I would start by painting the ceilings white. That should help a lot. I bet it does look like a great big ball of sun. I would re-evaluate it after the ceilings were repainted.

Well, could you insist that the builder paint the ceilings white since he didn't tell you what the standard was? I know alot of people will do the ceiling a couple of shades lighter than the wall color, but I think the white ceiling can tone down the brightness of the color.

Laurie

I'd be very upset with the builder too-- can't imagine something like that is standard and seems like he could've let you know.

Have to agree with others-- I'd repaint the ceilings white now while its empty. It'll be a royal pain later with flooring and furnishings in place if you decide later that you can't take the overwhelming yellow-ness.

I would imagine the crown molding would help break up the color, but I'd go easy on the accent walls. If you're thinking of doing some painting anyway, you might want to repaint a room or two? We used SW Napery in one room which I think is one lighter on the same strip as Compatible Cream... its an awesome color. Depending on the light, it goes from almost tannish to a soft glow, pale yellow at certain times of the day-- very restful with almost no undertone :-) If you like CC, Napery would be a great color to tone things down.

Looking forward to seeing pictures once you get them posted :-)

I can't say enough good things for Cameo White. It's a bit similar to Napery, actually, and I have it all over the living room and dining room walls and ceilings with a touch of Linen White here and there. Linen White is also a great trim color, just very laid back and butter cream-ish. I'm really happy with the standard, pre-mixed off-whites to be honest. Here's a pic of my living room in Cameo.

Here it is in the afternoon...

and in the morning...

You say you have decided that you like the yellow color that you have now. I would NOT paint the ceiling white. White will make the yellow seem even more 'bright yellow' with the contrast. Go with a soft cream color. A stark white ceiling will give a cottage-y or dollhouse look to a room. I've seen yellow/white combos translate well in an ultra formal setting with the right colored accessories, but from what you wrote it sounds like you just want to go with something sleek and Contemporary.

Painting the ceilings white is not really going to make the walls look any less yellow - in fact, it may make them yellower by contrast. And Compatible Cream is definitely yellow, not beige.

I would be very cautious about painting one wall in every room a different color. Again, it isn't going to change the yellow as much as make all the spaces feel busier.

One thing that will help is having furnishings in the house - all you are seeing now is one big empty yellow box. There is nothing to absorb the color, to break the overall feel of yellow. What are your furnishings like that you will be bringing in? Do they work with the color at all?

You say that your DH likes the color - do you? Could you live with the color in some of the rooms for now - perhaps the kitchen, a guest room, the guest baths, etc? Pick the rooms that you really can't live with and repaint them. I know you hate the idea, and it is a lot of work, but much easier now than when everything is in place. Then, gradually if you can't do it all now, change out the rooms as you go.

What you may find is that you don't mind the color as much once you live with it. You may also find as you live in the rooms that you will end up choosing something completely different than you think you want now. The play of light and the 'feel' of the rooms changes over the day, and some of that you may not discover until you live in the space for a while.

Arrgh ! I forgot that white can make yellow yellower! Our ceilings are definitely more cream than white, but I don't know the name of the color.

Forget what I said above:-P

(... that's why I'm on here all the time *looking* for paint help ;-)

How tall are your ceilings? That makes a huge difference too. My ceilings are a soft tan and you can barely tell they have color on them. But they are 14' in the Great Room, 10' in the rest of the downstairs and 9' up.

I adore painted ceilings but I'm not sure about the Compatible Cream. Here's 3 examples that aren't SW colors (they're Ben Moore) but according to the computer, they should be close. Which one appeals to you?

Same color on the ceiling with white crown (accent wall in the distance to give you an idea)
{{!gwi}}

Two shades lighter on the ceiling
{{!gwi}}

Navajo White on the ceiling
{{!gwi}}

The builder is making it standard to do one color because that's how he saves money. If he doesn't budge on allowing you to choose the ceiling color, I would still pay for what you want because it's so hard to do the ceilings later.

Post pics when you're done...I'd love to see.

Our main rooms are in the yellow/gold family. We used SW Ecru on the walls with either SW Netsuke (one shade lighter) or SW Muslin (2 shades lighter) on the ceilings. Those are on the same color strip from SW. Our trim is white, so I know that bright white on the ceiling would make our rooms look more gold than they 'read' in person.

Cameron

Les917, so far... my family and friends have been giving me the same advise. I was just at the home today taking a few pictures. I can live with the main areas being this color (walls only). But I can NOT live with it in my master nor do I think my boys will want yellow rooms. Lindybarts, I really like what you did there with your program. Because you have posted those pictures, I see that the color really isn't that bad. I like the first two examples. My ceilings are high. The Great room is about 16' high, the Foyer and dining and formal living room are about 12-14' high. Bedrooms I think about 9' up. Below you will find a picture of the interior. I am standing in the middle of the great room facing the foyer. I will also post a picture of the kitchen area. You will see the height of the ceiling.

On my computer screen, this shows it's TRUE color. Keep in mind the entire home is painted like this.

The kitchen (does not show it's true color)...

I would like to post better sized pictures. If you know how to, please let me know. Does anyone know of a great "cream" color I can test for the ceiling? Should I even paint the ceiling a lighter color of leave as is and only add crown molding with a cream paint?

les917... below are pictures of the furniture I plan to move in with. I just purchased a new area rug. It is red-ish with whilte flowers and bits of yellow on it.

Sectional, painting & granite table (might not use the table in the new home thou)...

Oh my. I would definately paint the ceilings a cream.

You had thought of painting a contrasting colored wall in each room which I do not think is a good idea, but how about painting a wall or two a much lighter shade of yellow or deep cream? Doing that would highlight the architechtural lines of the alcoves and doorways and give the place some depth.

I agree that having the entire space this yellow does give one the feeling of swimming in a jar of mustard.

Your furniture looks like it would go nicely with the yellow, with a few accessories. The dark wood and leather will ground it and the yellow will receed more into the background. It's going to turn out OK.

That's yellow alright! Your ceilings are pretty high up though and can handle some color. Also voting for the cream ceiling! That would look great with white crown molding too! Beautiful house...I saw your exterior on the other thread.

Lindy

Just wondering if you decided to paint the ceiling or leave it as is?

Laurie

Maybe you've already made your decision, but I wanted to share our experience, as we love warm, golden tones, but found choosing the right color for our main living area to be a huge challenge, as everything seemed to look too yellow, even though, I like you, find yellow to be my favorite color.

We have Compatible Cream in our master bedroom, and BM Wilmington Tan in our main living area. While we were initially going to paint the celings the same color as the walls, our painter talked us out of it. She said that painting the ceilings a creamy color would lend height to our rooms and keep the gold tones from overpowering the rooms. We're very happy we did this, as it now looks fine. We used BM Vanilla Ice Cream for our woodwork, doors, and ceilings.

Also, I think your dark furnishings (i.e. dark brown chairs and dining set) will look great with the light wall color. Your hubby's idea about the use of red in an adjoining area is good too. We used a red in our kitchen, which opens to the great room and foyer areas, and love it.

Les always has great advice, and I know for a fact she's right about the big yellow box feeling without any furnishings, etc. to add depth to the space. Now that we have our furniture in place, as well as accessories, the dreaded "over-yellowness" is not even close to an issue. In fact, when people come over to our house, they always comment on how nice the colors are. Also, I agree with Les that painting a wall a different color in each room likely won't help the situation. Although, I must disclaim in that I am by no means the experienced talent that Les is.

Anyway, here is a picture of our (unfurnished) master bedroom:

Now that we have our bedroom set and deep red quilt with simple, white curtains, the room looks great.

It will look fine when it's done.

Jan