Easy peasy lemon squeezy

Lovely lemon – it lets the sunshine in. Incorporate this fresh, light, happy hue into the home, as a colour and as in mood. It can be super smart and swish, or funky and kitsch – depending on how you play with it.

Lemon is a hard colour not to secretly love. A traditional nursery favourite, it certainly appeals to our psyche. It has a true transformational effect on a small dark room or wardrobe, brightening a dull south-facing space instantly. With lemon, you can go as loud, or as super subtle and soft as you like.

In the ’50s pale lemon was amongst the pretty pastel palette which painted the decade – as seen on Formica tables. In the 60s, a lemon-coloured kitchen was super cool – even before the orange and brown era. Incorporate retro lemon-glazed ceramics and vintage-style kitchenware with modern interiors.

All things fruity are very in vogue – so how about a row of pineapples on the walls and cushions? Lemons adorning tea-towels, mellow yellow kitchen appliances, yellow ducky bath towels all squeeze a little citrus into every room. Windowsills painted pale yellow accentuate the incoming sunlight, with perhaps sherbet-coloured floaty curtains. Lemon-painted furniture instead of the usual white is a pretty change.

This clean, fresh take on yellow is a totally different palette story to its muted golden, mustard cousins. It’s the essence of summer and perfect for cool coastal themes. It blends beautifully with whites, when an all-white room needs a bit of zest. For more intense drama, pair with violet or dark navy.