25 Beautiful Blue and Mustard Living Room Decorating Ideas
Decorating a living room using blue and mustard yellow is one of the most beautiful and happy color choices you can possibly make. These two colors look incredible when placed next to each other because they are exact opposites on the color wheel. The cool, calm feeling of the dark blue perfectly balances the warm, bright, sunny energy of the mustard yellow. When you mix them properly, the living room feels incredibly cozy and totally inviting. Whether you want a dark navy blue room with tiny pops of bright yellow, or a bright yellow room with soft blue furniture, this color combination always creates a special space.
However, using two very strong colors in the same room can sometimes feel a little bit scary. If you use too much bright mustard yellow, the room might look like a busy bumblebee, and if you use too much dark navy blue, the room might feel too dark. To help you find the absolute perfect balance, we have created a very simple and detailed list of twenty-five beautiful blue and mustard living room decorating ideas. We will explain exactly how to mix the colors, how to choose the right furniture, and the smartest ways to add colorful pillows. We have written very clear, easy-to-read paragraphs to guide you step by step.
1. Paint the Walls Navy Blue and Use a Mustard Couch
One of the most dramatic ways to use these colors is to paint all the walls in your living room a very dark navy blue, and place a bright mustard yellow velvet couch directly in the center. The dark blue walls create a very moody, calm background. Against this dark wall, the bright mustard yellow couch completely pops out, acting like a warm ray of sunshine in the dark room.
Because this arrangement uses very bold colors on very large surfaces, you must make sure the room has a lot of natural sunlight during the day. You should keep the ceiling painted completely white to reflect the light, and use a very light-colored area rug directly under the bright mustard couch to break up the dark floor.
Keeping a bright yellow couch perfectly clean takes a lot of care. It will show stains from blue jeans and dirty pet paws very easily. You must absolutely ban eating messy food on the yellow couch, and vacuum the soft velvet fabric with the brush attachment every single week to pull the dust off before it settles.
2. Add Small Mustard Throw Pillows to a Blue Sofa
If you already own a comfortable blue sofa, you can easily toss a few small mustard yellow throw pillows directly onto the blue cushions. This is the absolute easiest and safest way to try out this color combination. The small squares of bright yellow break up the large block of solid blue fabric, adding a very happy, warm detail to the heavy furniture.
When adding pillows, you should mix different textures to make the sofa look interesting. Buy one smooth velvet mustard pillow, one fuzzy mustard pillow, and one blue pillow that has a small pattern of mustard yellow flowers on it. This makes the pillows look like a carefully collected group of art.
Throw pillows are very easy to clean if you buy the right kind. You must always make sure to buy pillows that have a zipper hidden on the back. This allows you to easily take the dirty yellow fabric cover completely off the soft insert pad and throw it right into the washing machine on a cold cycle.
3. Hang Large Blue and Mustard Abstract Art
A very smart way to bring these two strong colors together is to hang a massive piece of abstract art that uses both blue and mustard yellow paint. When you place a huge canvas above your sofa, the painting acts as the main focal point for the entire living room. The beautiful mix of colors naturally ties all the other furniture in the room together.
When hanging a massive piece of art, you must make absolutely sure it is centered perfectly above your furniture. Use a tape measure and a level tool to find the exact center of the wall above the sofa. The bottom edge of the heavy frame should sit closely above the top of the sofa cushions.
A very large painting with a thick frame will quickly gather a thick layer of dust directly on the top edge. You should never spray liquid glass cleaner anywhere near an expensive canvas painting, because the wet spray could easily ruin the paint. Simply use a totally dry microfiber cloth to gently wipe the dust off.
4. Lay a Blue and Mustard Patterned Rug
Instead of putting the color on the walls or the furniture, you can place a massive blue and mustard patterned area rug directly on the floor. Laying down a bright rug with a fun geometric pattern totally grounds the room. The blue and yellow threads woven together provide a very strong, colorful foundation.
