A Guide On How To Create A Mood Board Like A Pro Designer

A great mood board is the back bone of every successful interior design project. It clarifies your vision, guides your shopping and ensures every piece you choose feels cohesive. Whether your designing a single room or an entire home, follow this guide on how to create a mood board like a pro designer.

1. Start With Clear Intent

Before collecting images, define the goal of the space. Ask yourself, what is the rooms purpose? What emotions should it evoke? Any inspiration or reference spaces you love? The

design brief keeps your board focussed instead of chaotic. If it doesn't support your brief or intent then it doesn't belong on the board. Spaces created with clear intent look more polished because every element feels like it belongs, designers use intent as their compass from start to finish.

2. Collect Inspiration

Professional designers gather tons of images. These images can have inspiration for colour, texture, pattern, anything that will generate more inspiration and ideas to suit your brief.

Great sources for your images -

• Pinterest

• Media including architectural digest, Elle Decor, Domino

• Furniture Brands and look books.

• Fabric, paint or flooring samples.

• Nature, photography, art.

Aim for quality, not quantity. Save anything that sparks interest or inspires you for your brief.

3. Identify Your Key Elements

Every strong mood board communicates at least four essentials.

Colour Palette -

Choose your main colours and your accent tones. Pick out these colours from your photos and imagery research. A colour palette makes the mood obvious at a glance. Without a set palette you risk mixing shades that clash or drift into different styles. A defined palette becomes the anchor that keeps your images, materials and furniture selections unified.

Materials and Textures -

Examples - Linen, boucle, walnut wood, brass, marble, sisal.

Textures matter just as much as colours, they tend to communicate atmosphere. They let you capture the sensory experience of the space. Great interiors rely on a thoughtful combination of materials.

Shapes and Silhouettes -

Are you leaning towards soft curves, clean lines or chunky sculptural forms?

They define the structure and visual language of your design. They influence how a room feels just as much as colour and texture.

Overall Mood -

Warm minimalism, organic modern, vintage electric, quiet luxury etc.

4. Building The Board

Using digital soft wear -

• Canva

• Milanote

• Pinterest

• Adobe Express or Illustrator

Physical boards -

• Paint swatches

• Fabric samples or cut offs

• Wood pieces

• Magazine clippings

• Printed inspiration photos

5. Curate, Edit and Arrange

This is where your board becomes designer level!

Keep asking yourself, does this support my design direction? If not, delete it.

Aim for -

• Visual Balance

• A clear colour story

• A consistent design style.

Place your most important image in the centre, this becomes the anchor. Cluster items around it that work together. (Colours in one corner, furniture silhouettes in another and textures grouped.

6. Add Real Products

Once you have the base of the mood board and it feels solid, you can add real products that you want to include in your space. This adds a powerful feeling to a mood board.

Products to include -

• Specific furniture pieces

• Rugs, curtains, lighting

• Decor options

• Paint samples

• Flooring samples

This transforms your mood board into a shopping guide. It also gives the realistic effect, helping clients see their visuals come together.

7. Our Mood Board Services

Are you wanting a mood board of your own but want to skip all the fuss? Here at Floor Design Wetherby we can make you a mood board based off a simple survey. Fill out the

details of what flooring options and design features you would like and we will generate one, personalised to you.