COLOUR CONFIDENCE
Sophie Robinson, our new columnist, on the mood-boosting power of sunny yellow
Sunshine yellow
Now, this is my kind of colour. It really is sunshine in a tin! Yellow has the power to boost your mood and slap a big smile on your face. However, you should consider it with caution. It can be super-stimulating, so it’s rarely my go-to wall-to-wall choice. But if you’re in the market for its full-throttle happy vibes, consider how you use your space first. Its energising and motivating qualities make yellow an ideal choice for creative areas. It can lift a dingy north- or west-facing room, making it feel bright and beautiful first thing, but for rooms where you want to relax and unwind at the end of the day, for example the bedroom, give it a swerve, as its perky personality could become a strain. I love a bright yellow hallway – this space can take a stronger colour because it’s an area you pass through rather than linger in, giving you a boost of feelgood vibes at any time of the day.
But, as with any paint colour, try before you buy. Get a tester pot and paint an area on your wall, at least a metre square, so you can fully appreciate its radiating beauty at different times of the day. And remember: if you’re going for the four-wall strategy, its vibrancy will intensify as it’s reflected back on itself. That said, colour isn’t just for walls. A ceiling in this happy hue will give a warm glow to the whole room.
No colour is seen in isolation, so think about what you sit it next to. Yellow looks sharp and fresh beside white; cute and soft with pale pink – and it can energise serious greys and add warmth to cool blues. I’d wholeheartedly recommend using it as an accent colour. A zingy splash for scatter cushions, vases or artwork, or indeed a jug of yellow tulips, will give any existing scheme a lift. But if an energising, coloursoaked room is what you’re after, open the paint tin and let the sunshine in!