To make the rug look right, it must be huge. One of the biggest decorating mistakes is buying a rug that is far too small. The large patterned rug should be big enough that the front wooden legs of every single sofa and chair in the sitting area can rest completely on top of it.
A rug that has bright mustard yellow threads woven into it will show dirt very fast. You must enforce a strict rule of absolutely no outside shoes allowed in the living room. You must also vacuum the rug very slowly at least twice a week to pull the deep dirt out of the bright yellow fabric fibers.
5. Paint the Inside of a Bookshelf Mustard Yellow
If you have a large, built-in wooden bookshelf painted dark blue or plain white, you can paint just the flat inside back wall a bright mustard yellow. This is an incredibly creative surprise. The bright yellow color glows softly from behind your books, making all of your favorite small items look incredibly special.
Painting the back of a bookshelf requires a lot of patience. You must take every single book and decoration completely off the wood. You also need to buy very high-quality painter tape to completely cover the edges of the shelves, making absolutely sure the bright yellow paint does not drip onto the flat white wood.
Because the yellow paint is sitting deeply in the back of the small shelf boxes, it will collect hidden dust. When you dust your books every month, you must remove them entirely and wipe the bright yellow back wall with a damp cloth to stop the bright paint from looking dull or gray over time.
6. Use Blue Curtains with Mustard Tassels
Curtains are a fantastic place to mix these two colors in a very subtle way. You can hang heavy, totally plain navy blue curtains, but add a very small, bright mustard yellow tassel fringe along the inside edges. The tiny dangling yellow strings add a very playful, happy movement to the heavy blue drapes.
When hanging curtains with a special edge detail, you must hang them on a very sturdy, totally straight metal curtain rod. The two lines of yellow tassels must fall perfectly straight down the exact center of the window when the curtains are closed to look totally professional.
Cleaning curtains with tiny strings attached to them is very difficult. If you put them in a washing machine, the bright yellow tassels will tangle together into a massive knot. You should only wash these highly detailed curtains entirely by hand in a large bathtub of cold water.
7. Place a Mustard Armchair in a Blue Corner
If your living room walls are painted a very soft powder blue, placing one single, bright mustard yellow armchair in an empty corner creates a beautiful reading spot. The soft light blue paint acts as a very calm background, while the single mustard chair acts as a warm, bright focal point.
When you place a bright chair in a corner, you need to group it with small items to make it look planned. Place a very small metal side table right next to the mustard chair, and angle a tall, simple floor lamp behind it to turn the corner into a highly useful reading nook.
A bright yellow fabric chair will become dirty exactly where your hands rest on the material every single day. To prevent this, you must buy a special fabric protection spray and coat the chair heavily before you ever sit on it to keep the oils on your skin from turning the arms totally brown.
8. Style the Coffee Table with Blue and Mustard Books
You can easily add blue and mustard yellow just by using books on your coffee table. Buy large, thick art books that have bright blue and solid mustard yellow covers. Stack three or four of these heavy books perfectly in the center of your wooden coffee table for a very easy pop of color.
To make the stack of colorful books look highly styled, you should place a small, interesting object directly on top of the top book. You could use a heavy glass bowl or a short candle. The heavy object anchors the books down and makes the stack look exactly like a planned display.
Because the coffee table sits exactly where people put their drinks, the beautiful colorful books will get ruined very quickly. You must put small wooden coasters next to the books so guests do not place their wet water glasses directly on the expensive covers.
9. Hang a Blue and Yellow Patterned Wallpaper
You can cover one entire wall with a bold wallpaper that features a strong blue and mustard yellow pattern, like large yellow flowers on a dark blue background. The wallpaper acts exactly like a giant mural, bringing an incredible amount of detailed art directly onto the wall.
Because this wallpaper is so busy, you should only put it on one single wall, called an accent wall. If you put a busy blue and yellow pattern on all four walls, the living room will feel incredibly chaotic. Paint the other three walls a very simple, calm color like soft white.
Wallpaper is much harder to clean than painted drywall. You cannot scrub it hard with a wet sponge, or the paper will become soaked and peel right off. You must be very gentle, using a dry feather duster on the paper every month to stop dirt from sticking.
