The Rule of Odds

Something I learned in art class many years ago I thought I would pass along to you :-)

Odd numbers are more satisfying to the human eye than even numbers.

So....

1 item is a piece of art.

2 is a pair, but feels incomplete.

3 feels like enough.

5 is seen corporately as 1 item. We quit noticing the individual at 5 and only see the complete picture.

This means when we are setting up a shelf or table top for display, our best, most satisfying, peaceful plan is to put 1 item there. If you must add more, 3 or 5 is where you stop. More than that and your brain will only "see" a mess.

If we are making a bouquet of flowers, 3 or 5 (or even more as long as it's an odd number) is best, unless it's a single, special flower (like a single red rose).

Arranging pictures on a wall? 1 or 3 is usually best unless its a large wall.

I try to follow this everywhere in my house. It makes the whole place much more peaceful and calming. This means decluttering many or most knick-knacks, only keeping the very most special ones.

Right now, look at a shelf in your house. If you took everything off that shelf and only put back that 1 item you most love, how much more peaceful would that shelf look? Bonus: how much faster could you clean that shelf? And if it was that much quicker and easier to clean, how much more often would you clean it?

Did you know about this rule before? Do you (or will you) apply it to your home?