How to Make a Moodboard
In the planning process for your renovation, it’s easy to get lost in the specifics of one aspect of the design without considering how it will look with the rest of the space. You may love one kitchen backsplash, but until you see it next to the countertops you chose, you may never know how it will look all together. Before going down the rabbit hole of individual components, it’s important to figure out what you want the space to look like holistically. With that said, it can be incredibly difficult to organize your thoughts on the matter, and often a word doc with links to different photos won’t quite cut it. A great way to gather your ideas, and understand how each piece works together is a mood board. A mood board is a group of photos, ideas and colour schemes that you put together that fit the style you’re looking for. Once you have a mood board made, it becomes a great tool for understanding whether any given addition fits the rest of the space or not.
The good news is that there is honestly no wrong way to make a board; where you start ultimately doesn’t matter as long as you are happy with the result. With that said, this article will walk you through the basics on creating mood boards, and how to get the most value that you can.
The Platform
Your board can’t begin until you have a way to create it. If you are a natural-born scrapbooker, a piece of printer paper, a glue stick and some magazine clippings may be all you need. If you prefer to use a computer for your arts and crafts, you’ll need to find an electronic scrapbook. A word document that you copy-paste photos into may do the trick, but it may lack the capabilities to move and manipulate photos the way you’d like. If you are feeling spendy or already have the program, Adobe Photoshop may be the way to go, however, there are dozens of free photo editors and graphic design applications that you can choose from. Our top pick is Canva in terms of ease of use, however, you can find free options from Photoscape and Inkscape, among many others.
Contributing
Here comes the fun part. Now that we have our tools for the job, it’s time to start adding some content. It doesn’t really matter where you start per se, but starting with some broad, conceptual ideas first may make it easier in the long run. This is because you’re able to get more specific down the line. That said, if you are 100% sure you want to base the design off of one piece of furniture, throw that in and move outwards. Listed below are some common components for moodboards, but feel free to stray away from what you don’t want, and add things that aren’t on this list. The important thing is that you have fun with the process.
Colours - The most basic and broad contribution is a colour scheme. If you have specific colours that you want to base the design off of, add them in as guidelines for the rest of the additions. You can add your colour scheme through pieces of art or furniture that you enjoy, or add individual colour blocks to the page, the choice is yours.
Textures - Right alongside colours is textures. If you love the texture of something specific, and you want your space to encapsulate that feeling, throw it in. Just like with colours, this could be with photos with a specific texture, or a specific item that you would like to embody, like a piece of furniture, art, plant, etc.
Furniture - You probably saw this coming. One of this most common contributions to a mood board is the specific furniture that matches the feel that you’re going for. Note that you can add pieces that are out of budget, the wrong size, or otherwise imperfect. The purpose of this board isn’t to make decisions, but create inspiration, so go crazy!
Art/decorations - Getting even more specific than furniture, art and decorations can be a great way to fill out your board with items that contribute more to the feel and tone of the space. Just like with furniture, don’t get hung up on whether the piece will work logistically, just focus on if it has the right colours, textures, and feelings that you’re trying to convey.
Shapes - Some boards will have shapes on them to convey something in the room that they couldn’t find in the art or furniture that they added. If you are looking for a space with softer edges, adding a slightly rounder shape may be a worthwhile addition. On the other hand, if you love striking lines and geometric shapes, add some polygons that reflect that. You can absolutely incorporate shapes into the other aspects of the board, but if you’re unable to find anything perfect, this is a completely valid choice in and of itself.
Miscellaneous - The most abstract piece of a mood board are things that don’t indicate the look of the room, but rather the atmosphere. Sometimes, the only way to get your idea across is by adding things that have no relation to interior design at all. If you want a warm, inviting space, a picture of a cup of coffee may be what you’re looking for. If you want a sleek, classy room, maybe James Bond should make an appearance. The world is your oyster (especially if you’re going for an Atlantis vibe).
Final Tips:
These final suggestions don’t quite fit into the basic structure of how to create a mood board, but they may help nonetheless:
Number and cite your list - In your program of choice, try labelling each element with a number. In a second document (or second page within that board), list the corresponding number with the source of where you found it. This will help you find the original piece in the future, which is especially helpful for furniture and art which you may want to purchase.
Make more than one board - Don’t get married too soon (to an idea, that is). Once you have your first board, try creating more. This may indicate how your tastes change over time, but at very least, it will give you options for when you start planning. Have fun and try things that you think that you’ll hate, just for fun. This will give you more clarity when you finally decide on your final design, even if it’s inspiration on what not to do.
Creating a mood board is by no means the end-all/be-all solution to feeling overwhelmed with decisions with a renovation. It is, however, a worthwhile tool to get your mind in the right headspace for designing, and finding some concrete evidence of what works together and what doesn’t. This will make your life easier when decisions need to be made quickly during any future renos. More than this, it will be a fun way for you, your family and friends to get excited about the renovation, and get inspired about what is about to transpire.