10. Use a Mustard Yellow Blanket on a Blue Chair
The simplest way to mix these two colors is to buy a very thick, fuzzy mustard yellow throw blanket and fold it over the back of a dark blue armchair. The massive pop of bright yellow against the dark blue fabric looks incredibly comfortable and totally inviting.
When decorating with a throw blanket, the way you place it changes the feeling of the room. For a formal look, fold the yellow blanket perfectly straight over the arm of the blue chair. For a relaxed look, drape it loosely over the back of the chair in a soft pile.
A soft, fuzzy yellow blanket will quickly pick up pet hair and dust floating in the room. If the blanket is made of real wool, you must wash it in completely cold water on the most gentle cycle and let it air dry flat, or it will shrink into a tiny, stiff square.
11. Choose Blue Cabinets with Mustard Hardware
If your living room has built-in wooden cabinets, you can paint the wood a beautiful flat navy blue. To add the perfect touch of warm yellow, you can change out all the old handles for bright, shiny mustard-colored brass hardware. The tiny pops of glowing metal completely stand out.
When you change the hardware on painted cabinets, you must measure the totally empty holes very carefully. You must buy new mustard brass handles that fit exactly into the old holes so you do not have to drill new ones in the perfectly painted blue wood.
Because you grab these metal handles with your hands every single day, the bright mustard brass will slowly get covered in sticky finger oils. You must never use harsh chemical cleaners, but instead use a soft cotton cloth dipped in warm, soapy water to wipe them completely clean.
12. Decorate with Yellow Sunflowers in a Blue Vase
Bringing real nature into the living room is a beautiful idea. You can completely capture the blue and mustard color scheme by placing a massive bunch of real, bright yellow sunflowers directly into a tall, dark blue ceramic vase on your coffee table.
When you arrange very heavy flowers like sunflowers, you must make sure the vase is heavy enough to hold them. Choose a very thick, heavy ceramic blue vase that has a wide, totally flat bottom so the massive flower heads do not tip the vase over.
Real flowers require daily care to keep the living room smelling nice. You must pull the heavy blue vase out every two days, dump the old water completely out, wash the inside of the vase, and fill it with brand new, freezing cold water to keep the sunflowers happy.
13. Hang a Mustard Yellow Chandelier in a Blue Room
If your living room walls are painted blue, you can hang a large, modern chandelier that is painted entirely in bright mustard yellow right in the center of the ceiling. The bright yellow chandelier acts as a massive piece of floating art that looks incredibly cool and totally unique.
Hanging a heavy chandelier is a major job. You must make absolutely sure the electrical box in the ceiling is totally secured directly into a heavy wooden roof beam. If it is just screwed into the drywall, it will crash down onto your coffee table.
Cleaning a painted metal chandelier requires climbing up on a tall ladder. You must make absolutely sure the light switch is totally off before you clean it. Use a very soft, dry feather duster to gently knock the dust off the yellow metal arms every month.
14. Use a Navy Blue Sofa with a Mustard Ottoman
Instead of a wooden coffee table, pair a long navy blue sofa with a massive, soft mustard yellow fabric ottoman. The giant yellow square provides a massive pop of warm color exactly in the center of the dark blue seating area, making the room feel incredibly casual.
Because an ottoman is made of soft fabric, you must buy a very large, heavy wooden serving tray to place directly on top of the bright yellow fabric. This gives you a perfectly flat, safe spot to set down heavy coffee cups without ruining the soft material.
A fabric ottoman sitting exactly where people put their feet will get dirty very fast. You must enforce a strict rule that no one is allowed to put their shoes on the yellow fabric, and you will need to vacuum the top of the soft yellow ottoman every single week.
15. Paint the Ceiling Light Blue in a Mustard Room
If you paint the main walls of your living room a totally cozy mustard yellow, you should paint the ceiling a very pale, soft light blue. The light blue ceiling acts exactly like a clear blue sky, instantly drawing the eye upward and making the yellow room feel incredibly tall.
