Oh, so It's This Nature-Inspired Color Rule That's the Reason Your Home's Scheme Doesn't Feel Like It's Working

Image of a luxury yet cozy living room. The walls are a white limewash, there is a large olive green sectional that wraps around the room, and the floor is a dark black wood. There is a marble fireplace in the corner with a TV above it.

Most of the best-kept interior design secrets come from one place: the great outdoors. From the colors we decorate with to the textures we incorporate, it always works to take a leaf from Mother Nature's book, particularly when it comes to lessons like the 3/3 vertical color rule.

Never heard of it? It's a color rule that builds a palette in vertical layers, mimicking natural patterns. "The base is anchored by a darker color which transitions to mid-level colors at eye height with the lightest tones above," explains interior designer Olga Doykhen. Imagine rich, damp, dark soil at your feet, the soft greens of foliage sprouting up around you, and then the soft glow of sunshine from above.