My Soulful Home

home and garden with heart, mind & soul

7 Golden Rules of Decor & a Give Away

I am not much for rules in general – exception: the golden rule.

I am totally down with abiding by that one – imagine the world if everyone did…

In the realm of decorating, I believe there are 7 Golden Rules of Decor .  

My 7 Golden Rules of Decor are all of equal importance.  Follow them, like you do the actual golden rule, and the results will make decorating your home beautifully much easier.  

Do onto your house as you would have your house do onto you!

White farmhouse entry http://mysoulfulhome.com

The 7 Golden Rules of Decor Never to Break

  • Purchase or make only well fitting curtains or drapes.

No high water curtains/drapes or those that lack the fullness needed.  

  • Never use a rug that is too small for the space.

Legs of your furniture should be on the rug & with dining chairs, the rug should be under the chairs when pulled out.

  • Use a limited color palette throughout to create flow.

Choose 3 main colors and use to varying percentages in all the rooms

Cross bottle give away http://mysoulfulhome.com

  • Incorporate the rule of threes in arranging your accessories.

Three objects of different heights, shapes & textures are interesting the the eye.

  • Have at least 3 different sources of light in each room.

Overhead (on dimmers) table top/standing lamps and task lighting.

Dining room chandelier http://mysoulfulhome.com

  • Leave some negative space.

Let your eye rest – less is more.

  • Choose one focal point for each room.

Too many ‘wows’ in a room creates confusion, not peace.

Reliable Vintage stove http://mysoulfulhome.com

There you have it, my seven golden rules of decor.

Have a listen to our podcast episode all about Decor Rules NOT to break.  We go deep into each rule & toss in one or two more.  Click the arrow below to listen.

Decorating Tips & Tricks also has a  GIVE AWAY going on – a $50 Home Depot gift card courtesy of Behr Paint.

To enter add your email HERE, so I can contact you if you win … I mean when you win – power of positive thinking!

For a second entry visit Behr HERE and come back to tell me your favorite color from the Behr 2018 Color Trends collection. 

Do it now as the give away ends on 2/23. Winner will be chosen by random and notified by email. 

See here for the details of the give away.

Do you have any decor golden rules to share?  Lmk yours in a comment below…and good luck in the give away!

** Kelly **

…oh and remember you can still get $5 off the new generation BONA mop HERE.

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Comments

  1. Wow – beautiful new Behr colors! I’ve always loved Behr paint and recently their Marquee paint is my go-to every time I feel the need to make paint changes in my home! “Off the grid” looks like a beautiful neutral I’d like to try!

  3. I like Unplugged. Green is my favorite color and I’ve always liked white trim with a bold earthy wall color.

  7. Those are great rules for decorating. I follow all the rules, except all legs on the living room carpet. I only wish. I found the perfect rug for my room but was only able to get it in an 8×10. So all front legs sit on the rug. In a perfect world….

    I’m a neutral kinda of gal. Off the Grid appeals to me. I need to see Kombucca so
    I’ll be popping into the local .home Dept on Saturday.

  9. Casual Day is my favorite! I just love the sound of it, and the calming blue is “just right”.

  11. Soft focus because I’m in my neutral faze.😉 Constellation Blue would be beautiful to use for a piece of furniture.

  16. Nurturing (always drawn to green) is beautiful. I also like kombucha (though not together). Pretty palette!

  17. Several attractive colors, but In the Moment suits my taste the best! I currently have Behr’s Silver Mist in my bedrooms and love the brand.

  19. really like Soft Focus. your home is so pretty. in your opening photo, it looks like the wall and trim are the same color?? whatever it is, i’m loving it! it really caught my eye and made my head nod!! it’s so soft and relaxing. is it the same color? and if so, what is it? thanks so much for the Golden Rule reminder. we need a lot of that nowadays….sigh….

  23. I want to thank you for sharing the two true grays that stay gray on walls! I painted my bathroom with Stonington Gray and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! My friend has used various color cards from the paint store and is on her 3rd try painting her kitchen island the “right” gray. She won’t listen to me!!! lol You are so right about all that needs to be taken into consideration….lighting, sunlight from outside etc. So thank you for helping me choose my gray!!! Love you girls on Decorating Tips and Tricks. I don’t miss an episode!!!! Blessings!!!!

  29. I like warm neutrals, so my favorite color would be Kombucha. It would work just about anywhere in m home.

  33. A long time ago I read a book by Alexandra Stoddard “Creating a beautiful home” in it she suggested “running a thread” of an accent color throughout your home. She ran yellow in every room. I have always followed that advise and that color has changed over the years but there is always just a hint of that color in each room of my house.

