Whether you are new to home decor or consider yourself a professional at this point, there is always something new to learn. Home decor trends and rules are constantly evolving. That’s why we created our Learning Center, to keep you up-to-date with the latest trends, decorating tips and tricks, organizing hacks, and all things custom picture frames!
So what is home decor by numbers? It is following the rules of two and three to decorate your home and keep everything well-balanced and cohesive.
The Rule of Two is a rule to keep your room balanced and proportionate. It’s simple and doesn’t require a lot of handy to work. You really just need to let your eyes do all the work.
The Rule of Three is a design principle set to keep your room looking more appealing and memorable. Interior designers say that you can create a more eye-catching display when decorating in odd numbers. Why the number three? Although it is an odd number, the brain groups things together in three’s and can create a focal point, and makes things easily balanced.
So let’s get into how you can use these rules in your home decor and show you some photos for inspiration that you can do in your own space.
Furniture
For your furniture, you will want to start by dividing your room into two sections. One section for your bigger furniture pieces such as your sofa, bed, dining room table, and the other half for your smaller pieces such as a loveseat or accent chairs, storage ottomans, or other tables. You will first want to start with laying down the bigger furniture pieces and placing them where you think appropriate. This will make the rest of your decorating process easier from there.
To follow the Rule of Threes with your furniture, you will want three places for your guest to sit. A large sofa and two other pieces, whether that be a loveseat, a recliner, a single chair, anything can work! You will also want to place your furniture in a “conversational layout” meaning the seats will face each other. Place your sofa on one side of the room and your others on the opposite side, facing each other in order to encourage conversation.
Decor Pieces
If you are planning to hang a large frame above your sofa or bed, you will want to follow the 2/3 rule. The frame above your sofa should take up two-thirds of your sofa or the top of your headboard. This will make everything look more cohesive and won’t make your room look cluttered. This rule will also go with a gallery wall or multiple frames above your bed. Of course, as we always say, do whatever you want with your decor, but this is a good rule to follow if you are unsure of how big or how small to make your frames.
The Rule of Three will come into play with your other decor pieces. If you are planning on decorating a bookshelf consider grouping items together in sets of three. If you want to add some vases, consider adding three together on one side of the shelf. Stack three books on top of one another with three different sizes of woven baskets on the other side of the shelf. This gives you a chance to get creative with your decor and you don’t have to limit yourself.
Pillows are another great decor item to use in the Rule of Threes. Whether on your couch or your bed, one could never have enough pillows! Find some cute accent pillows that will complement your wall color or decor style and group them in threes to really make your decor pop.
Framed Art Work
Of course, we are big fans of art here at Frame It Easy. We love to see all the amazing things our customers frame for their homes. So it only makes sense that we love the Rule of Threes when it comes to artwork. The more things to frame, the better, in our opinion!
You have many options when it comes to hanging frames, you can hang three frames vertical or horizontal, or create a gallery wall and hang your frames 3×3. When framing in odd numbers, you create an eye-catching display. Whether they are three family photos, three separate art pieces or you can create a triptych display which is one photo divided into three portions hung next to eachother to create a unified display.
The best part about home decor is how versatile you can be. Everyone’s displays will be different because everyone’s personality is different. As we always say, do whatever you think will look best in your home, it is your decor, after all, so all that matters is that you’re happy!
Color
We’ve talked about creating a color palette for your home before. The easiest way to do this is to follow the 60-30-10 rule, which also follows the Rule of Three. The 60-30-10 rule is a classic home decor rule that helps create the perfect color palette for your room. This is how it is split — 60% of your room should be your dominant color and be applied with things such as your wall colors (accent walls being the exception) and large decor pieces such as your sofa or rug. 30% of your room should be a secondary color. This color should be different enough from your dominant color, but they should still compliment each other. This color can be used in other furniture pieces, curtains, and linens. The last 10% of your room should be your accent color. This can be used for accent throw blankets or pillows, framed artwork, and other little trinkets around your space.
Shape and Size
The rules of two and three can apply to the size of objects as well. We touched on this in earlier sections, but you will want to add your biggest pieces to your space first. From there, you can fill in the “gaps” if you will, to complete your room. Following the 2/3 rule, doing this will keep your room from looking “too heavy” on one side or “too light” on another.
Following the Rule of Three consider adding your decor pieces in different heights to add some dimension. If you are adding vases to your shelves, consider adding three different heights to create more of a visual appeal. This could also work for the shape as well. Consider adding a tall round vase, a short square vase, and a medium-sized oval shape. Play around with the shapes and sizes of your decor pieces and just have fun with it!
You could also create different-sized frames to hang next to one another. While the common gallery wall is all the same sized frames spaced evenly from eachother, you could vary the sizes. Our interactive Frame Designer makes it easy.
Final Thoughts
We hope you learned more about the rules of two and three in home decor and were inspired to try something new in your home! As we always say, do whatever you think will look best for your space, we just want to provide you with as much inspiration as possible, to really make your decor stand out!
If you tried any of these tips, be sure to share your photos with us on social media so we can see what you did!
