How To Create An Interior Design Mood Board

We went through why you need a mood board a few weeks back when I wrote the post about what you need before buying furniture or choosing paint colours. If you haven’t read it yet, you can read it here.

Today, I will help you create a mood board for your next project. For now, just choose a room that you are thinking of redesigning or would love to redesign and work through these steps to create your own interior design mood board. Just a note, there are lots f different ways to do this. My way isn’t any better than anyone else’s its just the way I do it.

1. Imagine – Choose images that you like or that inspire you and don’t limit yourself with practicality or cost – yet.

For this first section, you just need to do a lot of looking and collecting of images, colours, furniture, fabrics anything to help you say yes, I like this and I would like to use this idea or this piece of something for inspiration. Usually, you will end up with lots of pics from magazines, or maybe you already have a collection of things that you have been saving for “one day”. Get it out now and look through the images to see if you still like them. Don’t put limits on this. Just pick everything and anything you like. I would search for at least 10 pictures, items or anything to just put into the “I like it” pile.

2. Get an Idea – Aim to have one strong and clear goal or idea.

Chose one main image that really depicts as well as possible what you are trying to do. Write ten things about that room that you like about it. Do you like the colours? Do you like the way it feels? Why? Do you like the brightness, what about the furniture, textures, patterns, style, mood, decorations, vignettes, flowers, coffee table? Write as many things that you can, the more you write and understand what you like about the room, the easier it will be to edit later on. Now describe your idea in one sentence.

3. Filter – Keep only the best.

Now think about your room or project and look through the images that you have found. Keep to one side the ones that you really love and or you feel would really work for the space. If you chose inspiration items rather than pictures like feathers or materials, keep the items with the ideas that you want to use in this space specifically.

4. Get Creative – Think of everything.

You will need to think about the colours, walls, floor, ceiling, doors, window dressings, furniture, fabrics, décor and even ironmongery. Look at the room you are sitting in now and name all of the things that are in it. Vases, types of flowers, think of everything. You may not use it, but consider everything from the type of stitching on the occasional chair to the type of pull chord on the roller blinds. Try and find an image or a real-life example of the ideas you have. I would always order samples. Go into paint, tile, wallpaper, carpet or a fabric shop and ask for some samples. Even just to get ideas for texture or colours.

5. Get Realistic – But don’t discard the things you truly wish you could use just yet.

What could you realistically afford to use. If you really like something that is really out of your price range, keep it and see how important it is to the scheme. If it has to be there, search and search until you find something similar within your price range.

6. Edit – Stay focussed on your desired goal from step 2.

Ask yourself what will help achieve the mood or feeling of the room I am hoping to create? This can be really tough and its why many ammeters designs fail! Be strong. Only keep what is the idea for this room. You can always use that idea somewhere else (I used to get this all the time!) Go back now to your idea – does what you see coming together give you that feeling or do you feel like you are reaching your goal? Keep going removing and or adding textures,furniture and items until what you see in front of you with your materials, fabrics, ideas, furniture and inspiration reveals what your space is going to look and feel like and is being expressed in what you have chosen.

 7. Test your ideas – Imagine these things in your physical space.

Items that are to be on the walls, you need to hang on the walls! Items that you are going to purchase in terms of furniture, you need to draw them out on the floor and see if they will fit. Get samples, get as much information as you can about everything you plan on using. Test, test, test.  Pretend the furniture is there and walk around it.  Imagine something on the wall where you want it, how will it fit, what will the light do with it?

8. Make Your Decision – … Stick it Down  

But All of this would have been in vain unless you actually use your board and stick with it.  Look at the work you put into getting to this point.  If you follow this to a tea, you will realise your vision.

That is the strength and power of the interior designer’s mood board (architects use them too!) Now you have a mood board that you can trust will achieve your end goal. Let me know if this helped you?