Too bad you can't just mix up the bedding a little bit--because I LOVE the yellow. :-)

Me too! We stayed in a lovley B&B on Nantucket a few months ago and they had lots of yellow on yellow. I find it soothing.

I, too, love your yellow. Have you considered bringing blue into the room via a different, larger painting or quilt above the bed? You could pull the blue from there into a pillow or two on the bed and maybe on the bench at the foot of your bed. Also, white paint under the chair rail would tie in nicely with your curtain rods.

If you did go with a blue my choice would be a blue shade that's a similar or lighter shade as the current yellow. Your room has a very inviting and comfortable look. I think a dark blue would be too jarring with the fabric choices you already have. I see some blue on a tray or chest top near the bottom left corner of the pic. Does that appeal to you? It looks very restful to my eye.

I tried to match BM blueberry for your walls.

{{!gwi}}

I think a periwinkle blue would look very nice with the yellow.

Honestly, I think blue walls would make the yellow even brighter.

I'd do as angel suggested and add color another way. Change out at least the middle pillow on your bed and the cushion at the foot of it. You could go with red or blue (you already have a start on the red). Some different and larger art with whatever color you decide on and you'd be set.

I agree, blue accents would be lovely. Your room is beautiful, looks very french country.

I love the color on the walls as is and with the fabric. It is very beautiful. I would add blue in other ways, along with white. I think just remaking the bed by folding down the duvet with a white blanket then showing for some length of the bed would help also. I don't think it is the wall color, I think it is just because you have so much of the same fabric (which is gorgeous) in a small area. Breaking it up on the bed would help. If you add some soft blue pillows and accents, you might see a real difference.

Yellow is so energizing. A bedroom should be calming. I would not do blue walls. I would paint the walls Cream and Ivory. Yes, both. You do not want it to look like "all white walls" waiting for paint. You are keeping the chair rail right? Having the two tones will break it up and look better. A neutral background will make the duvet look like a showpiece. I would add a couple of accents in a grayed out blue similar to the shade below - a pillow, a rug.

I would paint the white curtain rod a dark color to add substance to them and lose the 'cottage look' since it is a bedroom for a couple and not a single woman. The white rods make the room look very feminine and darker ones will give it more of a 'historic' feel that will make a man feel comfortable.

Dilly, I love the quilt in your post. Where'd you find it? It would go perfectly in our guest room. TIA

OH boy, that was not the response I anticipated! I really did think that there is too much yellow in there! I will repeat that now, half of the darker goldish-yellow below the chair rail is already gone, as that is wallpaper and not paint.

Suero, I don't know how to do paint shop, could you try this again with a lighter, softer blue like BM Morning Glory or Caribbean Breeze? I find the darker blues too jarring now that I see it on the wall. Could you also try some cream/ivory tones like Dilly Dally suggests? I thought about that, but thought cream might be too boring. Perhaps I was wrong. Dillydally - I agree with you about the curtain rod, I have thought about changing it to a black rod. I do like the shelves above the windows, though, so would those need to go or would it work if those were also black? We have 9' ceilings so there's lots of room up there and I don't want to have to raise the curtain heights and replace all the window treatments.

bunny, todance & all - I will get some fabric and see if just accents through the room, in pillows, accent rugs, etc., would be enough change to please me.

Oh, and I have changed out the painting behind the bed to a larger, longer landscape that has plenty of blue in it, with a dark wood frame the same color as the bed, but it's still not enough.

Thanks for all your comments so far, it still needs tweaking, but I know eventually it will turn out the way I envision it should.....

I agree with you that it's too much yellow. That grayish blue in dilly dally's quilt picture might look nice. You also might like the silver/blue that Brutuses used.

Laurie

Here is a link that might be useful: Brutuses silver/blue room

It doesn't take much blue to overwhelm. I would use a gray that merely suggests blue on the chip, which will read blue in the room. Farrow & Ball's Light Blue or Parma Gray would be lovely, but any pale gray with a hint of blue would work, IMO.

I also think the room is just too yellow. And I have a yellow bedroom, so it's not the colour, just too much of it.

A light cornflower blue would be very pretty with the yellow and white, but a pretty ivory would probably look nice too.

