How do i fix this bright yellow living room?

Question

Hi, I painted my living room with what i thought would be a light yellow satin paint. It is very very yellow and bright. Too much for any room, let alone a living room. Nope didn't test first on anything. Just kept thinking if its too light it will look like a cream and i want yellow. Wow, i got it! Anyway, i want to tone it down. I have textured plaster walls and thought maybe a cream or light brown would work if i just used a rag,sponge or flat roller, or something to put over top of the yellow. Would love to bring out the texture and let some yellow show through. Any suggestions? Thanks so much

Answer 1

I do not suggest trying to lighten the color by doing any faux finishes, it will not work. It will either not change much or may just look smoggy. The best thing that might work is by going over it with different types of color that will go good with the yellow, using ragging or sponging,removing techniques,etc.But again similiar colors trying to make it lighter will not work especially on yellow because it is too bright. I have done like a taupe ,coffee tone on top of it before and it worked good.

Answer 2

Stripes are really in right now. You can use Painters tape to create areas to leave the original yellow color and then tone it down with larger softer yellow stripes. If you are not into the stripes, then I would recommend a cream or more neutral yellow glazing using a sponge. Since your walls are already textured, paint one line using a roller and then run the sponge straight down the wall. The glazing will still bring out the texture and will not over do it. Faux finishes take practice and can look bad if not done properly. Wainscoting is an option, but involves measuring, cutting, mounting, painter's putty, and trim. In order to install trim work you need a miter saw for the corners. If your house is older, you may also run into strange angles and uneven walls(as I did when I installed it in my bathroom). Well, I hope this gives you some options to think about.

Answer 3

I had the same problem with a green paint that turned out too much like mint green. First I put a white chair rail up and then I thinned white paint for a whitewash effect and painted only the part of the wall below the chair rail. This left a hint of green showing through the whitewash, but toned it down really well. The room looks good now, without having to repaint the whole thing.

Answer 4

You could set the bright yellow off with a border 1/2 way down the wall and paint the lower 1/2 a darker color. Add dotted swiss curtains (dark red). I did that with a room I had painted a bright yellow and it toned it down quite a bit.

Answer 5

why don't you try painting a mural on top of the yellow paint? I asked a friend to paint a girl painting the skies.The yellow paint still showed but as a reflection of the sun's rays. Because of this mural, I fell in love with my living room that i find it hard to move out even if the rent is increasing. Try painting something you love on top of it.

Answer 6

I believe I would use the sponge technique, either with white or red as the above poster suggested or perhaps use both, to match the red drapes mentioned. Perhaps I would use different tones of yellow as pillows and perhaps a deeper earth tone to ground the color scheme.

Answer 7

water the cream colored paint down and apply with a large sponge , the effects are beautiful , yellow is a hot color for rooms now , add some red curtains and throw pillows and you are styling !