Much has been said in the decorating world about the power of three. Repeating an element three times is very effective. I love three so much that I often find myself decorating in three to the third power. I love nine!
Why nine?
1. Today's homes often have vast amount of wall space. 
Many of the homes constructed in the last 15 years have large walls. Often these walls extend up 1 1/2 to 2 stories. That is a lot of wall space. Placing a picture or a series of three pictures on a vast wall can dwarf the artwork or arrangement.
Using an element nine times such as the painted tin squares pictured above can fill the wall space without making the wall feel "busy". This room has 10 foot ceilings. Each of these painted tins measure 2 feet square. By placing them about 3 inches apart, the collective effect is a 6 1/2 foot square.
2. Large art arrangements can help balance a room.
A room will look and feel better if it is balanced. These are examples of things that are "heavy" in their visual appearance:
-fireplace
-opening to another room (larger then a door)
-window
-architectural element such as brick or stone on wall
-large piece of furniture such as an armoire
-group of furniture along a wall
These items can be balanced by paying special attention to the opposite wall. That special attention could be to use another heavy element such as a large piece of furniture, art piece or combination of the two.
In the picture above, this wall was opposite a large opening to the living room. A buffet height furniture piece was placed underneath a series of nine black and white family photos. This added both weight and height to balance the room.
3. It is unexpected.
I love surprises. This is a wall in a boys' playroom. The boys' love big trucks and so I integrated that love into a series of 9 colorized photos of a truck tire. The group took up the entire wall. It balanced the window and peg board on the opposite side of the room. It had the added bonus of integrating the color pink (one of the boy's favorite colors) in a very MANLY way.
Try using the power of nine when decorating your home.
I can be found at June Cleaver Nirvana where the fun is always multiplied to the power of three.
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Wow – I LOVE the nine photos in matching frames. Awesome idea.
I have a wall that needs exactly this! I'm going to get 9 matching frames and put some family pictures up there. This is a great idea.
What a great idea! I have a large wall that needs something like this. I especially love the series with the truck tire, but don't think that's what I'll go with in my living room. Perfect for a playroom though.
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I love the wall with different colored ceiling tiles. The color really makes them pop. I know this isn't what the article is about, but I'm terribly envious of your gorgeous floors!
can anyone tell me the best way to do the pictures of the car tires??? LOVE that!
Stephanie (and anyone else interested in the truck tire pictures)–just email me at junecleaver at tx.rr.com and I can answer your specific questions. I can even send you the photo files that I used if you want them. I got the photo from Google images, altered it to the size I wanted, changed the color inside the free software that comes with Shutterfly studio and then used an online company to print them.