Color & Windows
60-30-10 Color Proportion Calculator
Turn your room's surface area into a balanced 60-30-10 color scheme - exact square footage for the dominant, secondary and accent shares, with a live proportion preview.
Color budget
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Paintable wall area to divide 60 / 30 / 10.
- 60% - Dominant
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- 30% - Secondary
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- 10% - Accent
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Enter your room to begin.
60% · 30% · 10%
The recipe behind a balanced room
Rooms that feel effortlessly pulled together almost always follow the 60-30-10 rule. It borrows from classic tailoring: one color leads, a second supports, and a third punctuates. In practice that's roughly 60% dominant (walls and large surfaces), 30% secondary (flooring, sofa, drapery) and 10% accent (cushions, art, a lamp). The proportions keep a scheme from feeling either flat or chaotic.
Turning percentages into square feet
This calculator uses your paintable wall area - the room's perimeter times its height, minus the window and door openings you enter - as the base. It then splits that area 60/30/10 so you have concrete numbers to plan paint, materials and textiles against, rather than a vague ratio.
Assigning the colors
Give the calmest color the 60% share so it can cover the most surface comfortably. Choose a complementary mid-tone for the 30%. Reserve your boldest, most saturated hue for the 10% accent, where a little goes a long way. Use the swatches above to preview any combination before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 60-30-10 rule in interior design?
It is a proportion formula for balanced color: about 60% of a room is a dominant color (usually the walls and large surfaces), 30% is a secondary color (flooring, upholstery, drapery) and 10% is an accent (pillows, art, accessories). This tool turns your room dimensions into the actual square footage for each share.
How do I apply the 60-30-10 rule?
Assign your dominant color to the biggest surfaces, your secondary color to medium elements, and reserve the accent for small pops. The tool calculates paintable wall area and splits it 60/30/10 so you know how much of each to plan.
Which color should be 60%?
The 60% dominant color is almost always the calmest, so it can cover the most surface without overwhelming - typically the wall color. Save your boldest, most saturated hue for the 10% accent.
Does the rule apply to walls only?
The proportions describe the whole visible color field of a room, but walls are the easiest anchor. This calculator uses your wall area as the base and lets you preview any three colors in the 60/30/10 split.
Is my data stored?
No. Everything is computed locally in your browser.