Light Yellow
2022-60 · #FDF5C4 · LRV 84 — warm yellow tone, very light — near-white, broadens small spaces.
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What Color Is Light Yellow, Really?
Light Yellow 2022-60 is a pale, clean yellow from Benjamin Moore. Its hex value is #FDF5C4 and it carries an LRV of 84, near the top of the light range, so it throws most of the light in a room back at you and reads as a soft glow rather than a color with weight. The hue sits at 52 degrees, right in the lemon and cream zone. The saturation looks high on paper at 93 percent, but the lightness of 88 percent thins it out, so what lands on the wall is a warm buttery pale yellow, not a bright one.
People pick it when they want a room to feel sunny without committing to a strong yellow. At LRV 84 it behaves almost like a tinted white. It lifts a dim hallway, warms a kitchen that gets cool light, and keeps ordinary white trim looking crisp beside it. Because the yellow is clear rather than muddy, it reads cheerful and clean instead of gold or dated.
The catch is scale. A pale yellow that looks gentle on a chip gains strength across four walls, and warm afternoon sun or 2700K bulbs push it further toward real yellow. In a south-facing room it can move from cream to something closer to canary by late day. It is also unforgiving next to a cool blue-white trim, where the yellow suddenly looks obvious. Paint a large sample board and carry it around the room before you commit.
Light Yellow is a warm yellow with almost nothing hiding underneath it. The hue of 52 degrees is squarely yellow, and unlike a cream or an off-white there is no gray, green, or pink working in the background. That honesty is useful. You are not going to be surprised by an undertone appearing three days after the last coat.
What changes is how strong the yellow looks, not what direction it goes. Next to a cool white or a blue-gray, the yellow jumps forward and can look almost saturated. Next to warm beiges and tans, it calms down and reads more like a bright cream. Against wood floors and rattan it settles in and stops calling attention to itself.
Hold a chip next to your trim white and against any stone or tile that stays in the room. If your trim is a blue-based white, expect the contrast to be sharper than you planned.
Best Rooms and Uses for Light Yellow
This is a wall color first. At LRV 84 it opens up small and windowless spaces, which makes it a good fit for hallways, entries, stairwells, laundry rooms, and interior baths that get no daylight at all. Kitchens and breakfast rooms take it well because the warmth suits morning light and wood cabinetry.
It is also a common nursery and child's room color, since it gives warmth without gendering the room the way a strong pink or blue does. On a ceiling it can work in a small room where you want the whole box to feel soft, though most people keep ceilings white and let the walls carry the color.
Skip it on trim and cabinets unless you want a clearly yellow kitchen. At this saturation it looks better as a large soft field than as a hard edge. Outdoors it can serve as a pale body color on a traditional house, but strong sun will read it as a full yellow, not a near-white.
How Lighting Changes Light Yellow
An LRV of 84 means this color reflects a lot of light, so it will never look dim. What shifts is the temperature. In north-facing rooms, where daylight runs cool and flat, the cool light cancels part of the yellow and Light Yellow reads as a soft warm white with a hint of color. That is the flattering end of its range and the reason it works in rooms that usually feel cold.
In south and west light the opposite happens. Direct warm sun amplifies the yellow and can bounce it onto the ceiling and trim. East rooms look brightest and most yellow in the morning, then settle.
Bulbs matter as much as windows. Warm 2700K lamps push it toward butter and can make it feel heavier at night. Bulbs near 3500K to 4000K hold it closer to the chip. Look at your sample after dark under the fixtures you actually own.
Most complaints about Light Yellow are a light mismatch. Upload a photo of your actual room and see it on your walls — then ask for the same wall in north light or evening lamps before you buy a single sample.
Need It From Another Brand?
