60-30-10 rule
How to add color to your home with this interior hack
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Colors are one of the most important tools to make our home comfortable. But how do you best use different tones? The 60-30-10 rule is the perfect interior hack for color distribution in your home.
Do you really want to bring color into your four walls, but don’t really know how best to do it? Maybe walls in an intense color are too much for you, but a few pillows don’t seem enough for you. And you may also be unsure which tones harmonize with each other and what you should pay attention to when making your selection. The 60-30-10 rule could be your interior rescue!
What exactly is the 60-30-10 rule?
Living experts have developed this rule to describe the optimal color distribution in a room or apartment. The basic principle: You need three different shades that work well together to create a harmonious picture in a room. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the living room, bedroom, kitchen or a completely different room.
60 percent: The main color
First you determine a main color with which you want to decorate your living room, for example. She defines the mood in the room and should be represented by about 60 percent. Depending on your taste, this can be a more neutral color, such as gray or beige. But more intense tones, such as dark blue or bottle green, can also be suitable. You can paint the walls in this shade, for example – or maybe just an accent wall with stronger colors. You can also use this main color as a guide for larger pieces of furniture such as a sofa or a carpet.
30 percent: The secondary color
Now comes the secondary color, which makes up about 30 percent of the colored items in your room. It is therefore present, but significantly less than the main color. she should harmonize with the main color and ideally balance it – so it should be in the same color family. For example, if you’re working 60 percent with a light shade of gray, your secondary color might be an anthracite. If your main color is an intense shade of green, a lighter shade of green or cream could possibly act as a secondary color, which brings out the stronger nuance well and harmonises at the same time.
Curtains or carpets are suitable for the secondary color, maybe an armchair. For example, if you painted an accent wall in your main color, the secondary color could decorate the remaining walls.
10 percent: The accent color
You can now highlight the remaining ten percent of your space with an accent color. This accent tone is welcome to be a bit more gaudy, especially if your main and secondary colors are rather subtle. Depending on your taste, you could complement the different shades of gray or beige, which make up 90 percent of your color scheme, with a strong pink or blue, for example.
The accent color is best used in the decoration, for example with cushions on the sofa, small blankets, vases or pictures. The benefit is that you can occasionally vary your accent color by swapping out these little items with little effort. For example, you might like to work with a bright accent color in the summer, but rather with a warmer tone in the winter.
Tips and tricks: How to apply the 60-30-10 rule
- When you start designing a room or rooms according to the 60-30-10 principle, you should start with the main color. Think about which tone you like best, whether you feel more comfortable with inconspicuous, light tones in the Scandi style or whether you prefer intensive, dark tones.
- Then see which two tones are suitable as secondary and accent colors. The three tones should harmonize well with each other and radiate the right amount of calm or intensity for you.
- The 60-30-10 rule doesn’t have to be set in stone exactly. If you are braver when it comes to interior design, feel free to experiment. One possibility is, for example, to add a second accent color – and thus to make the “110 percent rule” out of the principle. After all, nobody knows better than you how you feel most comfortable in your apartment.
Sources used: myhomebook.de, sigmacoatings.de