Showhouse Rooms with Yellow Palettes

Pasadena Showcase House of Design Pasadena, California

Design:
Julie Kays, Julie Kays Design, 841 Muskingum Ave., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272; 310/877-8296, juliekaysdesign.com.

Photographs by Michael Garland
Produced by Darra Baker

Dark wood trim that is a hallmark of Tudor design prompted designer Julie Kays to look to the light to brighten this home office. Soft yellow walls, painted trees and birds that adorn the perimeter of the ceiling, and a hand-blocked statement fabric combine to create a space where work and pleasure mix.

There were two sets of windows, but their dark wood framing seemed to dim the natural light of the room, explains Kays. "I used yellow because it reflects light instead of absorbing it. And the color changed the room's personality to a happier one."

Atop a yellow-and-cream Mahal rug covering dark wood floors, Kays repurposed a Chinese library table into a desk. The silhouette of the black-painted desk pops against the luminous window background. Pale gray linen dresses the hostess chair placed at the desk.

In the interest of keeping the room sophisticated and not too spirited, gray was folded into the scheme to temper the yellow hues. "Yellow can be too cheery," Kays says.