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EXPLORING WALL COLOR: THE WARM TONES Yellow and Gold



http://www.cotedetexas.blogspot.com/

Standing in front of the display of hundreds of paint chips at your local paint or hardware store, is NOT the place to start when selecting paint colors for your home.   


 Paint is the most versatile element of your interior design and it is available in thousands of colors.  The paint color for your room should be the thing you choose last, after your carpet, curtains, upholstery and other fabrics have been selected. Once you have your fabrics decided, you can choose which of the many paint colors available might be best suited to your other furnishings.  It's much easier to find a paint color to compliment your decor than to find a fabric or sofa color that will go with your wall color.   By that time, you will have already decided a couple of things - whether you want your room to be in warm tones or cool tones.

THE WARM TONES
Yellows/Golds

Before putting a creamy gold on our first home's living room walls, the conversation with my husband went something like this: 
"We need some color in here" (me). 
"What's wrong with white walls?  White goes with everything". (him)
"Color would warm it up" (me)
"It will make it darker, white makes things lighter" (him)
"I think we should do soft yellow or gold on the walls" (me)
"Yellow? Gold? It will look small, white makes things look bigger" (him)

apartmenttherapy.com
I don't give up easily.  My next plan was to tear pages out of magazines
showing beautiful rooms with soft yellow or gold walls.  
The conversation:
"Honey, do you like this room?" (me)
"Yes, very much." (him)
"How about this room, do you like it?" (me)
"Yes, I do like it.  It looks really nice." (him)
"And this one?" (me)
"Very nice, too." (him)
"Honey, what color are the walls in these pictures?" (me)
"Okay.  Okay.  I see your point. We'll paint the walls." (him)
Arent visual aids wonderful?

Yellow
the name conjures up delicious thoughts of Cream, Honey, Butter, Lemon, Candlelight, Honeysuckle, Sunflower, Mustard, Topaz and Citron.
nothing warms a room faster


Benjamin Moore (Henderson Buff)

 Here are but a few of the yellow/gold  hues available through Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore (Seashell) a warm cream

Benjamin Moore (Chestertown Buff)

Restoration Hardware's 'butter' colors


Buttercream (Restoration Hardware)

Benjamin Moore (Putnam Ivory)

Brooke Gianetti


certapro-phoenix.com
Dunn Edwards (Caribou Heard)

Southern Accents



Benjamin Moore (Pismo Dune)


Glidden (Candleglow)

Glidden (Mayapple)

Yellow and Gold add warmth to a room.  The tones blend well with reds, greens and deep wood tones


yellow looks fresh as a daisy with white

Decorating a room with gold/yellow does not always translate to wall color.
This soft blue wall is the perfect backdrop for a gold headboard and linens


When selecting color, look at the darkest value on the paint color strip. If you can live with that, you will like the medium and lighter values, as well.


Benjamin Moore (Mystic Gold)

Maisondecor8

yellow and gold blend here with pastels and below with black


Embrace the architecture of your home. If you have a small house with small rooms, don't make the mistake of thinking your only option is white - trying to make it seem bigger. Yellow will lighten and brighten rooms where even white won't do the trick, and a rich warm color scheme will make it much more cozy and inviting. Darker walls recede, and room edges are less distinct. The opposite is also true of a larger room - painted in a lighter color it will expand and lighten. Warmer colors tend to advance and decrease the size of a room. Cool recede and increase. Although we are all interested in more real estate - I'd choose cozy and interesting over bland any day.



Benjamin Moore (Hawthorne Yellow)
Pottery Barn





Southern Accents
Color is very powerful. Being married to a psychologist, I'm aware of studies that credit certain colors as having mood changing properties.   Color can stir up emotions, induce hunger, make you comfortable or uncomfortable, be a calming influence, create coziness, warmth or intimacy.  Not only do individual colors have influence but varying tones of a color can produce difference feelings.  Yellow is considered bright, warm and cheerful, but a bright intense yellow can be a little jarring.  A creamy butter yellow can be warm and calming at the same time.


White is a good compliment

whether in a formal or a casual setting


red intensifies the warm factor


grey, black and taupe allow it to  pop

I love the yellow with this mid century room in taupe grey and black with yellow/gold accents





thrifty Decor Chick





yellow and gold can be masculine, contemporary or traditional




Southern Accents


housetohome.co.uk
Sheen is also a factor in choosing paint.  I like flat or matte on the walls.  It is less light reflective and draws less attention to the wall itself.  It frames furniture beautifully and doesn't add more reflection and shine to a room than is needed.  Today's flat paint is durable and cleanable, but whatever room I'm decorating, I always try to use the least amount of sheen I can.  Wood trim in a room is usually done in a semi-gloss.

