Soft, muted colors are always a welcome choice in a nursery as they’re not stimulating, and they provide a soothing presence for anyone within them.
Not only is yellow a fab alternative for a unisex color, but it’s uplifting, joyful and surprisingly pairs well with most colors. Here are a whole host of yellow nursery ideas to inspire your own project.
21 Joyful Yellow Nursery Ideas For A Warm Embrace
1.Scallop Accent Wall
Create an accent wall on your crib wall by using a scallop pattern to create a half wall painted look. You can create a similar pattern by drawing around a mug to create the pattern.
Use a yellow paint shade of your choice on the lower half of the wall, it will ground the room and add some lovely warmth to a nursery.

2. Do It With Stripes
When it comes to choosing pattern to incorporate into a nursery, stripes are always a good idea! I adore these chunkier panels of stripes on the below nursery which are used across the wardrobes for a seamless look that makes the doors look completely discrete.
Take this up and across the ceiling for a fun, circus inspired look.
3. Two Tone Yellow
If you like stripes, why not lean into using two differing tones of yellow for an ever warmer look. A soft yellow against a darker, more defining mustard tone is highly complementary.
I also adore the gingham print wall art which offers a juxtaposition to the length of the stripes. Grab a similar print like this from Etsy.
4. Half Painted Wall
Keep things classic by creating a simple divide between the upper and lower half of the walls and painting a pristine line between the two.
Use yellow on the lower half, and a white on top which draws the eye up.
5. Yellow Gallery Wall
Gallery walls are a lot of fun to have in a nursery, choose a range of yellow prints and sizes of frames to create an eclectic look.
These can easily be updated and swapped over as baby grows up.
6. Polka Dot Print
Not a fan of stripes? Polka dots are another lovely option for a nursery, and there are a few ways you could incorporate these onto the walls.
Choose polka dot style wall decals, paint them yourself or choose a wallpaper with a similar pattern.
7. Yellow & A Warm Off-white
If you’re leaning into a half painted wall look like the below, choose to lean into a warm off white on the upper wall and ceiling with a yellow undertone to it.
It will create a more integrated look whilst also bringing more warmth to a nursery, even more important in north aspect nurseries that don’t receive a lot of light.
8. Color Drenching
It’s the most trendy way to paint right now, and color drenching in one singular tone of yellow across all the walls, trim and ceiling creates the coziest feel in a nursery.
Choose an uplifting, inspiring yellow. I love how the wooden tones in this nursery ground the room and make it feel interesting.
9. Use As An Accent Color
Of course, there’s other ways to use yellow without using it across the walls. Instead, choose an accent piece of furniture to bring the yellow tones into the nursery.
A nursing chair, crib, pouffe or even area rug are some easy ideas to achieve this.
10. Yellow Canopy Drape For A Whimsical Feel
Drape a yellow canopy over a crib or bed in a nursery for a beautiful, bold accent. This is such a whimsical addition to a nursery that will be loved, it’s soft, floaty and a lovely way to incorporate the warmth of yellow.
11. Ground The Nursery With An Area Rug
As well as using yellow in some capacity on the walls, tie it in with an area rug on the floor of the nursery for a cohesive pull through the room, and added comfort on those feet!
Ideally, you’ll want to use a large enough area rug that comfortably sits underneath furniture to avoid it looking like it’s ‘floating’ in the space.
12. Mural Wall
Whether you’re a dab hand with a paint brush or have found a wall mural wallpaper that you love, whole encompassing wall murals feel intimate and cozy in a nursery with eye catching graphics to engage little one.
13. Butter Yellow
Butter yellow is a trending tone of yellow this year, it’s gone wild through fashion to interiors and has totally changed many people’s opinions on yellow.
This soft tone is just as good as a neutral as it really does pair well with other neutrals, darker defining colors and bold, statement making shades.
14. Playful Gingham
This lovely yellow gingham wallpaper is such a fab alternative to stripes. It’s bang-on trend and brings such a lovely perspective to it on an accent wall. Pair with a soft yellow on trim and woodwork for a tonal look.
15. Cheerful Color Palette
If you’re going for yellow, create the colors of the rainbow by pulling in other cheerful shades through furniture, rugs, wall art and decor accessories.
This fun area rug below creates such a wonderful juxtaposition against the plain painted walls.
16. Include The Fifth Wall In your Design Plans
The ceiling, or the fifth wall as designers like to call it is no longer considered as an after thought. Instead of painting it in white as a knee jerk reaction, use it as an opportunity to introduce a soft yellow wallpaper, or even paint it yellow for something that draws the eye up visually as you enter the nursery.
17. Soft, Muted Yellow
You can get some lovely soft, muted yellows which are more warm off-whites with a yellow undertone. In the nursery below, the paint color has been taken up and across the ceiling for a color drenched approach that feels inclusive and totally cozy.
18. Painted Sun Mural
Why not have a go at painting a semi mural in a nursery? Take inspiration from the below sun mural which is uplifting and super fun. This mustard, heritage yellow color is super trendy and ideal for boys and girls nurseries.
19. Yellow & Green Make A Great Pairing
It might feel unexpected, but yellow and green actually work in harmony together! They both sit next to one another on the color wheel which makes them highly complementary colors.
A simple accent color in the green or vice versa is all you need to benefit from this color pairing.
20. Stripes & Pattern
Don’t be afraid to pair tasteful patterns for a high impact look. Stripes are a classic pattern that pair easily with both small scale or large scale pattern.
Take note of the below using striped wallpaper combined with a botanical print on the area rug.
21. Combine With Wood For A Vintage Feel
Wooden elements work really well with yellow for a traditional, vintage style feel. It brings definition to the scheme and is a much softer and earthy alternative than using a black.
Check Facebook marketplace and flea markets for one off pieces that are packed full of character!