I do agree with the other posters who suggest that you bring blue via other avenues (in addition to wall paint). I personally would replace all the yellow and white stripe fabric because it pales in comparison to the other yellows---just washes right out. A blue and white striped dust ruffle and pillows out of the same fabric for the bench at the foot of the bed would be wonderful places to introduce more blue. I would even use blue and white gingham and bet it would look wonderful.

If you really want blue on your walls, I think that something very light would be better than a dark. My eye is drawn to the lightest blue in the sky that is in your painting above the bed.

Yes, I agree, the color in the painting would be much better. The room is a little too yellow and is lacking in variety of color and pattern. I would paint the wall color the blue and maybe think about bringing in some blue accents around the room.

Mammie, It is a throw from the http://www.amadhatters.com/detail~ID~21814.html

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Ivory/Cream walls will help settle the vivid yellow.
Something like this:

Caribbean breeze:
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Morning Glory:
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Windsor Cream:
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My eye first went to your painting, then I looked at your room. I agree with picking the colors from the top of the painting for the upper wall, and the bottom of the painting for your wainscot, the colors you love most.
What a lovey room with Lots of Personality, friendly and inviting!

Nanny2a, are the curtains on the right side of the room covering sliding doors? Or just one door and they are pushed to the side? Are they two panels or four?

It looks like there is just one door on the wall and you do not need so much curtain on the wall. The door could be covered with another yellow print in stripe or gingham Roman shades. This will open room up and make it seem more spacious. Then cover the bench cushion with the same fabric as the Roman shade or another print. Picture this with deep Ivory walls and a couple of blue-gray accents.

It you have four panels there, they can be moved to be used on the two windows by the bed. Spray paint the rings dark. Get two dark chunky rods. Get the rods as wide as possible. Hang the rods as high as you can while still having the curtains touch the floor. Don't tie them back but let them hang straight and open. Right now you have dark wood floors and furniture and it needs dark wood up high to balance the room so it is not so bottom heavy. If you can't move the curtains from to door area over to the windows, and have to keep the ones you have there, then consider painting the shelf rod for the ones you have now.

Maybe this can't be done but it may help give some ideas for other things to try.

I would sew a border or some trim onto the bedskirt to give it weight and character.

What color is the blue in the bath? I certainly would try to work with that, perhaps a lighter shade.

What about doing a blue, yellow and white stripe fabric for the bedskirt and accent pillow?

roanoke caribbean blue stripe

Then bring in the blue in yellow, blue and white tiebacks for the drapery, and blue and white pottery, rugs, etc.

Also, I would switch the two nightstands, so the wider one sits in the open space, and the narrower one is on the right side in the more crowded corner. The small nightstand on the left looks like it is kind of lost and floating away from the bed.

I really like the Windsor Cream much better than the blue but you mentioned a blue bathroom and therefore don't know if that would work. The red and gold carpet looks really well with the cream walls. I agree that darker curtain rods would look better but I'm sorry, I really don't care for the shelves above them; they somehow take away from the elegance of your room and look more "country", and the objects on the shelves take attention away from your beautiful bed and curtains. I'm glad you've chosen a larger, more horizontal picture for above the bed. I'm sure that must look very nice.

Suero, it's amazing what photo shop can do - you've saved me tons of paint, $ and time to see what I DON'T like on the walls!!! Thank you so much for doing that for me. None of those blues look at all what I "thought" they would, and I don't like any of them! The Windsor Cream was much more soothing, and would still work with blue accents in pillows, bedskirt, etc. Any chance I could get you to take one more stab at it with Farrow & Ball's Parma Grey on the walls to see if I go with a grey/blue or cream?

DD, the drapes on the right side cover a 9' french door and window system that opens to a private screen porch off the bedroom and covers nearly all of that wall, so drapes there are a must for privacy.

I can easily add blue trim to the bedskirt and pillows, or make another bedskirt and pillows in the appropriate grey-blue hues once I settle on the right shade. I can paint the shelf rods darker to help draw the eye up and balance against the darkness of the wood flooring, too.

I found a picture of a french attic room done in Farrow and Ball's Parma Grey and DO love that shade, and think it would work with this toile almost as well as it does with the blue toile shown - but really need to see it first before I can be sure. What do you think?

