The Color Digest

Sudbury Yellow

Farrow & Ball · No. 51

The yellow from the staircase at Sudbury Hall

Hex#D7B576
RGB215 · 181 · 118
WarmthWarm
UndertoneOchre-gold; a yellow with earth in it
FamilyYellows
CollectionColour Card

In real rooms

Photographed under consistent light · credited & tagged

Sudbury YellowF&B No. 51
Design byPolly Ashman Design
Sudbury YellowF&B No. 51
Design byPolly Ashman Design
Sudbury YellowF&B No. 51
Design byPolly Ashman Design

How it reads

Sudbury Yellow is an ochre-gold named for the staircase at Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire — a yellow with enough earth in it to feel historic rather than sunny. It is warm, saturated and surprisingly easy to live with, because the ochre keeps it from ever turning acid.

In a child's bedroom with a pink headboard and a blue chest it is joyful; in a hall it is welcoming in the oldest sense. Cool light mutes it toward mustard; warm light makes it glow like a lantern.

Compare

Settled, side by side

vsLate Wheat CC-240vsMoonlight 2020-60vsSavage Ground No. 213

Questions

Is Sudbury Yellow too strong for a whole room?
It is a saturated color, but the ochre base is calm. It works on four walls in rooms with plenty of white and pattern to balance it.
What goes with Sudbury Yellow?
Pinks, blues and greens all work — it is a natural partner for chintz. Keep the trim a warm white.

Painted a room in Sudbury Yellow?

Add it to the reference library — credited to you, photographed in honest light.

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More yellows

Late WheatBenjamin Moore CC-240MoonlightBenjamin Moore 2020-60
Reviewed by The Color Digest editors · @thecolordigest
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