Of all colours, yellow is the brightest and most noticeable to the human eye. According to the principles of colour psychology, it represents energy, idealism and looking to the future. Perhaps that’s why it’s one of this year’s biggest trends as optimism and reassurance are what we crave right now.
Yellow’s influence has certainly spread far and wide. Tones from acid lemon through to banana and sunflower were plentiful on the spring/summer 2019 catwalks, while Heckfield Place, Hampshire’s award-winning country house hotel, boasts the saffron-hued Ochre Room, created by interior designer Ben Thompson.
The hottest yellows, though, are arguably the spicy turmeric shades seen in this London home, designed by creative studio and reclamation specialist Retrouvius. With their slight 1970s feel, they look great with warm woods and earthy tones.
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This four-bedroom terraced house in west London is home to a full-time mum, her advertising executive husband and their three young children. They’d lived here for a few years before bringing in Retrouvius to refresh its white colour palette and tired layout. ‘There were lots of long corridors, and the side return felt very dislocated from the rest of the house,’ explains Retrouvius co-founder Maria Speake.
The team opened up the space by knocking down some walls, reconfiguring the entrances to certain rooms so they flowed more easily, and adding a full-width extension to the back of the house, which contains an impressive open-plan dining and living room.
A russet shade in the front sitting room, that the homeowners had fallen in love with and Maria describes as a ‘burnt rose’, was the inspiration for the house’s colour scheme. After a day spent looking through the Retrouvius archive, they chose a turmeric tint to go with it. ‘They wanted the house to feel cosy and moody, but these two colours are a strong contrast, so we had to find some inbetween shades to link them,’ says Maria.
The chalky mauve walls in the hallway, the cream furnishings in the living room and the ‘bruised apricot’ shades in the upstairs bedrooms all create calm pause points. This balance of warm and cool hues was echoed in other ways.
Woods – including reclaimed iroko furniture and mahogany parquet flooring – make the spicier colours glow, while lots of tropical plants act as a palate cleanser and a further nod to the 1970s trend.
‘The greenery helps to balance everything out,’ explains Maria, ‘so the house feels rich without being cluttered. From the outside, Victorian houses like these all look quite similar, but you never know what you’re going to get when you step inside. That’s what makes them magical.’
This article first appeared in ELLE Decoration February 2019
