THE IMPORTANCE OF MOOD BOARDS IN INTERIOR DESIGN

One of the biggest problems for homeowners, when they embark on a home design project, is often the overwhelming amount of choice out there. As an interior designer, I am here to help with the vast amount of choices and one of the ways I do that is with the planning of a mood board, which is key to nail down the perfect design of a room.

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Mood boards are essentially a visual collage that gives you a feel for the design ideas interior designers have in their heads. When working with an interior designer or stylist, it is not until you have seen the mood board that you can get a feel for how the room will look like. A mood board is a presentation of the style, mood, textures, pieces of furniture, fixings, accessories etc. that are intended to be used to create the final look of a room.

Later on, it can also act as a tool for me as the designer to follow the guidelines set at the beginning of a project, making sure all elements agreed, in the beginning, are being implemented.

However, before starting a mood board I would focus is on creating a concept board for my clients.

A concept board can be defined as the starting point of the creative process for a new home or room design. Through interviews and observation, I get to know the client better and find out about their likes and dislikes as well as passions and interests.

Below is a concept board I created taking part in an interior design challenge recently. In the brief, the client, a family of 4 including 2 young children needed help with the design of their living room where the kids could play, the adults could entertain guests as well as relaxing and watching the tv in the evening.  The room was in desperate need of storage, they liked the Scandinavian look although found some aspects of it quite bland, so was open for pops of colour. They were eco-focused and they absolutely loved a recent trip to the Eden Project in Cornwall and would love to bring some elements of the project into their home.

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So after studying the brief, the concept of the room I came up with was the one above where I took inspiration from the eco-exotic Eden Project and Scandinavian design.

Then after further discussions about the concept and client approval, I then started working on a mood board. There I would present all the thoughts and ideas created during the concept phase and present them on a digital mood board as seen below. Creating a clear design concept so that the client would get a real understanding of the design and feel of the room. 

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Since the mood board is digitally created it can easily be changed to suit the client's taste. When the client is happy with the design, we can then start sourcing for the pieces suggested on the mood board. Getting in samples of fabric and paint, buying furniture and accessories while always checking back on the mood board for reference to make sure we keep to the initial tracks and check the original goals.

If you are thinking of redecorating and would like some help with your interior design please get in touch with me. I'd meet you in the comfort of your own home for an initial consultation where we would discuss tastes and styles together as well as budget and timings of the project.

Until next time, take care.

Kari Anne xx