White Plus Yellow
Like an hour's worth of sunlight on a gray, rainy day, the glint of yellow in neutral rooms delights. Here, working together to leaven ordinary whites and creams, is a chrome-yellow Chippendale-style mirror frame -- its happy new coat of paint causing it to "jump off the wall"; some creamy yellows in the chair pillow's print; and the meltingly pale, new-minted gold of full-blown roses. Inspiring yellow details -- including notions, fabrics, and trimmings in silk, cotton, and rayon.

Yellow Plus Yellow
By itself, the citron yellow on this Victorian chest seemed pallid. But a rich, honeyed drawer trim -- not an obvious choice -- galvanized it. "The greater the chance you take with yellows," says Stephen Earle, "the greater the reward."

Color Plus Yellow
A butter-and-cream yellow bed skirt works best when warmed by an orange-yellow curtain stripe, and chilled, a bit, by breathy aqua walls. Dandelion-yellow walls and clean white woodwork pull this room's architecture together. Crisp black-and-white engravings --  photos work, too -- and the snap of several blues combine to make yellow (almost) a neutral background.

Wood Plus Yellow
Luminous and dazzling, translucent yellow curtains bring this dark, paneled room to life. Goldenrod on the mantel, a few restrained yellow objects, and the touches of turquoise tile that spark a fireplace surround rejuvenate a "moody" space. Ceramic sunlight dapples the dark woods of an old chest of drawers, a Sheraton balloon-seat side chair, and paneled walls. (Careful: Those shiny porcelain surfaces are reflective. Against red or green, they'll mirror background hues.)