Creating a Mood Board

Before decorating a room, or choosing paint colours, furniture or accessories, I like to gather the things that I’m inspired by. It might be an image of a beautiful room, a piece of fabric, artwork, a colour combination, or something that I’ve seen while travelling, or even a piece that I already own like an old chair that I have had recovered.

My mood board quickly becomes a way of seeing all of those ideas and what has inspired me come together for my home, and this really helps to work out what I’m naturally drawn to.

A mood board lets you gather the things that catch your eye, colours, fabrics, furniture, artwork, rooms, flowers, textures. And when you see them together, you often start to notice a pattern. That pattern is what becomes your style.

And I think you don’t always have to know exactly what your decorating style is before you begin. Sometimes your style reveals itself through the things you continually save, collect and love

Even at this early stage I will aways keep in mind the function of the room I am decorating, and who will be using it.

Today I have some mood boards I have created for inspiration. Because those answers should influence every decorating decision that follows.

A Home Office, family living room, a quiet reading room and a guest bedroom might all be beautiful, but they need to work in completely different ways.

Canva is perfect for creating endless mood boards for all of your decorating projects. I also have a large pin board from a local hardware store, which I have covered in fabric.

The board sits in my office on a console table, which I’ve covered in a pretty blue and white check fabric. Because it is quite large, I can divide it into different sections, providing plenty of room for the various decorating projects I’m working on.

I love being able to pin inspiration images of rooms and furniture, along with fabric and wallpaper samples, so everything I’m considering is gathered together in one place. It makes the creative process feel so much more tangible.

I really love having something pretty and full of inspiration in my workspace, something I can look at every day and add to as new ideas come to me.

Creating a mood board is the beginning of bringing your ideas to life. It allows you to experiment, change things around and discover what you truly love before making any decisions. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to let your personality guide you. Your home should be a reflection of the things you love, the places you’ve been and the pieces that make you happy.