Any paint counter can custom-tint Benjamin Moore 2022-60 directly. If you would rather stay in one brand's own deck, these are the closest stock matches, measured as ΔE2000. Under 2 is a difference you will not see on the wall.
| Brand | Closest color | ΔE | LRV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams | Glittery YellowSW 7125 · Sherwin-Williams | 4.8 | 85 | Color page → |
| Behr | Natural LightP310-2 · Behr | 0.9 | 89 | Color page → |
| Valspar | Summer Morning3007-2C · Valspar | 2.8 | 86.6 | Color page → |
| PPG / Glidden | JoyfulPPG1107-2 · PPG / Glidden | 1.8 | 84 | Color page → |
| Glidden | Lemon Ice56YY 86/241 · Glidden | 2.2 | 86 | Color page → |
| Dutch Boy | Clearly Citrus116-3DB · Dutch Boy | 4.9 | 82 | Color page → |
Similar Benjamin Moore Colors
The nearest shades to Light Yellow within Benjamin Moore's own range, ranked by perceptual color distance — useful when you want the same look a touch lighter, darker, or warmer.
WCAG 2.1: AA is 4.5 : 1 for normal text, 3 : 1 for large text, AAA is 7 : 1.
Light Yellow vs Similar Colors
Within Benjamin Moore, the 2020s row is a family of pale yellows separated by small steps. Sicilian Lemon 2020-60 at LRV 83 and Lemonade 2024-60 at LRV 85 are the two you are most likely to confuse with it. Butter 2023-60, Provence Creme 2021-60, and Lemon Glow 2025-60 all sit at LRV 90, so they read noticeably lighter and closer to white on a wall.
Across brands, Dunn-Edwards Fine Linen DE5470 at LRV 82 has a deltaE of 1.05, which makes it visually identical in normal room light. Behr Dancing Butterfly PPL-20 at LRV 89 is the same story at deltaE 1.12, just lighter on paper. PPG Joyful PPG1107-2 at LRV 84 is deltaE 1.78, still a very close call.
Farrow and Ball Lancaster Yellow No. 249 at LRV 81 and deltaE 2.38 is very close but worth sampling first, and Sherwin-Williams Glittery Yellow SW 7125 at deltaE 4.77 is close but visibly different side by side.
Colors That Go With Light Yellow
A clean, slightly cool white on trim gives the crispest result, because it keeps the yellow looking deliberate rather than like a faded white. A warm creamy white also works if you want the room to feel seamless, but the contrast almost disappears at that point.
Inside Benjamin Moore's own range, the closest neighbors are useful for a ceiling, an adjoining room, or a softer second coat of the same idea. Butter 2023-60 at LRV 90 and Provence Creme 2021-60 at LRV 90 are lighter versions of the same warm yellow. Lemonade 2024-60 at LRV 85 sits almost on top of it, and Sicilian Lemon 2020-60 at LRV 83 is the nearest in lightness of the group.
For contrast, look to natural materials rather than more color. Oak, walnut, jute, and unglazed terracotta all sit comfortably with it. Aged brass and oil-rubbed bronze read warm alongside it; polished chrome can look abrupt.
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #FDF5C4 in HSL space. Pair Light Yellow with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
Light Yellow FAQ
Is Light Yellow warm or cool?
It is warm. The hue sits at 52 degrees, which is straight yellow, and there is no gray or green working underneath it. In cool north light the yellow softens and can look like a warm white, but the color itself is unambiguously on the warm side.
What LRV is Light Yellow?
Light Yellow 2022-60 has an LRV of 84. That is near the top of the light range, so it reflects most of the light that hits it and makes a room feel bigger and brighter. It behaves closer to a tinted white than to a mid-tone color.
Does Light Yellow work in a dark room?
Yes, and that is one of its better uses. At LRV 84 it bounces light back into windowless hallways, stairwells, and interior baths. In those spaces the cool or dim light usually tones the yellow down, so it reads warm and soft rather than bright.
What white trim goes with Light Yellow?
A clean, slightly cool white gives the sharpest edge and keeps the yellow reading as a real color choice. A warm creamy white is the softer option, but with the wall already at LRV 84 the contrast becomes very subtle. Test both against the wall sample before buying trim paint.
Is Light Yellow too yellow for a whole room?
It depends on your light. In a north-facing room four walls of it usually stay soft. In strong south or west sun the yellow builds and bounces, so the room can read more saturated than the chip suggested. Sample a large board on more than one wall.
How is Light Yellow different from Butter 2023-60?
Butter 2023-60 has an LRV of 90 against Light Yellow's 84, so it is clearly lighter and reads closer to an off-white. Light Yellow holds more visible color on the wall. Pick Butter if you want the barest hint of yellow, and Light Yellow if you want the room to actually look yellow.
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