Get in the mood
Don’t know where to start on your redecorating project? Tina Stephen has some advice.
Getting an interior project off the ground can be a daunting task, and many people feel they don’t have a focused style. With so many options for colour, lighting, flooring and accessories, just beginning can be the hardest part. However, determining your own style can be as simple as looking to other areas for inspiration, such as fashion or nature.
Creating a moodboard can help you determine what works together early in the design process. It’s a sure-fire way to eliminate costly mistakes, as often you can make knee-jerk purchases only to later find they don’t work in the overall scheme. A moodboard is a fantastic way to gain an understanding about the scope of a project – what you need and what you don’t need while keeping a focused eye on your original brief.
Moodboards are a great way of bringing together elements in a seemingly haphazard nature – tear sheets from magazines, colour swatches, fabric samples – but the process quickly reveals an emerging pattern. Your creativity doesn’t have to be limited to one media either, there are also some fantastic online applications for creating boards.
Starting one – either virtually or physically – begins with gathering images of homes that you love. Pop into your local paint store to grab free swatches and get expert advice, or try Resene’s handy Colour Match app, which takes any image and matches it to their paint samples. These types of tools are fantastic for helping gain context in your interior projects, and narrowing down what inspires your style. Pattern Snap is another tried-and-tested tool that you can use to match patterns to actual wallpaper and fabric products.
Many companies also offer free fabric samples – even if they are based online you can request a sample to be posted out. If you are considering larger items such as lounge suites, you can add these images and samples to your moodboard to get a sense of scale and colour.
However, gathering images is a great starting point prior to looking at physical samples – instead of aimlessly trolling design and product websites, you can focus your ideas in a more structured way. Pinterest is a fantastic tool for pulling images for your moodboard – putting them all together in one place can help you determine essential elements such as colour, style and context. Often product suppliers have a ‘‘pinning’’ option for images on their website, which make it easy to collect these all in one place for future reference.
Creating a virtual moodboard from your images is the next step, and you don’t need to be a Photoshop genius to get started. There are several user-friendly moodboard apps for iPad or desktop. Why not start with Olioboard? It’s a quick and easy option that allows you to begin arranging items on a board, with access to a large image library or an option to import your own images.