- Image by cherrypatter via Flickr
One of my Interior Design course modules in the very beginning included creating of colour wheels, mood boards and sample boards to demonstrate my ideas on particular assignment. I think it is a very good idea to do the same for your own home decorating project, as it makes you really consider the colours you will be using, preferred materials and offers guidance when you start sourcing for materials. Without a proper sample board you may get overwhelmed when out visiting a store or you may pick something not necessarily matching with the entity you want to achieve.
How could you create your own sample board or mood board? Start thinking of the feeling you want to create in your home and what colours you feel withdrawn to. It is best to stick with maximum of two different colours from the colour wheel, and to use different shades or tints of them. One colour, let’s say you like yellow, combined with white or black would be quite effective. Consider using light tints on larger surfaces and darker shades on smaller surfaces, especially if you are living in a small space to maintain the feeling of light and space. If you find one colour a little boring, you could introduce a second colour, for example a complementary colour, which for yellow would be purple. Of course you can make your own colour choices, but these are the guidelines and using too many colours or both colours in the same proportion makes the room look too overwhelming.
Making a decision to paint the walls and ceiling in white and keeping the furniture in minimum and also in proportion to the available space, allows you to experiment more freely with colour in soft furnishings, artwork and items of interest. Small spaces are best to keep in pastel tones to retain the feel of more light and space in the room.
To make your own mood board, collect a bunch of magazines and cut everything that appeals to you. It could be a picture of a bedroom that attracts you, colours of the seaside if you find it calming and something you would like use, anything that helps you to describe the dream look.