Nesting With Grace

by Brooke Christen

60 30 10 Color Theory- How this color formula can transform your room

May 11, 2026

I am a very devout follower of the 60 30 10 color theory and I didn’t even know it. I had someone question why I put a gold shower curtain in my girls bathroom and my answer was, to keep things interesting! Then I did some research on different color theories in design and found the 60 30 10 color formula.

Basically 60% of a room is one main color, 30% is a secondary color, and 10% is the pop of color. I still have accent colors, pops of different colors etc. But the majority of the room are these three colors. This does not have to be exact. It is a tool to help in the decision making process and also help to figure out why you might not like how a room is looking. Also this formula helps to keep things interesting in a room! That unexpected 10% is just the thing to make a room a little more interesting.

I was trying to decide what color I wanted to be the 30% in our family room, because it wasn’t defined and it felt off balance. I tried gold curtain panels and blue curtains. The blue was the winner, even tho I loved the gold. After that experiment I picked 60% for the blue, 30% pink and 10% gold. (You can see I have black accents in here, but more of the gold so that is the 10%)

Paint Color // Blue Rug // Stripe Curtains // Curtain Rod // Window Seat Fabric // Bolster //
Sofa // Gold Swivel Chairs // Gold Vase // Light Fixture // Ottoman // House Art

60 30 10 Color Theory Examples-

Jack and Jill Bathroom

Plaid Boys Bedroom

Blue Primary Bedroom

Primary Bedroom

Guest Bedroom

Hope that helps in picking colors for your rooms!

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