You don’t need a degree in Arts to choose just the right decor items for your house and make a powerful aesthetic statement. All you need is to follow a few simple rules, and it’s a little bit like cooking with a recipe: just follow the instructions and your end product, may it be a moussaka or a living-room table centerpiece is sure to be a success.
Rule #1:
Always follow the prime rule of uneven numbers. It can be 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9. That is true whether you assemble a bouquet or a bunch of objects together. The reason for that is symmetry, and the human mind instantly prefers a group of things that make visual sense.
Rule #2:
You want to mix and match sizes and shapes. 3 different heights is a great way to start. The rule of thumb is the shortest object should be about 1/3 of the tallest one, and the medium item 2/3 of the tallest. If you have more than 3 items, just repeat. Each item should be placed roughly at the same distance from each other to create the centerpiece.
You can also mix various objects that have different functions by mixing essential shapes, like square, circle and rectangle. A tall rectangular vase can stand next to a square ceramic decorative box, which sits next to a glass ball. The distinctive shapes will register as a striking ensemble.
Rule #3:
Play with colors. You can use shades of the same color, say blue or green, to great advantage. Or you can go from blue to green with all different shades of the 2 colors. That works really well when you have more than 3 items, to allow for a better graduation of shades. The effect will be subtle and sophisticated.
However, if you want to mix several different colors together, try to adhere to the rule of complementary colors. Complementary colors are actually the opposite of that color on the spectrum. For example, the opposite of blue is orange. The opposite of purple/blue is orange/yellow and the opposite of purple is yellow. The opposite of blue/green is orange/red and the opposite of green is…you guessed it, red. You can google an image of complementary color wheels and choose your best combination.
Rule #4:
If you want to assemble together a collection of different objects, like pitchers for example, you need to create one central element that will coalesce the whole lot. It can be color (all of them are blue and white), material (all of them are ceramics) or one additional element that they all have (they all have white and blue hydrangeas in them to match the colors of the pitchers). What that does is allow the mind to recognize the collection as 1 item, which is both eye pleasing and comforting.
If you follow these 4 cardinal rules, you will find that mixing and matching is really great fun and always very successful. Don’t be afraid to play around with all the decor items you love, and change up your ensembles regularly around your house by trying new combinations so that you never get bored and fall in love with your interiors all over again.
