image similar to the lead one—this time by Mr. Hasselbeck on Instagram—a pink bedspread is kept from feeling too twee by the addition of bold saffron pillows.
Although the colors themselves may seem feminine and soft, the combo of yellow and pink can be a rich, intense look. A velvet sofa against a saturated pink wall by Fired Earth proves it.
One trick to keep the look from being OTT is to let one shade dominate. In this living room by Paper & Stitch, the yellow sofa is much larger and visually heavier than the pink cushion, so they’re not fighting each other.
The same principle works even when one of the shades is repeated in the room. Neither the pink table, cushion, mirror frame, or candlestick are all that “heavy” by themselves, but together they tell a strong (pink) story in this room from Fjeldborg, while the mustard cushion is just the icing on the cake. The lesson: choose one shade to repeat, not both.
Here’s an example where the color is more balanced—there’s a lot of each shade going on—and what keeps it from being too crazy is the amount of white in this room from House & Garden.
Paired with white plaster and grey timber, the combo looks surprisingly modern in the flagship Rachel Comey store in SoHo, as featured on KNSTRCT. I can see this color-block look working in a bedroom or even a really minimal living room: mustard drapes, pink sofa, and lots of white and grey elsewhere.
Don’t think that you can’t incorporate other shades into this look, either. If you love color, go all-out by layering it. Greens, blues, and purples look great with the pink-mustard combo, as this vibrant home in House & Garden proves.
How do you feel about a mustard and pink palette? Would you use it—or have you?