Painting a ceiling is a very messy physical job. You must completely cover every single piece of furniture and the entire floor with thick plastic drop cloths, because gravity will pull thousands of tiny blue paint drops straight down onto your carpet.
Because the ceiling is completely out of reach, you almost never have to clean it. However, you must use a very long, totally dry dusting wand to gently sweep the high corners of the room to remove any gray spider webs that form against the beautiful light blue paint.
16. Display Blue and Yellow Plates on the Wall
You can hang a collection of ceramic plates on the wall to add color. Collect six or seven dinner plates that have pretty blue and mustard yellow patterns painted on them, and hang them in a messy grouping to add a totally unique, slightly vintage cottage feeling.
Hanging breakable ceramic plates requires special safety hardware. You must buy special plate hangers equipped with tight metal springs that grip the plate totally securely from the back, and hang them onto a heavy-duty picture hook nailed deeply into a wooden stud.
Plates hanging vertically on a wall will collect a heavy line of dust directly on the top curved edge. You must be very gentle when cleaning them. Use a very soft, totally dry microfiber duster to lightly tickle the dust off the top edge of the plates without knocking them down.
17. Add a Blue and Mustard Striped Throw Rug
If you have a plain wooden floor, you can throw down a small, brightly colored rug with wide blue and mustard yellow stripes. If you lay the rug so the totally straight stripes run the long way down the room, it makes the small living room feel much longer.
When you place a small loose rug completely flat on a slippery wooden floor, it becomes incredibly dangerous. You must buy a very sticky, thick rubber rug pad and place it totally flat on the wood directly underneath the rug to freeze the fabric permanently in place.
A rug with bright stripes will show dirt in a very weird way. You must vacuum this rug very carefully. Small throw rugs can easily get completely sucked up into the heavy vacuum brush, so you should use just the plain suction to clean it safely.
18. Combine Navy Blue Walls with a Mustard Yellow Door
If your living room has a door that leads outside, you can paint the walls navy blue and paint just that one single door completely mustard yellow. The bright yellow door acts exactly like a warm, glowing portal, totally breaking up the massive dark blue walls.
Painting an interior door requires you to prepare the wood very carefully. You must wash the wood, sand the entire door totally flat, and use a very strong white primer first so the dark wood does not bleed through and make the bright yellow paint look totally muddy.
A door painted a bright color like mustard yellow will show dirty handprints incredibly fast around the metal doorknob. You must use a totally soft, slightly damp cloth to gently wipe the oily fingerprints completely off the bright paint every single week.
19. Use Mustard Yellow Lampshades on Blue Lamps
If you have two large, dark navy blue ceramic lamps sitting on your end tables, you can change the white shades for bright mustard yellow shades. The light bulb shines totally through the yellow fabric, casting an incredibly warm, totally cozy glow across the dark living room.
When you change a lampshade, you must make absolutely sure you buy the correct size. Measure the old shade carefully and buy a yellow one that is exactly the same height and width so the beautiful blue ceramic lamp base is not completely hidden in the dark shadow.
Fabric lampshades act exactly like giant dust magnets. You cannot wipe a fabric shade with a wet cloth, because the wet dirt will completely stain the yellow cloth forever. You must use a very sticky lint roller to pull the totally dry dust safely off the bright fabric.
20. Place Mustard Yellow Candles in Blue Glass Holders
You can place three tall, bright mustard yellow wax candles directly into heavy, dark navy blue glass candle holders on your coffee table. The dark blue glass makes the bright yellow wax look very rich, adding a beautiful, totally tiny pop of color to the room.
When decorating with real wax candles, you must think carefully about safety. You should never place tall candles directly near soft, long window curtains. You must place the heavy blue glass holders on a totally flat, open surface where the heat can rise completely safely.
The hot, sticky yellow wax can run completely over the dark blue glass and dry into a hard lump. You must absolutely never use a sharp metal knife to scratch the wax off. You should run the heavy glass holder under very hot water to slowly melt the wax totally away.
