Create A Moodboard For Your Renovation Project
Need some help visualising how your upcoming or future renovation project will look? We’re making manifesting your dream home easy with our guide to creating a moodboard 🖼
Gemma Fabbri (@studiofabbri) brings the outdoors in, featuring our HUXLEY Hexagonal Handle.
A mood or inspiration board helps you set the tone of your renovation project and can be home to everything from your favourite colours and textures, through to furniture and hardware (which we’re on hand to help with 😉). Spoiler alert, you don’t need to be a graphic designer or super techy on this one. All we ask for is a hearty dose of creativity and a get-up-and-go attitude 🙋What is a moodboard?
If you’re asking yourself, “What’s a moodboard?”, think of it as a collage or visual device to bring your ideas for your project to life 🖼 When you have what feels like endless decisions to make for your project, a moodboard is a great way to experiment with ideas (and make mistakes too) before committing to a final design.A moodboard can be made up of images, colours, textures and other design elements that represent the look and feel you’re looking to achieve. Don’t know what your home’s style should be? This is the perfect place to find out! Your moodboard can be physical or digital and as simple or complex as you like. The main thing is that it gives you inspiration and evokes a mood for your interiors.Why is a moodboard important for a renovation project?
Moodboards help you find your vibe for your living spaces ✨ They act as a vital starting point to discover which products, colours, furniture and textures:Look good togetherFeel most like ‘you’
If you have a vision in your head for the end result of your renovation, you can communicate this with your family or the contractors carrying out the work through a moodboard. In a ‘try before you buy’ fashion, moodboards let you work out what you do or don’t like, before you spend your money.Once you’ve created your moodboard, you can use it as a guide to keep you on track throughout your renovation project 👌How do you create a moodboard?
You don’t need to be a designer or interior expert to create a moodboard. Simply start by collecting images of things you like and see what styles draw you in. Do you prefer modern and clean lines, a cosy rustic feel, or a halfway house between the two? Are you all about bold colours, or is a subdued, minimalist palette more your kind of thing? Try to ditch any preconceived ideas of what’s ‘in fashion’ or what your space ‘should’ look like. If you’re going to create your dream home, you want it to be to your individual taste 🏠Must-have elements to include on your moodboard
Your moodboard can also be thought of as your design board. It’s a chance for you to play around with the possible looks you can create. Here’s what we’d recommend you include:Paint swatches – Choose a few colours that you want to use as your base palette and a few as your accents.Images – You can include everything from photos of furniture, flooring and decorative accessories through to architecture and landscapes.Hardware – Take your space to the next level with our premium hardware, available in a range of stylish finishes.Textures – If everything is too similar, our eyes can glaze over. So, think about how you can draw attention to items through different textures. From rough wood to soft fabrics, stick to two or three textures in a single space.Inspiration – Add in any other elements that inspire you, from fonts that reflect the style you’re going for through to images of your favourite cuisine or your dream travel destination 🏝
What tools can I use to create my moodboard?
You have endless tools at your disposal to create your moodboard online, including:Pinterest is an app that gives you instant access to a whole world of beautiful and inspiring imagery. All you have to do is create a board for your moodboard, pin your favourite images and there they are in one place 📍Search for specific keywords such as ‘rustic’, ‘minimalist’ or ‘industrial’ to find images that reflect the look you’re going for. Alternatively, you can browse other people’s boards for ideas. If you already own items you’re inspired by, take pictures of them and add them to the board too. When you feel like your Pinterest board is complete, you can keep it on the app to refer to on the go. Or, you can use a desktop tool like Awesome Screenshot or GoFullPage to save the entire board as a PNG or PDF, which you can print out.Canva
What we love about Canva is how easy the platform makes it for non-designers to create a collage of images with text and other cool visual elements 🙌 You can do plenty with a free Canva membership, but if you want access to a wide range of stock imagery, templates and the ability to cut out images from a background, you’ll be better off with a Pro Membership. Our advice would be to get a 30-day free trial while you’re creating your moodboard.Here’s how to create your Canva moodboard:Go onto the main page of Canva and click ‘Create a design’. Type in ‘Photo collage’ and select this option.In your document, click on ‘Templates’ and select the moodboard template.Drag and drop stock imagery onto your moodboard or add in your own photos.Play around with the colours and text until you’re happy with your moodboardDownload your moodboard as a JPG or PDF.
