Yellow is your friend!

I've posted on yellow before but wanted to add a little more because yellow is such fabulously friendly and cheerful color. It brightens any room and adds a bit of "happy"! I love yellow. When I was growing up, my mom was very generous about painting my room and letting me choose colors. We (she) must have painted my room a couple dozen times while I was between the ages of 8 and 18! Out of all those colors, yellow was my most favorite and the color I remember most. Yellow is great for just about any room and has enjoyed great popularity in the kitchen.

Next time you want to give a room a warm and happy vibe then consider the family of yellows. From golden harvest hues, mouth watering citrus yellow to smooth, buttery yellows the choices are many and very inviting. One word of caution is that when choosing a yellow, don't over do it. The yellow you see on the small paint chip will look much stronger on a large scaled wall. Go paler and work to a stronger shade, if desired, rather then having it become too bold and bright and needing to tone it down. If you encounter the problem of having a painted a yellow that is too strong, you can tone it down using a specific glaze that will work with your particular color.

More on yellow coming up.

Bold Yellows in Marketing and Advertising

Yellow can create a friendly and warm atmosphere but it can also be used to create an action oriented, high energy space. In marketing and advertising, we see numerous examples of using bright yellows to stimulate and activate humans. It's no coincidence that fast food giants such as Mc Donalds, In N Out, Wendy's and Burger King use a red and yellow color scheme. Red and yellow are both stimulating, activating colors. The combination is a call to action and movement. It is *fast food*, you're not supposed to linger and you won't want to when you're surrounded with such energetic colors. Yellow gets attention, such as the case with caution lights, construction signs and warning signs. Your brain sees yellow and gets the message to pay attention and be prepared to react.

Bright, bold yellow is a good choice for any environment where you want to add energy, such as in a health club, a home exercise room or a service oriented business that touts speedy service as a major benefit.

This is not to say that if you use yellow in your home that it will end up looking like a fast food restaurant! There are some wonderfully delicious and yummy yellows for use in the home that will make your home sunny, warm and happy. Look above for some inspiration and color schemes you might just fall in love with!