The colour Yellow

Oh yellow, how do I love thee, let me count the ways. While perhaps not Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s exact wording in her Sonnet 43, I’m sure she was writing about the colour yellow. It is, quite simply, my favourite colour, one that splashes joyfully through my home.

As I write, I’m tucked up in a cosy nook, away from the hubbub of renovations, surrounded by couches bursting with vibrant yellow cushions – my own bright and sunny nest. A wall has been daubed with five different shades, all patiently waiting for the winner to be announced. It’s like choosing a favourite child (without the painful consequences).

Not only is yellow the most cheerful of colours, it’s also the most companionable. From greys to pink, teal, orange and beyond, it brings life to every party. And so versatile – a dash of black and it’s mustard, a lick of white and it’s the star of pastels.

This project has been designed to bring a burst of sunlight into your home. It also connects me to my other home, to Australian flowers such as wattle, billy buttons and banksias, and to my Mum who loves the colour yellow, just like I do.

COLOUR FACTS: YELLOW

Lead Tin Yellow was one of the most poisonous pigments used in the art world and was used by Titian, Vermeer, Rembrandt and Raphael, to name but a few.

Bananas are picked green and unripe, and exposed to the gas ethylene (which they also produce themselves) to ripen to yellow.

In Chinese culture, yellow is an earth colour and represents royalty, glory and wisdom.

The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine used sound effects such as John Lennon blowing bubbles through a straw and talking through tin cans with Paul McCartney.