bringing inspiration to life: from mood board to reality

August 01, 2016

One of the first deliverables (and arguably one of the most important) of any design project is a mood board. This collection of inspiration images serves as a visual road map throughout the design process, allowing you and your designer to create a cohesive look & feel (concept) for your space. Inspiration images can be as abstract and seemingly unrelated to architecture as fashion, artwork, food or travel photography. Sometimes, the more unrelated the better as it allows for more creativity to design a truly unique and personalized space.  Below are a few inspiration images from a New England concept paired with ideas for how to relate them back to the final design.




To start, the color palette can be derived from one main inspiration image with the look & feel you are going for. Here, it is beachy, light, casual and clean, with lots of blues and soft neutrals.


For example, here we took the weathered wood look from a boat deck and used that as inspiration for the flooring.


Here the color & texture of nautical rope can appear in a chunky knitted throw.



The bathroom fixture on the right was inspired by nautical equipment, both in the design and finish.


The stripes on these boat covers can be referenced through the color and pattern of fabric choices.

By creating a comprehensive collection of inspiration images for the mood board, and referencing it periodically as the project progresses, you and your designer will be able to build a final design that clearly reflects your desired outcome for the space. If you have a future project in mind, I recommend gathering images as early in possible. That way you are ready to hit the ground running when it comes time to start the process. Happy collecting!

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