Yellow isn’t just a colour. It’s an instant mood booster and a bold design statement. This sunshine-inspired shade can transform any room, adding warmth, light and a fresh, welcoming vibe. But before you grab a paintbrush, discover why Arles is the perfect yellow for your home.

Chalk Paint in Arles was inspired by the yellow ochre pigments found in the earth around the town of Arles in the south of France. Yellow ochre is that warm, earthy yellow used throughout history and cultures. One of the oldest pigments, you can find yellow ochre anywhere from exterior walls of Mediterranean farmhouses to prehistoric cave paintings; in Modigliani’s portrait of his wife Jeanne Hébuterne and Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. This is a pigment with cultural clout!

Arles is a rich, sandy, summery shade that can used to create both aged, rustic looks and clean, modern styles.

It is a very natural positive colour which creates an anchored feeling inside your home.

It works beautifully with fresh and creamy whites or can be contrasted, as it would in its namesake town of Arles, with the blue of a cloudless sky. When mixed with Old White, Arles creates a warm and gentle shade.

For a bold look use Arles as a ‘neutral’ with a deep aubergine colour like Tyrian Plum to emphasise the depth and warmth of this shade and give a nod to Charleston Farmhouse. Turquoise and bright blues like Florence or Frida Blue will create a very summery, Mediterranean mood.

For something dramatic, try Arles next to Graphite. Dramatic and hugely interesting but still very “liveable”.

For more on Arles read issue 2 of the Colourist which is devoted to using yellows.

The Colourist Issue 2