21. Choose Blue and Mustard Geometric Pillows
Adding pillows that have a very sharp blue and mustard geometric pattern to a plain white sofa is incredibly effective. The sharp lines of the dark blue and bright yellow triangles make the soft sofa look much more interesting, totally fresh, and highly designed.
When you use incredibly sharp geometric patterns on your throw pillows, you must keep the rest of the sofa totally plain. If you mix sharp triangles with a busy floral pattern, the two completely different patterns will make the sofa look totally chaotic.
Pillows with sharp printed patterns must be washed with total care. You must take the covers off and wash them entirely inside out in completely freezing cold water on the gentlest machine cycle to keep the dark blue ink from bleeding into the bright yellow shapes.
22. Hang Blue Curtains Against Mustard Walls
You can paint all the walls a soft mustard yellow, and hang thick navy blue curtains on the windows. The warm yellow walls wrap the room in a totally happy feeling, while the heavy dark blue fabric acts exactly like a strong, solid anchor drawing the eye straight to the windows.
Because the yellow walls are so incredibly bright, you must hang the heavy blue curtains perfectly. You should use a thick, totally straight black metal rod mounted very high above the window so the dark blue curtains can pull perfectly closed at night.
Dark navy blue curtains will easily show massive amounts of gray dust in the deep folds. You must make a strict habit of using the soft brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner to pull the thick dust gently off the long blue fabric panels every time you vacuum the room.
23. Create a Gallery Wall with Blue and Yellow Frames
You can create a massive gallery wall by placing black and white photographs inside wooden picture frames that are painted dark navy blue and bright mustard yellow. The mixture of the dark blue and bright yellow frames creates a highly playful, totally beautiful art display.
Creating a gallery wall requires very strict planning. You must trace every single colorful frame onto cheap brown paper and tape the totally flat paper squares to the wall first. This lets you find the absolutely perfect arrangement before making any permanent holes in the drywall.
A gallery wall means you now have many tiny little ledges that will collect dust. You must be incredibly careful when cleaning them, because pushing too hard will knock the small frames completely crooked. Use a very soft feather duster to tickle the totally dry dust away.
24. Use a Navy Blue TV Stand with Mustard Baskets
You can place your television on a beautiful, solid navy blue wooden TV stand and slide woven mustard yellow fabric baskets directly onto the open shelves. The bright yellow baskets totally break up the dark blue wood and completely hide your messy cables.
When you place fabric baskets on wooden shelves, the bright yellow baskets must fit perfectly onto the blue shelves without being completely mashed down. You must leave about one single inch of completely empty air directly above the baskets to avoid scratching the blue paint.
Fabric baskets will get totally dirty very quickly from oily hands. The bright mustard yellow fabric will start to look brown near the handles. You must empty the baskets completely and use a sticky lint roller to clean the inside fabric totally perfectly.
25. Place a Mustard Yellow Rug Under a Blue Dining Table
If your living room connects directly to a dining area, place a plain dark navy blue wooden dining table directly on top of a massive bright mustard yellow area rug. The bright yellow floor creates a huge glowing base that completely supports the heavy dark blue furniture.
When placing a rug underneath a dining table, the bright yellow rug must be incredibly large. When you pull the dining chairs completely out to sit down, all four wooden legs of every single chair must remain totally resting perfectly on the soft yellow rug.
A bright yellow rug underneath a busy dining table is in massive danger of food spills. You must apply a massive amount of fabric protector spray to the entire rug before you ever eat a meal there, and vacuum the bright yellow fibers thoroughly after every dinner party.
Conclusion
Decorating a living room with blue and mustard yellow is a brilliant way to create a space that is perfectly balanced between calm and happy. The dark navy blue brings a quiet, cozy feeling, while the bright mustard yellow brings an incredible burst of warm energy. Whether you choose to paint massive walls or simply place a few bright throw pillows, the combination is completely timeless. By using these detailed ideas and taking good care of the colorful fabrics, you will easily create a highly personal, deeply comfortable, and absolutely beautiful living room.