  34. I love this post. Great rules! I have been looking for a soft neutral paint color, and I think I have found it in Behr’s Soft Focus. I love to see any little glimpse of your home when you post. It is gorgeous. Thank you for sharing.

  35. Love Behr paints! Behr has been my go-to brand for a number of years. I like Quiet Time and In The Moment. I noticed there isn’t a white in the selection, are we moving away from whites? Oh no! 🙁

  37. I’m thinking Constellation Blue may be the next color I paint my front door and side lights. I’ve always wanted a deep blue entry door. Fabulous post – thank you!

  43. I like Quiet Time. I’m looking for a soft blue-gray for my master bath and it looks like Quiet Time would be perfect. I just painted the bathroom vanity a very soft gray with a blue undertone and now I need to change the wall color from Elegant Ivory (Behr) to a color that will better compliment the new color.

  44. The colors are great! But I’m a huge fan of Pink so Positively Pink has to be my favorite. But I have to say that I’d love to paint my living room with the Soft Focus colorway. I also like the Casual Day color, which is the color of my sofa, and would look stunning in a room painted with Soft Focus. hmmmm, I need to go to the store……

  48. i am loving the Positively Pink. The blog world has been swamped with gray (which having a person in the home with clinical depression means no gray in this house, it actually can worsen the condition)
    I would use Positively Pink for accent pieces, a great switch up from the blues you see everywhere. Though I do love a good soft green so Nurturing is a runner up. 🙂

  49. I like Wabi-Sabi the best. It would be great in a gentleman’s home office with a darker wood desk and woven wood shades.

  50. I like Quite Time and Casual Day. Will have to get a sample pot and try them in a room to decide. Lovely colors.

  51. Soft Focus appeals to me but I like a few others also! We need to paint our living room, and entry which are open and I think Soft Focus would work well.

  53. I really like soft focus ,it is soothing . I like using light colors in our home . I love the way Behr paints are so easy to apply and they hold up well . Thank you for sharing the seven rules , they are great .

  54. Kelly, Spirit Warrior looks like a great color for my front door! If I win the giveaway, paint department, here I come!

  56. In the moment is the one for me! It seems to take me somewhere wonderful ( and I am all for that!!)

    Love Behr paint… use it as my go to. Thanks for the post

  58. In the Moment is my favorite….and almost identical to the color I painted my office! Good to know! But there are other rooms that could use refreshing so would love to will the gift card!

  59. Looks like I’m not the only one that liked Soft Focus. A lovely neutral color that would work for me.

  62. First of all….great “home golden rules” to live by….oh for me I would have to chose Wabi-Sabi…the Japanese meaning of the beauty of aesthetic imperfection …. simplicity …. asymmetry …. as I grew older, I realized that my mom lived by the Wabi-sabi philosophy….always comfortable in her own skin and never worrying about something being perfect.

  67. Though I was immediately drawn to the “autumnal” colors, Soft Focus kept drawing me back.

  68. My pick would be In the Moment, since I’m a girl who loves her grayish greens. Even on walls–don’t tell Yvonne!

    My decorating rule is ‘buy what you love.’

    Years ago I was visiting a furniture boutique in Chicago that carried Grange furniture, the high-end brand from France. I was obsessed with it, couldn’t afford it., but was dying to look at it, since I’d seen a fabulous table in Harrods in London. The shop owner was very nice, and told me that people tend to buy things that actually go together, because they like the same kinds of elements in their pieces. That was before I even had the concept of an eclectic home, and was still thinking that pieces must match or be the exact same style. I took that to heart and ended up buying a clean-lined Asian-influence dining set, even though I have no real Asian elements elsewhere in my home. It worked perfectly for me for a long time. As long as I have kept things mixed up and balanced, that thought has worked for me over the years.

  70. In The Moment, Quiet Time, Casual Day all are in one of my favorite color ways. We buy Behr paint most of the time but the Marque Paint does not cover in one coat in the lighter colors. We found out the hard way, but you know what, they sent us a 5 gallon paint bucket free for the confusion we had with the store!

  71. Oh my what great tips and inspiration for the 7 golden rules … Oh and I missed the giveaway I have not had anytime to check emails, FB or instagram with my husband in in home hospice I am so tied up with him

  72. This is amazing because I typically am not drawn to green, but I love the “in the moment”,especially after seeing the door trimmed in it.

  74. I love Positively Pink but not practical to use it anywhere in my house. I want to paint my front door In the Moment (right now, lol).

  75. Oh, I do love Positively Pink. Every time I see a door painted pink, I think
    I want that color on my front door. Isn’t your front door suppose to reflect what’s inside? At the most meant it is red, which I love, and my accents are red. I guess I’m looking for permission to use the pink. 😉

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