Creating a Moodboard That Actually Works

Our top tips for creating a moodboard that actually helps with your building or design process.

Always have a mood-board or Pinterest board to refer back to whenever you're making any big design decisions.

A moodboard, style guide or vision board is an essential early step when it comes to planning your renovation or build. A moodboard is a great way to find inspiration, organize & refine your ideas and visually communicate a particular mood or aesthetic to others.

Finding Design Inspiration

- Pinterest
- Social Media (Instagram in particular for static images)
- Magazines
- Books
- Your own photos - look for inspiration all around you

Digital or Physical Moodboard?

You can choose to have a physical or digital moodboard - this comes down to personal preference. We often have both! Physical can be great for adding in your product samples whereas digital can be more fluid.

We choose to use Canva for our digital moodboarding. You can remove the background of product images which is so helpful, especially when it comes to styling moodboarding with furniture etc. Canva also has moodboard templates too.

Our Steps for Creating a Moodboard

Firstly, you want to start with outlining your vision/objectives for the spaces. Take the time to write down:

- How do you want the space to feel?
- How will the space be used? Will this be a high traffic area, used by kids or is it a parents retreat?
- What are your non-negotiables? For example; his and her sinks, dual shower heads, extra vanity storage
- If it’s a renovation, what did you currently like about the space and what did you not?

You then want to start gathering your inspiration images. These can be photographs of aesthetics/vibe, entire spaces, details or techniques.

Constantly refine the moodboard/s to match the above objectives. This helps the vision become clearer, and very importantly reduces confusion when it comes to decision making. You can also breakdown your moodboards into different categories - for example: by room (if entire building), lighting, exterior, paint options.

Order samples of all your flooring, tiles, paint and joinery - the difference between a photo and the physical product can sometimes be huge! See how the colours, textures and tones come together.

Creating a Moodboard for Styling

An often overlooked version of a moodboard is for the styling and furniture items. It’s easy when you see styling pieces you like to hastily buy them however the process of putting them together into a moodboard with the room elements can help you to actually visualise them in the space.

Try to keep the scale in tact, pay attention to the measurements as this can be the difference between pieces working and not!