Here is a link that might be useful: Parma Grey french bedroom

I love your yellow room. I just think the wall needs a better yellow in a creme, like the color I used in my great room, laundry, pantry and hall. It's BM's Rich Creme. I think that color at the top of the rail and white at the bottom would make your room complete.

I don't think even my BR blue that someone mentioned (thanks for the compliment) would look right and I tell you why. I think because your curtains and bedding are already mono, if you add another stark color that is not in the drapes or bedding, it will not be soothing at all. To my eye it would look jarring. You can get the Rich Creme in a sample pot from BM to try. I really think you'll like it. I love the color and if I had seen that color up on the walls before the others, I would have chosen to have my entire house painted in that color because it is such a beautiful neutral with no undertones amd every other color blends with it. If you don't have a BM store near you, I'll be glad to send you a sample to try and then if you like it you can bring it to a paint store near you to have it custom mixed.

{{gwi:1425557}}

I vote for Brutuses BM Rich Creme for your bedroom or a pale grayish blue.

I now am thinking that the Rich Cream would be a great happy color for my laundry room. I also want to do tile in my laundry room since right now it has that commercial utility room type of tile everywhere but under the washer and dryer is just cement floors. I have the Whirlpool Front loading machines. I wish I had a window in my laundry room and a bigger room but I feel blessed to have a laundry room.

Some thinking out loud here:

The small area rugs will go, they were a cheap purchase at Hancocks and not intended to last. I'll get others to coordinate with the accent color I choose.

I could get rid of the shelf over the window rods by making a long, lined valence or cornice out of a coordinating fabric that would hang long enough to cover tops of curtains in their present position, with blue accent trim on valence, using the ticking fabric from the bedskirt and making a new bedskirt out of blue/yellow/white striped fabric like Les suggested. The blue in that fabric matches perfectly the shade of blue in our bathroom. I just can't afford right now to invest the $$ in new curtains, so have to work around what I already have.

Brutuses - Thank you for your offer of the BM Rich Cream sample, I bought one when I did my kitchen repaint, (at your suggestion), and although it didn't work for the kitchen, it might be perfect for here. I'll have to see where I put what was left of the sample, or get another to try if I already tossed it.

So far, everyone's given me some great ideas for thought and it feels like some progress, I just have to convince myself that grey-blue walls, like the Parma Grey, wouldn't work. I'll sleep on it and see what decisions tomorrow brings!

nan, this morning I thought of another option that you might want to consider to get the blue accents into the room. In my present Rich Creme guest bedroom I have a blue and off white toile border at the ceiling. Here are som photo's. Just thought I'd mention it as another option. The paint color is not showing up very well and it's been on the wall quite some time so it's faded. The background of the wallpaper is off white not a pure white. I can't take a photo of the entire room because there is nothing in it except a bed. After Katrina when I lost the furniture out of this room, I never refurnished it. When it was decorated I had some white cotton valances with a small blue dot design at the bottom of the valance, on the bed I had tea stained white cotton bedspread and decorative pillow in a blue and tea stained white toile.

I like your walls. The two tone yellows work very well. It is the fact that all the rest of it in the room is yellow as well, that creates that too much yellow feeling. I would first try to add either blue or burgundy accessories - pillows, maybe even shares in those colors, rather than white, before I would consider repainting. And I definitely would keep the two different tones going on the walls.

Brutuses...that beautiful kitty would make any room, even my diasters, look purrrrrfect!!! I want to pick her up and give her a big ole kiss. What a sweetheart.

Nanny 2A...I'm certainly no expert, and am just now working on the first house I could ever paint, but I love the BM Rich Creme. i think it would work perfectly with your yellows, and you could still add touches of blue to the room.

