How to Paint a Room Yellow...

Step 1: Colour
The first thing you need to do is choose a colour. There are SO many diffenent types of yellows. Yellows that stretch more to the green side (like golds and lemon colours) and yellows that stretch more toward the orange side (butter shades). Yellow is considered to be a warm colour but can be treated as a cool colour by adding a touch of green.
VERY IMPORTANT when choosing a colour...is to remember that colour IS light. Wtihout light, there would be no colour. The lighting in your room is critical to the colour. Natural sunlight is the biggest factor...lots of sunlight will wash out a colour and sometimes bring out unwanted undertones. Minimal sunlight can darken a colour making it more saturated (darker) than you had expected. Before you decide on a colour in the poorly lit colour station at a hardware store...grab a bunch of colour chips and bring them home to the room you are painting. At some stores you can even buy samples of a colour to test before you commit to it.


Step 2: PRIME
If you have chosen a light colour of yellow, start with a fresh white primer on the walls.
If you have chosen a bright or deep tone of yellow than ask for a TINTED primer. Yellow (along with reds and oranges) are the trickiest colours to paint. This is because the pigments used to make these colours into paint are man-made...colours like ochres, browns, black and white are all derived from nature...therefore are thicker, heavier pigments that cover better.
It is easier to go from white to light yellow to bright yellow...then to go from white to bright yellow.
Allow the primer to dry 1-3 hours.

Step 3: First Coat
Apply your first coat of paint. The trick to dark colours is to pay attention to the dry time. The darker the colour, the more pigment added, the longer it takes to dry. If there is a label on top of the can indicating the colour, base and pigments added...pay special attention to the ounces of tint added (oz)...a bright yellow could have 12 to 14 oz's of tint. Allow for an hour an ounce. 12 oz's means 12 hours of dry time before your second and third coats.

Step 4: Additional Coats

Step 5: Cure time
Latex paint cures in 30 days (oil cures in 6 days)...which means that you're colour hasn't fully darkened until it's been up for a month. Keep the walls from any "high traffic" conditions until the paint is cured to avoid chipping.

Yellow is a vibrant, fresh, happy, inspring colour...and when done right it makes a room feel fun and creative.

Enjoy!!!