The Vintage Color Everyone Will Be Painting Their Living Room Walls

If you've ever set out to refresh your living room, then you know just how challenging it can be to pick out the perfect paint color. That sweet spot is a hue that looks current but is still classic enough that it can stand the test of time in your home. There is one paint color that fits the bill, and some interior designs experts expect to see it everywhere in 2026: butter yellow. This warm, vintage-inspired hue is a great one to incorporate into your living room.

Butter yellow interiors had their heyday in midcentury America, so this paint color gets major points for nostalgia factor. It's muted enough that it can be styled as a neutral, but it's nowhere near as generic as true neutrals like beige or gray. It's easy to see why butter yellow has been trending this year — and clearly, it's not on its way out just yet. You can purchase interior paint in this color from popular companies like Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, and Behr, or you can swing by a local hardware store and have a custom paint color mixed from a reference sample or photo.

Wondering how to style a living room with butter yellow walls? Since this paint color is so close to neutral, it's much more versatile for decorating than a fully saturated yellow, which is one of those paint colors you may want to avoid using in your living room. Really, your options are endless. Butter yellow walls would make a cheerful backdrop to a living room that's furnished with modern pieces — think a sleek, low-profile couch, a wooden coffee table or side table, and blue or cool-toned accent pieces to balance out all the warmth. 

Alternatively, you could embrace the retro feel of butter yellow paint and choose to style it with pieces that harken back to decades past. For example, a cozy, floral-patterned vintage sofa would look even cozier and perfectly at home in a living room that's drenched in this classic hue. And if you're not feeling this color for your living room? It's also projected to be a trendy paint color in 2026 for kitchen cabinets, helping to bring a warm and inviting feel to the heart of the home.