A moodboard is your best friend when designing a room. It will help you formulate your vision, bring that vision to life and keep you on track when making choices and decisions.

One of the questions I am often asked is, ‘What colour shall I paint this room?’ and my response is always the same –I never start with the paint colour. In fact, it’s one of the last elements I focus on. I do have an idea of the level of colour for a room, whether it’s light and bright, midtone, or a more saturated colour. That’s all about the mood you want to create, how you plan to use the room and the light. But it’s the moodboard that will guide you to a colour palette.

Helping you see your choices really clearly

The moodboard is a visual representation of all the different elements going into the room, helping you see your choices really clearly and how they work together. You can make a physical or digital board, and I always do both.

Digital is my starting point, using images from Pinterest or Instagram. I add in items that I want to include such as lighting, furniture, soft furnishings and artwork. You will start to see how the room will look when it’s finished. You can use any tool for this – Canva is free, easy to use and has great templates, or simply cut and paste images into a Word document. A digital moodboard is great for comparing and making choices.

Order samples for your physical board

Once you’ve narrowed down your choices with the digital board you’ll know what samples to order for your physical board. You need to check everything in real life to make sure you’re happy with your choices; colours, the scale of a pattern, the feel of a fabric. This will really show you how everything works together. You can accessorise your physical board with elements that have inspired you. Your paint colour then becomes the backdrop.

The moodboard ensures that you focus on the whole scheme from the outset, rather than making a series of disconnected decisions and choices. The result will be a cohesive, considered room for you to enjoy.