Decor 101 - Decorating in Odd Numbers

I have always thought it would be fun to have a professional designer come into my home and help to make it look fabulous.  But the reality is, it's just not gonna happen.  Instead, I've made it my goal to learn as much as I can about decorating tricks and tips so I can bring a cohesive feel to my own space.  It's actually kind of fun once you get going with it and I always find that inspiration starts rolling once I take the first step.  The main thing to remember is that it's ok to make "mistakes" because you can always change things around.  That's really the beauty of doing it yourself - you can have confidence to change it whenever you want.  Let's take a look at decorating in odd numbers.

I first learned about this decorating concept from my friend's mother.  Until she pointed out to me that she made sure to group things in odd numbers, I had never really noticed it before.  After she pointed it out I began to notice that my eye was drawn to odd numbered groupings.  Let me just say that my own goal in decorating my space is to make it pleasing to my own eye.  If grouping something in odd numbers doesn't look great to me then I change it.  It's not a hard and fast rule for me but I always start there.

source

 This picture shows a couple of things:

1.  there are 3 pillows on the couch and though two are brightly coloured and one is white, they still come across as an odd numbered group

2.  the brown horse picture, the dark wood nesting tables and the dark wood coffee table read as a grouping because of the similar colour.  It causes your eye to move from one to the other which groups them in your mind's eye. 

source

In this photo:

1.  the 3 pillows on the couch are related by colour even though two are patterned and one is solid

2.  the 7 plates on the wall are arranged in such a way that they come across symmetrically and all relate to each other with various shades of the same yellow and blue

source

I just love how the 5 pillows on the couch are similar in colour but just different enough to add some visual interest.

source

These 3 items, though very different in form, group together nicely because they are similar in colour.

source

The 3 metal vases on the coffee table look beautiful grouped together.

Have fun arranging your own objects!

                                         
...one more thing...  remember, don't be bashful - change things up if you don't like how things look the first time!