I'm off to get some for my hall way to tie together, or keep apart (!), the dark red office, the lilac sewing room, the sage living room, the B&W bath, and the yellow kitchen...that all open into the hall.

ohmygosh, are you overwhelmd by all these suggestions yet? If not, I have a couple for you: I think the Rich Cream or similar color would be great (I have used Ben Moore Windham Cream HC-6 which is very close and beautiful too). Once you do that, I think the one thing that should be changed is the yellow trim on the shams. I believe you said you made them? I would add a white matellasse spread to the bed, and then keep the comforter folded in thirds across the bottom of the bed. Replace the yellow trim on the shams with white matelasse. If your bed is a queen, you could buy a king size mattelasse and use fabric from one side, and then just hem for your mattress. TJ Maxx, Homegoods etc. often has them at good prices. Here's a link to one at Walmart that looks great!

Here is a link that might be useful: White matelasse

I'm looking for yellow bedding to go with the BM Violet Mist. It's a wonderful periwinkle.

check out the cover of the December issue of Architectural Digest --

I'm looking for yellow bedding to go with the BM Violet Mist. It's a wonderful periwinkle.

Parma gray:
{{!gwi}}

Here is what I was talking about earlier, just for you to see and compare to total repaint of the room :)

punamytsike, fabulous! What a change such simple but strong accessories make! You're one of the best! Love your visions!

I keep coming back to this and thinking that the painting has some nice colors.

What about keeping below the chair rail the same and painting above a muted blue green? And like others have said, sort of spread the color around the room in pillows, etc.

I don't have paint software on my current computer (I oughta), so I can't "play along". I like the idea of the walls in a neutral, too. The blue and white additions are lovely too.

I'm all about that painting too. I think that it is your perfect pallette. I think you can pull all the colors you need in your room right out of it. The blue in it is very gentle and muted, not neon or bright.

I've been following this post. I truly admire all the hard work you've put in to make your duvet and all the matching draperies. My first reaction was that you needed a pretty white bedskirt and that the pillow shams looked a bit 'contrived' (for lack of a better word). I'm loving the idea of folding your duvet into thirds, with a beautiful white 'something' - textured blanket, matlesse, whatever - and elegant pillows (and lose the little yellow one).

A picture of the blue in your bath would help....but my gut feeling is not to even try that. I would rather see you start with the bedskirt and whatever you choose for that, maybe you could accent you bench in something to co-ordinate. If you wanted to keep the white rods, perhaps you could paint below the chairrail a shade of white. Would you consider spray-painting the bench white also?

I also agree that maybe switching the bedside tables would make a difference.

You've gotten a lot of great ideas here - can't wait to see what you decide. I love the calmness your room speaks and wonder if you would lose it by painting the walls a completely different hue. Keep us posted.

Thank you, everyone, for all of your considerate and helpful suggestions. Suero, thanks again for the PS work with Parma grey, that's not quite the right color, either. And punamytsike, I can see now how just adding blue in the pillows and accessories makes a tremendous difference. I'm absorbing all the different advice and tips and sorting through which I can use and which I can't.

One thing I can do is add blue and white into the pillows and bedskirt, and to a throw for the end of the bed. Those are all things that I can easily make. I can also add white trim to the curtains, (thanks Anne), which I plan to raise up by adding a fabric trimmed cornice or pelmet above, with more of the blue/yellow/white trim on this. When I do this I'll also increase the rod lengths so the curtains can hang straight instead of having tie backs, with more of the sheers visible in the center.

The walls beneath the chair rail have already been stripped of the goldish yellow wallpaper, so repainting is a definite. I am still debating on color. As soon as I can come to that major decision, you'll hear me singing.

As much as I'd like to, I can't put a full white cover on the bed, because I have two West Highland white terriers who spend more time on that bed than I do, and their constant jumping up on the bed would soil the cover in a flash. I can get away with a white throw or pillows that they won't disturb. The fabric on the duvet has been treated and thus far resisted much of sand and debris they bring in on their paws.

I'm pretty sure that the painting that hung above the bed in this photo has been sold, so I have substituted that one with another water landscape of mine that is longer, has many of the same colors and fits better in that space.

If I can convince my DH to sleep on the other side of the bed.....lol....then I could move the side tables! I have several medicines that I have to keep available to me in the smaller end table, and the other table has no storage, so that's why they're positioned where they are.

I really appreciate everyone's advice and help, and will post photos again when all the changes are made.

Heidi

I think this is the kind of blue you have in mind.

