Use The “Rule Of Three” To Help With Decorating

If you finish spring cleaning and laundry and actually feel like tackling something else around your home, maybe it’s time for a little redecorating. But where do you start? After tidying and decluttering, clear away all the decorations in your home and then use the “Rule of Three.”

If you watch a lot of HGTV, you may have heard of this rule without fully understanding what it is. But it’s really simple - it just means that in decorating, things look better in a group of three. While odd numbers are the way to go in general, five or seven of something can be a lot, so if you’re going for a fresh, decluttered look, three is the magic number.

If you’re asking yourself, “Three of what, though?” we’ve got your answer. Using your bedside table as an example, you probably have a lamp on it, so you need two more things, ideally, ones that vary in height or texture, or both. A ceramic dish for your rings and a picture frame are two great options and everything else should be stashed in a drawer or someplace else.

You can use the Rule of Three all around your house, like your coffee table - which can have a stack of coasters, a stack of books and a small plant. Or your walls, where you’d want to hang not one or two pieces of art, but three. It can help you declutter all of your knickknacks that can crowd your space, so you use the Rule of Three to determine which ones you actually want to be on display.