When we renovated our last house - a mid-century cottage - I painted our west-facing snug a vibrant yellow, and it was hands down the best thing we did in that house. When the sun shone, it was cheerful and bright, but it was at nighttime when it really made us happy. Yellow is not really considered a cosy colour, but with proper ambient lighting, picking up warm undertones, it is, in my opinion, unparalleled.
Now we’re in our current renovation, and I’ve been desperate to recreate the joy we found with our bright yellow room, but nowhere has seemed quite right in our three-year endeavour. However, we’ve just finished transforming a dated, damp kitchen into a guest room and guess who just finished painting it yellow!
Painting any room yellow can feel like a bit of a gamble, and you have to really match the pigments and undertones to each room, depending on the type of natural light it will get throughout the day. But if we’ve seen anything over the last few years is that we shouldn’t be decorating for guests, or even potential buyers down the road, we should utilise bold paint ideas in our homes because, quite simply, they’re ours, we’re lucky to have them, and they should make us happy.
Choosing the right paint brand and colour
After renovating pretty much constantly for six years (on two different houses) I have every paint swatch, sample and tester known to man. While there are certainly elements of a house you can cheap-out on, I really don’t think you can, or should, with paint. And that’s not to say all high-end brands have worked out for me. In fact, I was burned when painting our open plan space and regret it every time I try to wipe off scuff marks and it flakes away.
As our room is fresh lime plaster we had an extra element of needing a paint that lets the walls breathe. Unlike cavity walls, solid stone walls need to let moisture in and out properly so damp doesn’t build up. This includes everything from the mortar, plaster and paint finishes.
The room itself used to be our kitchen and was previously painted in a very pale buttery yellow which made everything feel quite… sickly? The tone for the natural light from the east and south-facing windows was all wrong and it only brought out the cold tones throughout the day.
We chose Edward Bulmer’s Naples Yellow as it is one of the few emulsion paints that is suitable for lime plaster and because it was a compromise between my partner and me - I wanted a warm yellow that looked cosy with just lamps on and they wanted a sunny colour that would reflect the lovely morning light the room receives. The room will also be my home office once I get my desk sorted out, so something that would wake me up and inspire productivity and creativity was a must.
'Yellow is a powerful tool in colour theory, naturally associated with optimism and energy,' explains interior designer, Paula Morrison. 'British natural light can notoriously lean cold and grey, but an earthy, historic shade like Naples Yellow acts as a surrogate sun, radiating warmth during the day and transforming into a rich, cocooning mustard under artificial lighting at night.'
To prepare the lime for painting, I used a 10:2 ratio of the paint to water as the ‘mist coat’ and applied all of the paint by hand with a natural bristle brush. Although you can use some rollers, I found the brush was a little faster and easier to apply the paint to the rougher texture. However, I stupidly thought that during the heatwave, when our village was the hottest in the UK at 38ºC putting the real coats on the room was a good idea. It took me about four days simply because I would overheat really quickly from moving so much and needed to take so many breaks. Never again!
Matching complementing colours
Yellow is a bold colour, especially for a spare room, and pairing it with pale colours for the wood trim or furniture just doesn’t work.
'Yellow is incredibly versatile and I would have great fun pairing it with pinks, greens, blues, and warm oranges – think of a joyful summer garden in full bloom, with climbing roses, lavender blues, fresh greens and pops of orange. Nature rarely gets colour wrong,' advises interiors expert Wendy Morrison.
'Personally, black is perhaps the only colour I would use sparingly alongside bright yellow,' she continues. 'But colour is deeply personal, and everyone responds differently. The key is layering with texture, pattern, florals and treasured pieces to create warmth, depth and personality.'
We chose a red-undertoned brown, Marmelo by Farrow and Ball, as our window trim painted in a high gloss to counter the extreme matt of the lime plastered walls. In my opinion, it looks delicious, and if I could paint my entire house this colour, I would.
From here, I paired terracotta bedding and dark-toned furniture that walks the line between cottage-ey and mid-century, like the rest of our home.
What is it like to live with?
Well, as we only painted a few weeks ago, it’s hard to say if we will regret it down the line but right now I absolutely love it. I’m so glad we went for it and chose to paint the ceiling in yellow, too. The low ceilings would probably have looked even lower had we split with a traditional white.
As with our dark red bathroom, I thought visitors were not going to like this room at all, but we’ve actually had some great responses. I think, especially for a spare room, having something that feels different or bolder is a nice change. That being said, my Mum has warned she will be bringing her sun glasses next time they’re stopping by, which I can’t tell if I’m supposed to take as a condemnation.
I can’t wait to get a few things on the wall to lean into the textures of the lime plaster and the brightness of the paint colour.
Get the look