{{!gwi}}

I think a softer blue such as this one would work w/ your yellow fabric. You can keep the duvet & existing pillows set up, but put in an accent pillow (boudoir pillow?) in soft blue that echo the blue on the wall. maybe have yellow monogram embroidered on that blue? :-)

I think the current yellow is too yellow. Maybe a lighter shade of yellow or a creamy ivory would let the bed & draperies shine more.

Hello nanny2a
I have recently painted a spare room upstairs yellow, becuase I wanted something airy. Eventhough Im NOT finished w/the room yet you can keep the yellow walls and add a darker color to the bedding...
My room is not complete and truely not great, but it is a work in progress and I do love any advice I can get.
Anyway..I did yellow walls black and white bedding w/some aqua blue accents.
Here is what I have so far!
Lets see if I can do this to show the pictures.

THIS IS AS YOU WALK INTO THE ROOM FROM THE HALLWAY.

{{!gwi}}

I PLAN ON CHANGING THE BROWN TABLE THAT I HAVE ALREADY ORDERED, IT HAS 2 SHELVES AND IS ROUND, W/GLASS TOPS AND BLACK IRON LEGS.

{{!gwi}}

I KNOW THE SCONCES ARE BAD BAD BAD...THEY ARE ALREADY'''GONE''' AND .. A THOUGHT IS TO GET 2 NEW GLASS ORB TABLE LAMPS FOR BOTH NIGHTSTANDS AND POSSIBLY PUT A MIRROR BEHIND EACH ONE TO REFLECT THE LIGHT FROM THE LAMPS?..OR JUST LEAVE IT SIMPLE WITH JUST THE MIRROR ALONE .. STILL HAVE NO CLUE!

{{!gwi}}

LAST IS THE HARDEST FOR ME. THE ALCOVE (IS MY DORMER WINDOW) THERE IS A DESK THERE AND I HAVE ORDERED A BLACK DESK CHAIR. I ALSO PLAN ON REPLACING THE CEILING LIGHT W/MY LITTLE CHANDLIER (HAVE NO CLUE WHAT TO DO W/THE WALLS YET, BUT THE MIRROR HANGING IS COMING DOWN) NOW IN THE OPEN SPACE BELOW THE SHELF, I PLAN ON ORDERING THE SQUARE CUBE WOODEN BLOCKS AND STACKING 2 ON TOP OF EACH OTHER AND THEN A SINGLE ONE NEXT TO THAT TO CREATE A STAIR EFFECT.....AND HOPEFULLY WILL FIND SOME INEXPENSIVE VASES AND POSSIBLY PICTURES TO PUT ON THE SHELVES. AND, IVE BEEN TOLD THAT I NEED TO SPACE MY SHELVES FURTHER APART, WHICH I PLAN ON TRYING.

{{!gwi}}

Hope this helped some? IT TRUELY IS A WORK IN PROGRESS...and I have alot of accessories to search for, which I think is so much a part of the fun of doing a new room I've also been told that I need to replace my bedding and curtains, w/ a black and white print. But I think that would become too busy. I like the solid black and white... Its simple and clean. And the yellow euro shams have been replaced w/ cotton euro shams that are almost the exact match as the walls..sooo much better. I have also been told I am "matchy...matchy" but its 'our' taste that we have to live with..and so far..I have to make a few changes, and find the right accessories, but overall I really like my room.

Good Luck....and I do love your yellow walls!

Dena

Nanny, I like your room, but I painted my own bedroom yellow and it made me feel edgy in there, so I changed it. So I do understand if the room doesn't feel right to you, then it's not right for you.

I played with this a little...

A few inspirations from the bedroom thread in our Gallery...

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Ronald Reagan's bedroom at the WH:
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Well, you can look in the gallery for yourself as there are lots more.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bedrooms thread in Gallery

Nanny2- I haven't read line by line all the posted answers you got but I'll put in my two cents to help. I'm a yellow lover and most of my whole house is painted a softer butter chiffon yellow.

