Join us for a podcast on creating mood boards as you design your new home. Take a listen and read on to learn more!
What is a mood board?
A mood board is a visual tool in the design world that helps put together a concept for a new home.
Do you create these for clients or do clients bring ideas to you?
It depends. We break it out into the electronic version that we can create with photos or products that clients find online and create a pdf version. In the first selections meeting, we do a visual mood board, which consists of samples from the design studio. This helps us and our clients get ideas on wood tones, quartz, colors, etc.
What are the main reasons to do a mood board?
Mood boards make the concept of the new home evident, and they also can provide inspiration while going through the process.
Is this something that you have been doing for a while or is it a new concept?
Mood boards have grown in popularity the last few years especially with HGTV. These have been used by interior designers, but are also used in the fashion industry. Pinterest is also a way that people having been creating boards, which is creating a mood. As with anything, we continue to grow and tweak the process to make it the best for our clients, so we’ve incorporated more visual opportunities. The mood boards really help clients start on the right foot and make the process more fun.
Is it best for clients to come with ideas and do mood boards before meeting with their selections coordinator?
We have a variety of clients. Some clients will come so prepared with many ideas, while others don’t have the exact vision for their home. Either way, we put everything together as a team! However, if a client is able to bring a few options and ideas to each meeting, that can be very helpful.
What’s a good starting point for creating a mood board without getting overwhelmed?
Pinterest and Houzz are great options, but we know that sometimes all of the photos can be overwhelming. Even if you can’t figure out what you like about a photo you find, bring it to your selections meeting and our team will help you pick out items that you like from the photo. We also recommend writing out what you have in your current home and how you feel about each area. You can also think of your friend’s and family’s homes and what you like or dislike about those. It’s also wise to ask yourself the feeling you’d like to have in each space in your home.
What’s the best platform to use for creating digital mood boards?
Powerpoint is basic and quite simple to use. If you have access to a more advanced program, InDesign is a great option. You can also make it as simple as creating a board for your new home on Pinterest, copy and paste photos in a Word document, or go old school and cut out photos and ads from a magazine.
Do you create mood boards for the model homes that AVB sells?
Yes, we go through the same process that our clients do. Typically, we have inspiration photos and start by picking out the bones of the home - wood, tile, or some other large feature that goes along with the vision. We like to set it up in a pretty collage in a way that sets the tone for clients for homes that are in planning or under construction. This makes it simple for anyone to get a good understanding of the mood for the home.
Where do you get inspiration?
We definitely use Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and even ads that may have nothing to do with interior design. We also use fashion and art - honestly, you can pull inspiration from just about anything. Of course as we go through the process, we have to guess and check finishes with others - that’s all part of the fun! The weekly team meetings are also a great time for our selections team to discuss trends and get ideas for inspiration. Sometimes, having budgets can also be a useful tool for starting! If white cabinets are trending, how can we use them in budget while being creative so it doesn’t look like something we’ve created in the past? It’s a great way for our team to create different collections and push themselves as designers.
What designers are an inspiration to you?
To end, remember that a mood board is a great tool to see your home from a bird’s eye view. It allows our team and clients to see if the home flows and is cohesive throughout. We believe these are helpful tools and relatively easy to test out. We highly recommend you give it a try!
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