Home design is an art form that can leave us feeling befuddled, stuck, and frustrated! However, there is a quick and easy approach to create a balanced colour palette for your home. The 60-30-10 Rule is in effect!
WHAT IS THE RULE OF 60-30-10?
It’s a time-honored decorating rule that aids in the creation of a colour scheme for a room. It suggests that a dominating colour should make up 60% of the room, a secondary colour or texture should make up 30%, and an accent should make up 10%.
APPLICATION OF THE 60-30-10 RULE
The 60 percent represents the room’s general colour or backdrop color. You’ll say it’s the “grey” room, or whatever color you choose, when you look at the area.
Your 30 percent is the next figure in this rule. It will serve as a secondary color in your space, supporting the main color but remaining distinct enough to provide interest. Consider this: you’ll use half as much of this colour as you did of your primary colour.
Your ten percent, or accent colour, is the fun percentage. Depending on the look you want, it might be more aggressive or more subtle. It’s entirely up to you whether the 10% adds character to the room or keeps it feeling neutral.
You should read my piece on the 5 Secret Elements of Interior Design right now if you haven’t already. It’s a thorough guide on how to get the place you want with the stuff you want. After reading this, you’ll know how to achieve balance while mixing styles, tones, and textures. As you know, I advocate a neutral colour palette since it allows you to build a functional and curated space with objects you love, but you may use the 60-30-10 rule to choose any colours you like.
EXAMPLES AND ITEMS FOR THE 60-30-10 RULE:
60%
- Walls
- Accent Pieces
- Rugs
- Sofa
- Large “Foundation” Pieces
30%
- Curtains
- Painted Furniture
- Side Chairs
- Smaller “Foundation” Pieces
10%
- Throw Pillows/Pattterned Fabrics
- Decorative Accessories
- Artwork
The simplest technique for selecting the three colours for your room is to use a colour scheme based on the colour wheel. Any of the following four possibilities would be my recommendation:
Monochromatic
Choose ONE colour and utilise it in lighter and deeper shades throughout your space. A neutral colour like grey, cream, white, or greige works well for this.
Complimentary
On the colour wheel, choose TWO hues that are diametrically opposed. One will always be a “warm” colour, while the other will be a “cool” colour, resulting in a pleasing equilibrium.
Analogous
Choose THREE colours on the colour wheel that are next (next) to each other, with the centre colour being the more dominating. Blue-green, green, and green-yellow are three examples of this; notice how green appears in all three. Ahh, yes!
Complimentary Split
Similar to Complimentary (above), but with the addition of a third colour. So you choose a main colour, locate its complementary colour on the colour wheel across from it, and add one of the colours neighbouring (next) to the complimentary colour. As an example, if your dominant colour is blue, your complementary colour is orange, and your third colour is red.
CAN I GO ABOVE AND BEYOND THE 60-30-10 RULE?
Yes, if you’re feeling confident and rebellious, but be aware that you’ll be adding to the confusion. With this, you have three options:
Score a perfect 100.
By performing something like 60-30-10-10, you can add a fourth hue to the mix. This will be accomplished by including a second accent hue into your accessories, such as throw pillows, shelf vases, and picture frames.
Go for a monochromatic look.
Choose ONE colour and go crazy with it by including various deeper and lighter tones of that hue throughout your decor. This can also be done using wood tones. You can wind up with an absolutely grey room, but the variety of tones you employ will give it depth.
Make Your Own Recipe
Interior Styling and Home Decor, as I often say, is about how the room makes you feel. If you have a colour scheme in mind, go ahead and use it! It may be something along the lines of 40-30-20-10, 40-25-15-10-10, or even 75-15-10. Whatever the case may be, make sure you focus on your percentages; else, things could get out of hand!
That’s it for now! I understand if this seems perplexing, but re-read it a few times, scribble down some thoughts, and you’ll be on your way in no time! It’s a very linear method of thinking about design, which can be quite abstract at times. You can’t go wrong if you keep on track and attempt to stick to your percentages.
Have you figured it out yet? Do you require assistance? Please let me know how you’re doing and if you have any questions by contacting me at my website or Instagram. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
We’ll talk again shortly!
