Santa Fe, New Mexico, the “City Different”, has long been known for its Pueblo-style architecture and hotbed of creativity. And, on my most recent visit, I truly appreciated Santa Fe for these very things, especially its southwestern craftsmanship, unique furniture and handmade jewelry.

I’m going to let you in on a little interior design secret…we designers are odd. Well, some of us may be, but we like odd. Numbers, that is. We design in vignettes and groupings of 3 or 5 and sometimes 7 or 9. We refer to this as the “Rule of Three.” But why do we do it and why does it work?

In my research to compose a blog article about the collaborative process of interior design, I came across a fabulous two-part article by Amanda Rumore about the relationship between interior designers and architects.

Most known for its ability to “stop” wine, cork has evolved to become a growing trend in interior design. Sara Housley, editor and trend forecaster for WGSN Lifestyle & Interiors touts, “it’s been adopted by a range of high-profile designers and moved into the mainstream. We’ve seen it used for furniture, lighting, tableware, accessories and floors.” (1)

Interior design rules are meant to be broken. In fact, many of the most inspiring spaces are ones that have done so with boldness and daring. There used to be an unfortunate adage that came out of the 80’s that said, “Don’t mix your metals.” Well, I’m happy to say that it’s time to get rid of that antiquated advice! (1)