How to use yellow - all around the home

Yellow - you either love it or hate it, but yellow is having a moment, in fashion and in homes. In colour psychology, yellow is the colour of happiness, enthusiasm and optimism. It stimulates the left side of the brain, helping clear thinking and quick decisions, so it's a great choice for a home office. It creates a warm and inviting atmosphere, making rooms feel relaxed and cosy so it's good for living spaces and bedrooms. As with all colours there is a wide spectrum from ochre to butter yellow to primrose, so see which one suits you, here's a few ideas on how to use yellow - all around the home.

One of the easiest ways to use yellow - paint the walls, and as I said in the intro, it's a good choice for an office as it promotes clear thinking, and will also lift your spirits when you sit at your desk in the morning. This is English Yellow Chalk Paint from Annie Sloan. The trestle table desk is painted in Chicago Grey.

'With more of us spending an increased amount of time at home, our homes are becoming spaces to relax and retreat, but also a place where we want to surround ourselves with joy, colours and patterns that make us happy.' says Ruth Mottershead, Creative Director of Little Greene. 'Use yellow to provide positivity to a space. It is a colour that makes us feel uplifted, happy, energised and invited. The perfect shade for a hallway or a front door, yellow provides a warm invitation to any home.

Yellow paint colours have an inherent brightness, freshness and warmth that makes them an ever-popular colour all around the home, creating a feeling of warmth and cosiness, it is sunshine in your home. Yellow is a perfect colour for spaces such as kitchens with a high level of activity – noise, laughter and fun.'

Another way to use yellow is to paint the ceiling, it's a design idea that is gaining traction at the moment. Sometimes called the fourth wall, painting the ceiling can really make an impact and is a great way to introduce colour. Mustard Easyclean Matt Emulsion from Crown

Wallpaper is another way to introduce yellow. This design from Mind the Gap is called, rather grandly, The Garden of Immortality, and has hints of green, pink and red in the bird and flower design. With a busy pattern like this, its best to put simple furniture against it, so it doesn't detract from the lovely pattern.

Bring sunshine in with window treatments such as yellow curtains, blinds or these stunning shutters from Shutterly Fabulous They make for the perfect sunny dining room, further enhanced by the emerald green frame, then pick dining chairs and accessories in the green too.

A softer shade, this muddy yellow colour works well with pink and soft blue, the sofa is the Slim Jim from Loaf easy on the eye, it looks comfy and cosy,

Introduce yellow in the kitchen with yellow tiles, these Mediterranean-style ones are called Discotheque Bronski from Claybrook and create a pretty flower effect. Paint the shelves in an ochre shade to complete the look.

Or have yellow kitchen cabinets teamed with green for a classic colour combination. Paint base and glazed wall units to create a dresser effect, then pick out the yellow colour in the bar stools. This kitchen is from Herringbone Kitchens. You can find yellow bar stools at Dunelm

Or think about introducing a pop of yellow with a cooker, this will really brighten up a kitchen and works well in a small kitchen as it is compact, it's also great for a country look, it's the 60 heat storage range cooker from Everhot

Bring in yellow as an accent colour with an armchair, like this Astoria from Atkin & Thyme, or choose yellow curtains.

Another way to use yellow as an accent colour is by having a painted freestanding bath, it adds a splash (sorry) of colour in the bathroom. It's also easy to re-paint if you tire of it. This Boat bath is from B C Designs. 'Even in small bathrooms, many people aspire to a freestanding bath to create the wow factor.' says Barry Cutchie of B C Designs. 'Having limited space shouldn't have an impact either as smaller models start from just 1200mm - deep enough for a luxurious soak.'

Add a yellow throw as an accent colour in the bedroom, or choose yellow cushions or a rug to lift an otherwise neutral scheme and bring it bang up to date. Image: Kersaint Cobb, Pampas Nordic Stripe flooring

A lamp is an easy way to update a room, this one from Pooky has an Acid Yellow Jute shade on their Oriel antique brass base. Lemons optional.

Or take it outside and give the shed a makeover with Golden Somer wood paint from Thorndown or buy some yellow and white stripe outdoor seat cushions, £58 from Rockett St George, below