Mood Boards, aka Part of Having a Plan

A mood board for a project - great way to gather ideas, try a color palette and collect sources

In our last blog, we talked about the importance of having a plan for your house. Whether you are preparing to stage and sell, organizing stuff or refreshing your decor, having a plan is crucial. As a reminder, the Plan includes ideas about what you want to do, a budget and a timeline will ensure success. Including product ideas, paint and fabric or wallpaper swatches, sources and inspiration is the heart of the plan. How do you gather all this stuff? I am liking mood boards right now. It’s pretty easy to grab images and links, add notes and combine into any number of tools – the notes app on your computer or phone, Word or Powerpoint, or online tools like Canva or others.

Putting your visual ideas together will help you refine and define the end goal. When you start, don’t try to overly edit. Include what you like and even create separate boards if you are exploring different looks. As you continue to add images, whether entire rooms or individual pieces, you will probably start to see a common thread emerge. What you liked last week might not fit with the general direction, but that’s ok. You can remove things easily. Your goal is to end up with a consistent palette, style and list of things – as well as where to find it!

Not loving a digital approach? Old-school works too – clip magazine photos, paper-clip swatches and put them together in a folder or notebook. The tool does not matter so much as collecting things you like or want to explore further.