The Yellow Drawing Room is the first in a suite of rooms on the West side of the House that would have been used for entertaining guests. It is named after the colour of damask on its walls - a colour chosen by Edwin Lascelles, the builder of Harewood House, himself.   

Like many of the rooms on the West side of the House, the Yellow Drawing Room has been restored and redecorated many times throughout its history. In the Victorian period it became a Billiard Room and in the 1930s it was returned to a drawing room, but decorated with rose-coloured damask. 

The walls and ceiling have now been restored to their original yellow scheme, reconnecting the relationship between other original features of the room. For instance, Thomas Chippendale carved a sunflower motif on each of the chair seat backs. The seat furniture’s upholstery and paintwork also was yellow to match. 

None of the original mirrors or pier tables for the Yellow Drawing Room remain in Harewood’s collection, but they had an unusual silver finish, rather than gold, offering an unusual contrast to the room’s yellow damask – as some historic visitors noted.

The original scheme of the room also incorporated an Axminster carpet designed by Robert Adam to reflect the ceiling, though sadly this is now too fragile to be displayed.