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator might be a better choice if you’re looking for a more professional tool to construct your moodboard. Used by designers and artists, this software lets you create detailed designs and offers more flexibility than other tools. You may find Illustrator a bit tricky if it’s your first time using it, so watch some YouTube videos or pick the brains of an experienced professional or friend 🤓Here’s how to create your Adobe Illustrator moodboard:Click ‘File’, ‘New’ and then specify your artboard size.To add images to your document, click ‘File’, ‘Place’ and then you have the option to resize them.To add text to your moodboard, click the big ‘T’ in the main toolbar.When you’re ready to download your moodboard, click ‘File’, ‘Export as’ and save as either a JPG or PDF.
If all your #homespo lives on Instagram, why not use the platform for your moodboard? No this isn’t some top-secret feature, we’re talking about Instagram’s Collections, which allows you to put together your favourite photos in one folder or board. The key difference with an Instagram moodboard is you’re limited to only using photos that have already been posted on Instagram.Here’s how to create a moodboard on Instagram:When you see an image you like, click the ‘Save’ icon and then click ‘Save to collection’.From there, you can either save it to an existing collection or click the + sign in on the right to create a new collection.If you’ve already saved images but not put them in a collection yet, go onto your profile and click the three lines at the top right hand corner.Click ‘Saved’ to see all of your images and then click the + icon at the top right hand corner to create a new collection.From there, you can go through your saved images and choose the ones you want to add to your collection.
Top tip:
Share your collection on Instagram by clicking ‘Create Guide’, and then choose your images and write a few accompanying paragraphs. This is a great way to get feedback and collaborate with others.Olioboard
Olioboard is a free-to-use tool that lets you create digital moodboards like a pro. It’s easy to drag and drop images, text and other design elements to create a board that’s perfect for your project. Think Photoshop, but 10 x easier and built exclusively for interior design projects. Want to go 3D? Olioboard takes moodboarding one step further and helps you design realistic spaces. Whether you go 2D or 3D, you can add notes, include colour swatches and present your overall vision through this powerful tool. You can also share your moodboard with others online, or even print it out for a physical reminder of your vision.Physical board
Sometimes nothing beats getting crafty and creating a physical moodboard for your creative home project. While this may be a little more time-consuming than the digital options, it will let you see the colours, patterns and textures more accurately 🎨Keep things simple by using a piece of cardboard or posterboard for your physical moodboard. Or, consider a corkboard or chalkboard as a more elaborate option. Either way, you can pin up images, your own hand-drawn sketches and other inspiration you find online or in magazines. It’s also a great way to track your progress. As you make decisions about your renovation, update your board accordingly.
A neutral, timeless vision by Jenna (@theinteriorfox), paired with our BECKER Grooved Handle, MERCURY Lip Pull and HUMBOLDT Knob.
Extra tips for creating your moodboard
Last but not least, here are some final tips before you start creating your moodboard:It’s important to ask, “Do I like what I see?” when you’ve created your moodboard. After all, these are the interiors you’ll soon be living with, so they should ultimately make you feel good 😊Don’t be too restrictive with your moodboard. It’s easier to have more options early on and cut down than it is to expand on an idea that’s been set in stone from day one. Keep your options open with a variety of colours, fonts and design elements to bring your moodboard to life.Update your moodboard accordingly as you tick off jobs during your renovation or make any new design decisions.
And those are the steps to create a super useful, go-to moodboard! Feel like you could do with some more styling advice? Get your notepad ready and drill into the expert minds of our interior pros with their interior trends moodboards.
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