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Whatever you’re wearing right now will end up in your home four years from now—and we don’t just mean it’ll still be hanging in your closet. Fashion trends always find a way to inspire interior design trends, even if it happens to take a few years for us to realize it. Example A: In 2019, we reported on the #StickofButter aesthetic, a term coined by writer Harling Ross. Devotees using the hashtag were dressing in warm neutrals with some pops of ultra-pale yellow thrown into the mix, but we loved the idea of using the same creamy, golden hues in, say, the living room, too. So, we’re happy to report that the butter trend has officially shifted from the runway to the home, and we were even delighted to learn that interior designer Shea McGee is here for it.
“Butter yellow is such a good shade, landing somewhere between beige and yellow, yellow,” shares McGee. “I love how sunny and relaxed it is without going full force into lemon territory.” She’s been leaning into the mood-boosting shade in both her McGee and Co. furniture collections (peep the Giulietta Hand-Knotted Rug and Mark Making print on canvas) as well as in projects, like the Studio McGee spec home (pictured above). “I love seeing butter yellow on soft textiles like rugs, pillows, and lamp shades, but I also think it’s neutral enough and classic enough to incorporate it onto longer-lasting parts of your home, like wallpaper,” shares the designer.
Here are some small (and big!) ways to finally embrace butter yellow at home.
Pair It with Earthy Colors
So what other colors go well with pale-pale yellow? Look to nature, suggests McGee. “If done right, butter yellow can act as a neutral and pair with almost anything in the muted family, but two of my favorites are a light, greenish gray and a deeper, earthy blue,” says the designer.
Lean Into Soft Goods, Beyond Pillows
Because it’s such a cozy color, butter yellow happens to look best on cozy things, like billowy curtains or, in the case of jewelry maker Sara Burns’ Queens apartment, fabric panels that hide pantry staples. Burns’ space is also a reminder that butter yellow is ideal for tiny spaces: it’ll give an apartment that bright-and-big look.
Single It Out
Butter yellow might be on the subtler side of the color wheel, but that doesn’t mean it can’t stand out in the right setting. Consider applying the color to a super-utilitarian object or singular piece of furniture, like Nick Poe did with this basic metal dining chair.
Meet Friends at the Front Door
Take a page from this Kazakhstan apartment and paint your entire entryway butter yellow. If you think about it, it’s the perfect place for the shade: it greets your guests with a warm hug, even when you haven’t made it to the door yourself yet.