Out of the entire color wheel, yellow is the happiest color of them all. When I think “yellow”, my mind goes to happy things like sunshine, fresh-squeezed lemonade, sunflowers, the Yellow Brick Road on The Wizard of Oz, New York City taxis and the old school “Mellow Yellow” Gap commercial.
Yellow is known to have the ability to stimulate the nervous system, activate memory and encourage communication. Here are a few other fun facts about yellow:
- In the early 1900′s, taxi entrepreneur John D. Hertz painted his taxi cabs yellow based on a University of Chicago study saying that yellow is the color most easily seen at a distance.
- The color yellow has been known to increase the body’s metabolism.
- Pencils were originally painted yellow (back in the late 1800′s) because the best graphite came from China – where the color yellow represented royalty and respect. The manufacturers in the US painted the pencils yellow to show that their pencils were made from top-of-the-line graphite from China.
- Author Leatricce Eiseman says the color car you drive says a lot about your personality. For instance, if you drive a sunshine yellow car, that means you have a sunny disposition and are young at heart. If you drive a gold/yellow car, you’re warm and intelligent.
- The Green Lantern is scared of the color yellow. Greg was a big comic geek when he was a kid, so he thought we should throw this one in here!
Taxi cabs and the Green Lantern aside, adding yellow to any living space can add an instant dash of energy and warmth. In the past, I never used much yellow around the house. However, recentely I’ve started to notice myself gravitating toward yellow accessories here and there, like these awesome yellow dining room chairs I Instagrammed a while few weeks ago – which I’m still crushing on, by the way. If you’re looking to add a ray of sunshine to your abode, here’s some of my favorite sunny house-related pieces…
1. You Make Me Happy Print / 2. Yellow-Framed Mirror / 3. Yellow Garden Hose
4. Yellow Mini Cake Stand / 5. Caravan Dresser / 6. Masala Sheet Set
7. Numbers Birchwood Tray / 8. kMix 2-Slice Toaster
How about you? Or should I say “hue”, haha. Okay, no. That’s going a little too far. Are you a fan of yellow? Do you like it in little doses or big pops of color? Thirteen years later, does the Mellow Yellow Gap commercial still run through your mind?
Images from here.
Darn! now I want a yellow toaster!!
I’m the same way! I haven’t liked yellow in the past but I’ve noticed myself looking at yellow things for the house more and more often. Fun post!
Yep, need that toaster. And the tray. And okay, pretty much all of it!
I love yellow!! I just spray painted some candlesticks yellow the other day! And I’m obsessed with that tray!
I have purchased yellow items recently: a fluffy warm buttery throw blanket, a grey and yellow tablecloth, and a shiny happy wire mesh basket that is PERFECT for storing extra TP. Also, I’ve painted a night stand turned dvd storage and a mirror in a happy glossy yellow, and also painted the front room Pale Sunshine which is barely a yellow at all; it’s mostly white with a drop of yellow per gallon. With these paler yellow items, I find they go with ANY color we have in our home. Perfect happiness and sunshine all around.
And that print would go excellent in the front room. Thanks for posting it
Oh my gosh, I forgot about the Gap commercial! Now it is stuck in my head though.
I love the yellow mixer from Kitchenaid.
I had a yellow bedroom growing up, and I read once that a yellow bedroom is a sign of scholarship. I was a total nerd/straight A student in high school, so that really stuck out to me!! It’s certainly a happy color though. I’ve actually been loving a rich saffron, mustard color recently!
As soon as we bought our house… okay, I’ll admit before we bought our house… I was excited to use yellow in my design. I unfortunately have really pale skin that looks **AWFUL** in yellow, so I decided if I couldn’t wear it, I would decorate with it! I love it, and thank you for those above ideas!
This post makes me happy! Haha maybe its because it’s all about the colour that makes you happy. And because I love yellow (I’d say it is my favourite colour — you know besides turquoise, pink and grey) but I’m dying to add yellow to every room in my apartment. (in small ways – pillows in the bedroom, entry table in the living room)
Yellow is my favorite color! It just makes me smile!
My favorite color as a kid was yellow, and while it is no longer my favorite, I still have a lot of yellow in my house. You’re right, it is so happy and sunny. Winters get pretty bad here, so I’m always grateful for my yellow cafe curtains in my kitchen, they brighten up my day even if it is cold and dreary outside.
Love this color combo! Everything came together, well done!