I think you could help out by 1/ change the pillows shams by using crisp white eyelet or something white,,then do the same for the dust ruffle. OR keep the pillow shams and change out the bedspred for a white matlasse cover, but leave your dust ruffle there. Either or both of these will cut down the yellow and break it up a bit. I like the paint color. What about going with white curtains as well? If you "whiten" the room down a bit it would be much easier to pick and add a color accent through pillows, framed art etc. It might be neat to do a different picture above the bed perhaps a grouping of 4 (all same size),,,2 on bottom,,2 on top. Or maybe an architectural element for interest. I'm a yellow and blue person myself and we have similar pattern tastes. JC Penney's has all the time in their home catalog a yellow/blue/white group called summer sunshine where you get a comforter and then you also get a contrasting quilt for the bed that is different but uses the same fabric. I got mine with the shame and dust ruffle for $100 Sometimes just a switch of the bedding will do it. Possibly changing out the lights attached to the wall for each person could help. Kathy Ireland for lamps plus has a really nice ones.

Question: Are you going for an English garden look or french country look? If it's one or the other then you can think this through and pick up some accents and stuff at HomeGoods that has that feeling to it. Ballard Designs, even if all you get is there catalog has some nice things to look at and ideas to jump off of.

Maybe you need some black in the in small bits as well. Like 4 small black framed prints using matting that is toile in that yellow white to bring it all in there. If you are going to add one more color to the yellow/white I'd go blue, soft green,,even a pretty lavendar could be pretty,,,or the black would keep it crisp. OR what about just painting to a much SOFTER yellow on the walls?

Let us know what you come up with :), Nicole

Your bedroom is so pretty!
I have not read thru all the responses & I know you are thinking about alot.
But, before you paint, I would pull down the duvet to the foot of the bed & throw on a cream/white sheet & see what that does. Then try adding in the blue pillows like the above photoshop pic shows. Maybe replacing the throw rugs with some nice frenchie ones with more blue.

Without know the style of your home....would beadboard work on the lower half below the chair rail painted the trim color?

Smiles:)

Oh my, I had no idea y'all were still tweaking with my room....wonderful ideas, too! I've spent the last week steaming and stripping off the wallpaper beneath the chair rail. There was damage to the walls behind the paper that a contractor had done and just papered right over, and this was my opportunity to finally fix it. I've replastered all the gouged areas and sanded down all the sheetrock beneath the chair rail.

Now that the surface beneath the chair rail is repaired, it's back to the original white color that we first painted the entire house. Already looking better than all yellow walls. As much as I love the blue walls, like those shown in the photos that oceanna posted, (thanks oceanna, you don't know how much I've pondered over all your gallery contributions), I've decided that the best way to bring in the blue I like is through bedding, accessories and pillows. I just haven't found a blue wall color that I'm comfortable with, and believe me, I've searched all over.

I went on a search yesterday afternoon, and was instantly put off by the fact that our local BM paint store wasn't open on the weekends. I'd stopped in there once before, (during the week, apparently), and wasn't impressed with the attitude of the fellow working there. He just wasn't helpful at all and seemed totally uninterested in selling paint. Their being closed yesterday clinched it.

Just around the corner was Sherwin Williams, open 'til 6 and with the most helpful staff. I walked out of there with my toile pillow and a handful of chips that matched the yellow and white shades I was looking for with a smile on my face.

If you've read this far.....lol!....I will tell you that I've decided to do a SW creamy white beneath the chair rail, and a SW softer buttery yellow above. The bedskirt will be a Waverly blue/yellow/white plaid and I'll find another blue and yellow throw or quilt for the end of the bed. Going to Penny's for that search, thanks Piper! I'm changing out the pillows to add white Euro shams with yellow pillows and a blue bolster type pillow. Looking for small blue accent rugs for the floor. Plan to build fabric covered cornices or pelmets for the windows to take advantage of the 9' ceilings and raise the eye up above the windows - that way I can keep the curtains, which I love. I'm also adding white trim to the top of the curtain flounce.

Whew! If you are still reading, thank you all! Your ideas and suggestions have been fantastic and the room will eventually transform into what I was wanting all along!! Heidi

I love your drapes and bedding. I think Sherwin William's Milk Pail, a Martha Stewart color would be a perfect color for your room. You can no longer get the paper samples of the color but if you ask for it by name you can buy a small sample of it. It is a gorgeous light blue without looking like a baby's room or such.