With our society becoming more and more focused on individuals and our own personal needs, it’s more important than ever that we realize that we are stronger when we unite forces, love and creativity. Together we are more powerful to let our voices being heard, and tackle today’s challenges.
Chou Tall & Chou Short suspension lamps.
A well-balanced space thanks to design
What goes for us people, works with our decor as well: an empty space with a few individual pieces of furniture won’t convince the crowds to move in and make themselves feel at home. Coordinating the items in your home is an art in itself; interior designers and stylists know all the professional tips and tricks to create an individual and well-balanced space. But with a few simple ideas, anyone can make their home feel more at ease and succeed at creating a space that looks good and feels good too.
Think of it like a bowl of fruit: you may fill it with 2 kilograms of oranges that you brought home from the farmer’s market. The big pile of juicy orange fruits, adds a dash of freshness to your kitchen counter. But if you add some different fruits, like apples, bananas, kiwis, and maybe some walnuts, your fruit basket becomes richer and more attractive. It may even draw attention to anyone that prefers bananas over oranges! The different shapes and colors of the fruit make them pop and stand out and emphasize its individual qualities.
The Rule of Three at home
What about art in your home? One big painting can be a statement piece in the room, but create a gallery wall and you’ll have your own museum that you can change at any given time. It’s up to your individual taste, to find out if you’d prefer a group of three artworks, using the same artistic technique, or if you like a wild mixture of photography, painting, drawings and art prints best. Finding the perfect balance that works for you and (or) your family is a very personal journey. Some people have a natural sense of styling and finding the right proportions and structure. But if you have no clue, there is one rule that works, every single time.
Icon suspension lamps.
This is called The Rule of Three: which means that objects look better in a group of three. The easiest way to follow this rule, is by displaying a matching set of items: three different sizes of the same type of object. It takes some practice, but you’ll see that it works if you display coordinated arrangements in your home. For example, if your living room has space for several “group arrangements”, instead of matching them group per group, you can mix sets together to make your entire room look coordinated and improves decorating continuity.
Gea wall lamps.
If you have a group of ceramics and a group of small statues, exchange one statue with a ceramic from the other group and both groups look more tied together.
What to do when you have a lot of different objects, like books, collectibles, flowers, vases, plants that you don’t want to hide in cupboards? Don’t limit yourself to only three objects on a surface. Instead, think of the Rule of Three as three footprints on the surface: a stack of (3!) books with a small object on top, counts as one footprint. A tray with a flower in a vase, a small statue and a jar filled with treasures, counts as one footprint. Place the stack of books and the tray next to a beautiful table lamp and you have your Group of Three!
Some surfaces, like a large sideboard or coffee table, ask for more objects to keep it interesting. Remember to work with odd number. Start with a group of three and add more items to create a group of 5, 7, 9 or even 11.
Cuad suspension lamps.
Add some greens in groups of three.
The same rules apply to your plants: a group with an uneven number of plants in different shades of green, with a variety of patterns, different heights and structure create a more interesting Plant Gang. If your potted plants all have almost the same height and structure, place one of them on a stack of books, or use a ceramic bowl, upside down if needed, to create a podium. I also love stacking bowls, cups and vases to create some kind of “totem throne” for one or two plants. The extra colors and texture of the items in the totem, make the plant look extra special. Like a true piece of art. One of the trends that I love in this genre is called “freakebana“.
But without turning your home into an art (or freak!) show, you can also express your own artistic sense with the lights in your home! With one big statement pendant light you add a focus point into the room, but why not create a cluster with several pendant lights? The repetition of shape and light adds extra character to your room. You could opt for three, or more, pendant lights in a row to brighten up the dining table for example, but hanging them at different heights gives it an unexpected twist.
What do you think? Do you ever style your home using the Rule of Three?
Author: Judith de Graaff is a writer and plant lover with lots of ideas to share. Lover of design, DIY, travel or photography, you’ll find her at Joelix and Urban Jungle Bloggers.