When choosing yellow and gold, care should be taken to get the right color.  Yellow is notorious for changing as the light in your room changes throughout the day.   Green or orange tones can turn a beautiful color in daylight to a hateful hue later in the day.  If you think you have the color and sheen you want, buy some poster board and paint it with two coats of  the color.  Leave 2" margins around the outside so your color isn't influenced by whatever is on your walls now.  Tack them to your walls in different areas, and live with it for at least 24 hours so you can see it in natural and artificial light.  It is the best way to find a color you will love for years to come and avoid mistakes.

Keep in mind that the color you paint your wall is a backdrop for the room and does not need to match anything exactly so don't worry about finding the exact yellow of the little square in your upholstery fabric.  It is often more interesting if it doesn't match exactly.

And often quite beautiful if it contrasts completely.



Southern Accents






housebeautiful.com
Benjamin Moore (Showtime)

 Yellow and gold are some of my personal choices.  Someone once told me I had a yellow 'aura'.  When I asked her what that meant, she said 'joy'.  Yellow does that to me.  The right tone of yellow, or gold, that is.

Whatever your style, it is sure to be warm and welcoming with Yellow/Gold.

Please tell me about your experiences with color!


Southern Accents

28 comments:

  1. Thanks for all of the wonderful eye candy! I really enjoyed viewing the pretty rooms and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite. I've always loved yellow/gold tones and once had a very strong gold on the wall. One of my favorite colors of all times is Latte by Sherwin Williams. It's kind of a beige gold. It just warms up a room.

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  2. Claudine, I love what you do... Loving Blue the way I do I used to have clear navy blue and peach in my home. It was really pretty.
    Thanks for including me in your blogspot. Love It!

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  3. Hi, Claudine, Thanks for putting up the info on yellow/gold. However, I am as confused as ever! For example, BJ's Hawthorne Yellow looks like one color in your photo (lovely light amber) and another color in a magazine photo I have (strong primal yellow). And just when I thought maybe that was the color I was looking for. I'm really frustrated! I've been at this for over six months. I decided on yellow or gold because I live in Chicago, and as you so aptly pointed out, moods are affected by dark days (or walls). I don't get the current trend towards grey for that reason. Heaven help us if everyone is living in a grey world. Could you give me a bit of advice? First, what makes gold? If you take yellow, what color would you add to it to make gold? Like a 14K gold color? I don't want to go yellow as in kitchen, have a green undertone, or lean toward dull tannish yellow. And I am looking for medium saturation, not light or strong. My two rooms (LR/DR) have traditional cherry furniture (Drexel), sage green Dupioni drapes, and oriental rugs. The LR rug is a magnolia pattern, gold with rust/sage/rose design, and the DR rug is bright and burnt orange, blue, etc Hebriz pattern. I had finally chosen SW colors Ambitious Amber and Honey Blush, but hate to throw more money into paint samples (I've got a half dozen already). Chips don't match samples and vise versa. I tried SW's virtual color thing downloading my own pictures. It's godawful! Any suggestions to help me out of this dilemma would be appreciated. At 75, this will probably be my last paint change and I want it to be right. Best, Anne Duston

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    Replies
    1. For answer to the above comment, go to
      http://yournestdesign.blogspot.com/2011/04/asked-and-answered-wall-color-choosing.html
      I answered ages ago (see below) but should have put the info here.!

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  4. Anne,
    I just posted an answer to your question - go to http://yournestdesign.blogspot.com/2011/04/asked-and-answered-wall-color-choosing.html

    Good luck!

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  5. excellent post!

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  6. I wish I would have read this before I painted my entire den/kitchen (open floor plan)! Your advice about living with the samples for 24hrs to see it at different times is spot on. I thought I had found the perfect gold color. With all the window treatments off, you can imagine that the large room was VERY bright. And the color looked good to me. I was even still happy with it after putting all my stuff back up the next day (in daylight). But the day after that, with the room darker and the color completely dry, the color had an AWFUL green tinge to it. It looks like that awful 1970's appliance color, Harvest Gold!

    I am now searching for a new color, and your linked answer to Anne was VERY helpful, along with the advice here. I would also recommend looking for the darkest area in your room, and putting the large painted sample board up in that area to see it in the lowest possible lighting. That green can definitely rear its ugly head!

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    Replies
    1. I couldn't have said it better! Always, always put up a sample to see it in various times of the day and different light. Thanks!

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  7. The 16th photo down from top - the one with the Xmas tree. Can anyone tell me the wall colour?

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  8. That wall color is Dunn Edwards Buckskin.

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    Replies
    1. Beautiful color, what would be the best ceiling and trim color to go with Dunn Edwards Buckskin Claudine?

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    2. What color of wood flooring would you choose Claudine to match this beautiful color?

