The Best Yellow Exterior Paint Colors for Your Home

Painting your home’s exterior yellow creates a cheery canvas for your property and adds to your curb appeal. And there’s a whole spectrum of uplifting yellow tones, ranging from subdued buttery hues to earthy yellows and super-saturated lemon tones. But how do you know what shade to choose? Read on to select the best yellow paint color for the exterior of your home.

Creamy, Soft Yellows

Cheerful yet sophisticated, these shades of yellow are toned down and creamy. A buttercream yellow exterior looks great paired with a charcoal roof and bright white trim for a preppy or classic look.

For a lakeside or wooded retreat, consider a muted yellow exterior juxtaposed with dark green shutters and crisp white trim. Darker shades like charcoal and dark green tone down yellows even further so they don’t appear as bright. 

For trim, select a bright white to set off the yellow instead of a creamier white, as it will look too similar to the muted yellow exterior. You want to create contrast.

Shades to consider: 

• Sherwin-Williams’® Butter Up

• Sherwin-Williams’® Daybreak

• Benjamin Moore’s Cornsilk

• Benjamin Moore’s Featherbed

Lemony Yellows

Pale lemony yellows look lovely paired with gray and white accents. For a classic combo, lemony yellow juxtaposed with blue is a natural fit, as they are across the color wheel from one another. You can go traditional with deep navy or try something fun, like a soothing pale blue. An aqua or teal is a nice accent color for a yellow coastal home.

Other great accent colors for lemony yellows include bright pops of coral red or a muted sage. These types of accent colors also work well for front doors and shutters. 

Shades to consider: 

• Benjamin Moore’s Royal Linen

• Benjamin Moore’s Blossom Tint

• Benjamin Moore’s Weston Flax

• Sherwin-Williams’® Banana Cream

• Sherwin-Williams’® Friendly Yellow

Bold Yellows

You’ll see more saturated yellow hues on historic farmhouses, older Victorians, and sometimes even Craftsman homes. These darker yellows look great paired with warm earth tones.

A Florida-style house with bolder canary yellow-painted siding looks great topped with a white tin roof, white shutters, and a vibrant door that pops. With lush tropical plants and big, colorful blooms in the yard, it's curb appeal at its best.

Shades to consider: 

• Sherwin-Williams’® Lemon Twist

• Benjamin Moore’s Sweet Butter

• Benjamin Moore’s Golden Honey

• Benjamin Moore’s Hawthorne Yellow

How to Choose the Right Yellow Paint Color for Your Home

Choosing yellow for the exterior creates a cheery canvas for your property and adds to your curb appeal. It also sets a joyful tone and sends the message to your neighbors and passersby that you’re creating a happy home.

Before selecting a yellow, take a good look at the exterior of your home and consider the following:

Architectural Style

Bolder, deeper yellows look great on old farmhouses and Victorians, while lemony yellows might be more suitable for coastal or Florida-style homes. Creamy muted tones are best suited for classic styles, especially when paired with black shutters and a black roof.

Building Materials

Consider the materials that make up your exterior. If you are painting wood siding, but there are masonry materials like brick or stonework on your home, consider what shades would best complement the tones of your masonry. Most likely, yellow will clash with red brickwork. But the right shade of muted yellow will look nice juxtaposed with gray stonework.

Trim and Gingerbread Details

Traditionally, a crisp white trim looks great paired with yellow. If it’s a Victorian-style home with intricate gingerbread, you can have a little more fun with color, as Victorian homes traditionally incorporate several shades. If it’s a Craftsman-style home, you can go with more earthy tones for trim and accent colors, like greens, browns, and even terracottas.

Fading Hues

Yellow shades tend to fade easily, so you are limited in finding bolder hues that can be mixed into exterior paint bases. This means there isn’t much longevity to brighter colors, and you may have to repaint the exterior of your home sooner than you’d like if you want a super-saturated yellow hue.

How Much Does It Cost to Paint Your Home’s Exterior Yellow?

Cheery and sunny, the color yellow evokes happiness. It instantly lifts spirits. And it’s a semi-affordable way to impact your home’s style greatly.

The average cost of painting a home’s exterior is $3,740. So, making sure you pick the right shade is important. Bright yellows are great accent colors (think front door), while more muted tones are ideal for larger applications.

DIY vs. Hiring a Pro

Hiring a local painter for an exterior paint job costs $1 to $3.50 per square foot in labor, while a DIY exterior paint job will only cost the price of materials. While doing the work yourself can save you money, a professional painter will do the job more quickly and with better results. They also have the necessary equipment, such as tall ladders, lifts, safety harnesses, and the experience to do the job safely. 

Sara Coleman contributed to this article.