8 Ways to Add a Cheerful Pop of Yellow to Your Space

Few colours have the power to brighten a room quite like yellow. Whether it appears in a single statement piece or is woven throughout a space, the cheerful hue brings warmth, energy and personality wherever it goes. Want to make it a part of your palette? These homes from the WL archives will show you how to do it with style.

Yellow Front Door

Every great space needs a centrepiece—a moment of drama that anchors everything—and here, that’s the yellow door. “Front doors should be more expressive,” says designer Aly Velji. “Yellow is unexpected and whimsical, something to make people stop and smile.” Get more trade secrets from this entryway.

Yellow Accent Chairs

With a directive to merge mountain cabin and lake house styles, the team at Falken Reynolds filled former NHL star Dan Hamhuis’s Smithers, B.C. home with natural woods, stone elements and furniture in warm shades—including a pair of yellow Zanotta Kent 892 swivel chairs. Check out the rest of this stunning property.

Yellow Cabinetry

Designer Ben Leavitt was both surprised and thrilled that the owners of this Vancouver condo went with a bold, mustard-yellow colour (Fields of Gold by Benjamin Moore) for this huge bank of cabinets. “The idea of something is always more scary than the thing itself,” he says. “When you see it in person, it’s really quite pretty and interesting and makes the apartment unique.” See how else colour is embraced inside this modern home.

Yellow Bedding

Want to hit the snooze button a few times less in the morning? Take a cue from this bedroom, also designed by PlaidFox Studio’s Ben Leavitt, and opt for a yellow comforter. The energizing colour is sure to get your day started off right. Check out the before and after renovation photos.

Yellow Curtains

Yellow can be found throughout this eclectic California vacation home—from the sun loungers on the patio to the throw pillows in the living room. But our favourite use of the colour is in the dining room, where designer Mitchell Freedland brought in sunny yellow drapes. Explore the rest of this Palm Springs rancher.

Yellow Throw Pillows

Designer Annaliesse Kelly calls her Squamish house “a personal exercise in colour,” though she acknowledges how relative “a lot” of colour can be (her space is mostly black and white). It’s that monochrome base, however, that makes the colourful accents—the ruby-red armchair, mustard-yellow throw pillows—so impactful. See more of this dreamy duplex.

Yellow Bathroom Tile

It’s difficult to say which element makes this Sturgess Architecture-designed ensuite feel so bright. Is it the natural light that pours in through that large picture window or the diamond-shaped tiles that span across the shower wall and ceiling? (Hint: It’s both.) Tour the rest of this Okanagan home.

Yellow Sofa

A colourful couch can do wonders for your living area—and as this OMB-designed space proves, so can a section of colourful couch. The chartreuse velvet part of this sofa adds a joyful pop to an otherwise neutral room. Peek inside this mid-century home on Vancouver’s North Shore.