If they like cool, maybe shift to more of a light blue green instead of the sage, for a change and something fresher and happier looking. For more of the yellow they want, try a light golden sandy color, a little yellow. Maybe paint the back wall or strip by the door so they can see it first. If they insist on the strong lemon color, start with the back wall so they can get a good idea of how it will look with the rest of the room first.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Tue, Nov 26, 13 at 12:42

Do they need yellow yellow? Or can they work with something like copacabana or calla lily?

I love SW Jersey Cream. I was afraid it would be too yellow on the walls but it is a true cream.

BM warns about the way yellow can really turn out way too much on a wall. I love Lemon Sorbet but wouldn't use it because of the way yellow goes wonky.

A bluish green would be pretty. I also think a beautiful terra cota would look great.

I've been pushing Windham Cream and of course Hawthorne but haven't had much luck. What's a nice blue green that's a little cleaner than palladian blue?

Given what's there, I think you need something a little dusty. I've never seen Silver Sage in person but it is in between and I think a bit muted yet fresh?

Can you use one of those programs where you upload your photo and put a paint color on the wall, rather than paint actual swatches, to show them how lemon yellow will look vs. the more muted options?

mix bm 192 and 191 together in equal parts. It is the perfect yellow.

Take a look at BM lemon glow, from what they're requesting, they may like this and you want to make them happy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lemon glow

THANKS everyone!! Weedy, genius idea. I have now taken all your ideas, plus my parents' ideas, and put them in the BM color viewer thingy.

Thanks again, after looking at the colors I sent them they said they liked Hawthorne! Hopefully they'll like it on the wall. I wish I had come here before they painted 1/2 their house!

Still liking yellow? Can we see what the Hawthorne looks like in there?

This post was edited by snookums2 on Wed, Nov 27, 13 at 9:24

Warn them that a "lemon yellow" on the walls has a tendency to turn into Hare Krishna YELLOW when it's done.

We have a pastel yellow on the kitchen walls and it's way too gaudy in certain lights. We're going to repaint in something much paler, like BM Mayonnaise.

Ok, before I post these pictures, please realize I would never use this as the sole decision-making process in my own home (which I plaster in enormous samples just to pick between two nearly identical shades of greenish-grey), and I would use a better picture (taken during the day). But with my parents, you get what you get. :

Hawthorne

Lemon Sorbet

My second-fave, light version of their hallway color (Winds Breath)

My personal fave, Silver Sage (but they didn't like it)

Hawthorne is generally liveable in person, although it wouldn't be my first choice for this room because of the finishes, but here's a photo of it in a kind-of-similar setting:

Unfortunately, I think that yellow is the wrong way to go in their kitchen. I think I'd go with a rust color or some neutral. Can't you convince them they could add lots of color through wall art, etc?

k9arlene, I totally agree with you. They seem to really have their hearts set on yellow for some reason?

They're not much of color people though so they'll likely be happy as long as they like the wall color regardless of how it looks with the rest.

I was just curious how saturated a yellow they were shown (with their materials). Of course the monitors aren't accurate and everything looks kind of pale here. The online pictures are very yellow. It's a pretty color just can't imagine it in that kitchen. I guess they don't really see the big picture :). Just the yellow.

You might still just start with the one wall before committing to be sure they like it.

I agree with you snookums! Either way I'll take an 'after' photo to share. It's hard because I can't predict their taste at all, because it is so different than mine. I bought curtains for my mom to stage their last home and it is the FIRST time I have EVER bought something for her that she liked.

Try BM Soleil. It is a soft butter yellow that is fantastic in most light

My neighbor has Hawthorne in her sitting room and it's really quite cheerful there. Good luck!!

I painted my small bathroom BM Philadelphia Cream, thinking it was a gentle, creamy yellow. It was before I learned that it takes more than a dab on the wall to assess a color. It turned out way, way, way too yellow. It still surprises me that I have lived with it for nearly 9 years, but I'm not in there that often and it actually serves as a cautionary tale.

Another thing. My vanity in the yellow bathroom is 90s golden oak which is not made any lovelier next to the yellow. Your parents' cabinets are just fine, but they will not be enhanced by an assertive yellow.

If you can't steer them toward real creams, then I agree that something in a muted green goes well with the cab color. Sage is nice, but as others have pointed out, you can get a happier shade, and maybe appease your folks, with something with more yellow in it.

BM Windham Cream? I have it in my kitchen/FR in a north-facing room.

The cabs are like a fake cherry color...definitely have reddish tones. Unlike my home where the previous owners liked honey oak so much they stained every piece of wood in the place orange, pine and oak alike.

I offered to go down and paint swatches for them this weekend but I anticipate when I get down there on Saturday that the kitchen will already be painted school bus yellow.

It's so hard because I'm having such a hard time anticipating what they will like. They painted their hallway and foyer Ranchwood and it basically makes me want to throw myself over their staircase, but many people would see it as a perfectly nice dark taupe.

"They painted their hallway and foyer Ranchwood and it basically makes me want to throw myself over their staircase, but many people would see it as a perfectly nice dark taupe. "

Thanks for the laugh! It will be interesting to see if they like the school bus yellow once it goes up. People are so different. It would not be a room I could linger in, lol. But I think it would be a whole different space with different flooring.

Well, I went down and painted a ten samples on the wall this weekend while trying not to be bossy. Then heard music to my ears: "You know robo, when you look at all those yellows, I just don't think lemon yellow is going to work in this room!" I gave them four yellows, two greys, three greens and a buff. Not sure what they will pick now. They have Stratton in the dining room so I suggested Palladian might work well.

Ran into small town problems: the ONE paint store that stocks Benjamin Moore in their town only had TWO sample cans left!!!

The floor is fairly prominent so I would choice a lighter shade from one of the floor colors. Instead of yellow though, I would go with a lighter mid tone muted golden or a tone from one of the others shown. I would get some more samples of colors that will jive and have them pick again.

The floor in real life has a very pinky undertone, I guess like terracotta. And the green is like a green-grey, but it looks sage next to the terracotta. I told them the floor was very 'bossy' and they looked at me like they knew what the bossy element in the room was -- and it wasn't the floor! Ha!

I figured out that BM OC 84 crème caramel looked great with the floor but on the walls it's a pretty light pink. Would work for some people but not my parents. So definitely feeling the greens now. I tried Silken Pine which looked like a pretty grey-sage on the chip, but on their wall transformed into ice blue.

This post was edited by robotropolis on Mon, Dec 2, 13 at 14:34

"and they looked at me like they knew what the bossy element in the room was -- and it wasn't the floor! Ha!"

LOL!

This post was edited by nosoccermom on Mon, Dec 2, 13 at 15:34

Update: they ended up running pale celery throughout the kitchen. It's a compromise choice for everyone, but at least it's light and fairly neutral. I'll take photos next time I'm down during the daylight. Thanks very much for all your help!

This post was edited by robotropolis on Sat, Jan 25, 14 at 8:10

You can always use the color sheets rather than paint samples on the wall. here's a link

http://www.myperfectcolor.com/en/product/991134_Benjamin-Moore-8-inch-Color-Sheet