A Simple Design Rule [That Just Might Blow Your Mind] — Sara Lynn Brennan Interiors | Charlotte Interior Designer (2024)

FAQs

What is the 70 20 10 rule in interior design? ›

The 70-20-10 rule is a rule that helps you create a layered and textured look for your space. It states that you should use three different types of materials in your space in the following proportions: 70% for the main material, 20% for the secondary material and 10% for the accent material.

What is the 60-30-10 Rule? It's a classic decor rule that helps create a color palette for a space. It states that 60% of the room should be a dominant color, 30% should be the secondary color or texture and the last 10% should be an accent.

This decorating rule suggests that you should cover your room with 60% of a dominant color, 30% of a secondary color, and 10% of an accent shade. It is all about maintaining the perfect balance of tones. Pick colors that mingle well with each other to create a subtle combo.

There are seven main principles of interior design: balance, harmony, rhythm, proportion and scale, emphasis, contrast, and details. These concepts can be applied to any room in your home, from the living room to the bathroom.

To put it simply, this rule says that the dominant/primary colour should take up 60% of your design, the secondary colour should take up 30%, while an accent colour should take up 10% of your design.

The golden ratio helps achieve a balanced room layout by assessing the floor space covered by furniture. Striking the right balance means that nearly 60% of your room will have furniture on it, with 40% being clear.

The 80-20 rule in interior design is a simple guideline that helps you create a balanced and harmonious space. It suggests that you should choose one dominant style or color scheme for 80% of your room, and a contrasting or complementary style or color scheme for the remaining 20%.

The 80/20 rule in decorating is a guideline that suggests focusing 80% of a room's decor on a single, cohesive style while allowing the remaining 20% to diverge, adding contrast and interest. This approach helps to create a balanced and harmonious space that is neither monotonous nor chaotic.

Use the Golden Ratio to Balance the Room Lay-Out

Try sticking to roughly 60% of floor space being covered by furniture for an ideal setting. If it's much lower than 60%, it's likely to feel too minimal. In an ideal world, you aim for a layout that leaves 40% of floor space clear, or as 'negative space'.

If the 50/30/20 budget was once considered the golden standard of budgeting, it's not anymore. But there are budgeting methods out there that can help you reach your financial goals. Here are some expert-recommended alternatives to the 50/30/20.

What is the 50 30 20 rule in design? ›

The 50/30/20 Rule In A Nutshell

The 50/30/20 rule is a budgeting method that dictates that you should break your money down into three different categories: 50% for necessities, 30% for discretionary spending, and 20% for savings.

If you have a large amount of debt that you need to pay off, you can modify your percentage-based budget and follow the 60/20/20 rule. Put 60% of your income towards your needs (including debts), 20% towards your wants, and 20% towards your savings.

In interior design, the golden ratio is 1:1.618 – the most pleasing ratio for objects and their aesthetics. Designers apply this ratio when choosing the layout of a room.

This is particularly true regarding the seven principles of interior design: balance, unity, rhythm, emphasis, contrast, scale and proportion, and details. These standards have been created to help accomplish harmonious interiors that convey character.

The "unexpected red theory" was coined by Brooklyn-based interior designer Taylor Migliazzo Simon in a video that has had over 900,000 views on TikTok. Simon describes it as "adding anything that's red, big or small, to a room where it doesn't match at all" with the result that "it automatically looks better".

The golden ratio to get a balanced room layout

The golden ratio can help you strike the right note. Using the 60/40 formula, measure up floor space then take measurements of the floor space covered by furniture. If the furniture fills more than 60% of the area of the floor, the room is over-furnished.

3/3 Vertical Rule

Dark, Medium, Light – The darkest tone should be your floors, your furniture and accessories will be in medium tone and the lightest should be your ceiling. You should always go from dark to light not the opposite in interiors.

You've probably heard of the 2:3 rule, otherwise known as the 'golden ratio'. Ideally, every room should follow this. Start by dividing a room into two sections – the larger one should measure 2:3 of the space, and be the area for big pieces of furniture such as your sofa, bed or dining table.

The Rule of Three is a great way to start decorating using odd numbers and it can be applied anywhere. But a larger number like 5 or 7 works equally well and is useful when decorating large areas such as a long mantel, console table, or wall. And oddly enough, (haha, see what I did there?) odd numbers create symmetry!