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    3. I have posted a reply to your questions here:
      http://yournestdesign.blogspot.com/2013/03/creating-magic-with-tan.html
      Thanks for reading!

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  9. What a lovely and helpful blog. Thank you so much. How do I contact you if I've a question???

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    Replies
    1. You can ask here, or email me at your-nest@hotmail.com
      Hugs,
      Claudine

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  10. Please help! I have painted my 25'x9' Sunroom a beautiful bright pastel blue. The baseboards and crown molding are a very pale yellow(which I thought would be darker from the sample chip)The door in the room I painted a bright Butter yellow(which I love). The leather couch,loveseat, & recliner are also the bright butter yellow as the door(very close in color).We are about to paint all the White aluminum blinds 5 of them (48inx63in each) down one entire wall with canned spray paint.I would love to use the Bright butter yellow spray paint that I used for the door but I'm affraid it might be too much yellow with the butter yellow furniture. The opposite wall from the blinds is all the blue(25ft) as well as either side wall next to each end of the blinds (blue 5ft on either side of blinds).Any suggestions will be sooo appreciated.
    '

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    Replies
    1. To Anonymous with the Sunroom. (original answer 12/2/12

      I think if we take this to its simplest form, it would be to decide if you want to make your window blinds a feature of the room, or background. If you choose the yellow, they will stand out and be a focal point. If you go with the wall color, they will blend in and allow your furniture to take center stage. Best wishes, and good luck with your sunny room!

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  11. To Anonymous with the Sunroom.
    I think if we take this to its simplest form, it would be to decide if you want to make your window blinds a feature of the room, or background. If you choose the yellow, they will stand out and be a focal point. If you go with the wall color, they will blend in and allow your furniture to take center stage. Best wishes, and good luck with your sunny room!

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  12. Gorgeous pictures! I am closing on a house next week and am having the entire thing painted one warm neutral color so I can start with a blank canvas. I am looking at Dunn Edwards Gourmet Honey - have you ever used it and did you like the results? My furniture/decorations are browns, dark wood, with red accents.

    Thanks!
    Julie

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    Replies
    1. I have used Gourmet Honey effectively, but prefer the more neutral Golden Gate - it is less obviously - gold- but on the wall it is beautiful and especially gorgeous with the colors you mentioned. It is also by Dunn Edwards.
      Good luck with your project!

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  13. I cannot decide on 2 gorgeous colors to paint the great room which consists of the family room, kitchen and dinette area making up one room. One color is a pretty deep colored gold with yellow undertones, and the other color is a pretty deep colored gold with brown undertones. I bought 2 sample quarts and painted 2 large posters with these colors and still can't decide. (I've made mistakes in the past). The room is a full sun room with honey colored wood floors and red/brown brick colored cornices and pillows with a deep caramel colored sofa, a highly colored oriental rug having deep earthy tones, a reddish leather chair and ottoman, black kitchen granite, and lighter type honey maple wood cabinets. I've made mistakes in previous years with this room by using a darker tan which looked like green pea soup on the walls! Awful! Had to repaint and currently have a light tan that turned a light type yellow on the walls. It was never my favorite because it is too wimpy a yellow. I need something more bold, but don't know if a yellow-ish gold or a brown-ish gold is the way to go. Would appreciate your advice.

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  14. I have painted my all in warm yellow (but not too strong) and my ceiling in I would say white chocolate. Window frames and doors are white and the floor is in white wood. My room is relatively small and it will be my home office so I choose the above colors to lighten it up. Right now I have to choose my desk and my bookshelves. Would you have any advices on the color. I'm really not focussed and balancing between a warm wood (like pin) or black book shelve or white. Thanks for any feedbacks. Usually I like modern style for my furniture with a lot of empty space

    thanks in advance

    Nancy

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  15. On the 18th image, scrolling down from the top...the fireplace with the 3 pictures above it...could you please tell me what color is used on the walls. It is gorgeous, I LOVE IT !!

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  16. I was wondering if you could tell me the name of the WALL COLOR used in the photo of the white fireplace surround (with swags) and the oil painting above it (federal furniture). Looks like just what I have been looking for.
    (Southern accents)

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  17. I definitely agree with you. If you've got a slightly off shade of lemon yellow than peach might compliment well too. Painting a room fast!! you can contact with us.

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  18. Hi I’m hoping I can find out the name and brand of the wall paint color in the photo with the little white sheep in it ... believe it’s the 23rd one down from the top. Thank you for your time! Jaye

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    Replies
    1. Jaye, I believe that is Benjamin Moore Hawthorne Yellow. Best wishes.

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    2. Jaye, I believe that is Benjamin Moore Hawthorne Yellow. Best wishes.

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