Never underestimate the feeling you want to achieve in your space. That is literally the secret sauce for a successful design and a room that you’ll actually want to spend time in. This week I thought it would be fun to take you along on a creative journey to show you the process I use when beginning a new project. These steps illustrated here help me to get into the mood for tackling a new design. Designers refer to this as a mood board or concept board and it follows after an initial client meeting or brief. For once, this early stage of the process doesn’t involve measuring per se. This is all the stuff that happens before physical planning. And yes, I usually do have the measurements of the space when I’m planning in this stage but it’s not necessary for this process. It’s all about feeling and the mood you want to achieve. In my opinion, getting the feeling of a room nailed down helps to keep you on track. It makes you want to get the project done. You’re excited to experience the way it will make you feel and that provides the momentum.

This is a holistic approach because our homes are not only dwelling spaces, they’re sanctuaries that help us to enjoy our whole life. Good design reflects not only our taste but our choices for how we want to live. Let’s explore how to nail the feeling you want for your home’s décor.

Write a descriptive sentence or a single word that describes how you want your space to feel.

For many years I’ve started presentations with a mood board that was titled with the language my clients use to describe the way they want their space to feel. This would be: The Jones’ relaxing master bedroom, or Bonnie’s colorful and creative craft room… a bit of alliteration works sometimes too.. When I worked in a retail furniture store, the other designes would tease me or say that it wasn’t necessary. I couldn’t disagree more. I never had a client tell me that they wanted a design that was just okay or blah. They always had an adjective right away: cozy, comfortable, inviting, casual, formal, bright. The descriptive word or sentence always translated to a very personal feeling for the client because it was their own language, it was based on what they wanted to experience in their space. Even if they came in with their hands in the air not knowing how to get their project underway, they always had the feeling they wanted to achieve ready to go. Getting to that feeling sometimes took a bit of reverse engineering, which is what leads me to the next step:

Engage your 5 senses.

This is important because it’s where you’ll discover “how” you want to experience the room. Your senses are where those feelings live.

Sight:

What do you want to see in the space. Do you want to be able to look at a collection of items that make you happy? Do you want to display family pictures that mean something to you? Is there a particular color that you want to use in the space because it’s your favorite? Maybe you just want open space and a feeling of expansiveness and color is minimized.

Smell:

Do you have a favorite scented candle or essential oil you’d like to incorporate? Incense, room spray? What does that scent mean to you? Do you have a certain memory associated with it or a particular mood you’re in when you smell it?

Taste:

Will you be drinking wine in the space? Can you see yourself entertaining guests where certain foods or snacks will be served? Maybe it’s as simple as movie night on your new sectional, eating popcorn with your favorite blanket on your lap.

Touch:

What textures do you like to touch? What does that blanket feel like on movie night? What kind of rug do you want under your feet, soft, plush, woven? Do you love the feel of some fabrics like a luxurious velvet or natural cotton? Do you love the feeling of soft, cool bed sheets because they make you feel relaxed and ready for sleep?

Hear:

Will you listen to music or podcasts in the space? How will that sound make you feel in the room? Will you want to get up and dance or will you want to be listening while you’re snuggled up with a cup of tea or coffee? Do you want to hear the gentle water sounds from a water feature or the white noise from an essential oil difuser?

It’s important to pay attention to how you want to experience your space from the perspective of all your senses because that is how you will create a room you will want to spend time in. It’s great to have a room that looks amazing but when you think about how you want your senses to be engaged, you manifest the result.

Now that you explored the feeling for your new space, it’s time to distill that down into the mood you want to create. Make a list of the most important items from your sensory exercise and find one image depicting that overall feeling. It doesn’t have to be the exact look for your space and honestly, it won’t be. This is again based on feeling. The way you feel can be woven together with the aesthetics of the space so, don’t get caught up in every detail of the picture. It’s just a depiction of feeling you want to create.

Create a mood board

You can use Pinterest, PowerPoint, paste and paper or any other medium you’d like. Find your one picture that really encapsulates everything you want your space to feel like. It can be a picture from a magazine, Pinterest, or picture you took of a store display that really matched the feel you want for your space.

You don’t have to limit yourself to just furniture and fabrics, include pictures that have the feel that you’re looking for. Find pictures from nature, photos of family trips, a picture of an amazing meal, a picture from a fashion show. You can use inspiration from literally anywhere. Pull out the things in the picture that you really love: colors, textures, patterns, metal tones, natural elements.

Create a Product Selection Board

Now find items that have that look… area rug with the colors you want in the space, pillows that have the texture you want: cable knit, dimensional threads, etc. What patterns do you envision and where can that be applied? Will wallpaper work to bring in pattern, can the curtains or rug be the pattern? Can you use a pattern in floor tiles or a herringbone wood floor. What metal tone will you want to see around the space in decorative accents, drapery rods, picture frames, planter containers, sculpture.

What natural elements do you want to see? Plants, wicker or rattan baskets, tapestries for the wall or pillows. Apply the 60%, 30%, 10% rule. Notice the entire composition of the inspiration picture, what is the main color you see? That is the 60%. The next most prevalent color is the 30% and the hints or accent colors make up the balance of 10%.

The mood board usually doesn’t have the final products in it, it’s just the “mood” you want to create. But, sometimes you find an absolute must have piece early on in the planning process and that is totally fine to incorporate in the board. I also don’t think it’s necessary to have a format for the mood board. It’s really just a grab and go compilation of images and items that make you feel a certain way, so don’t get too caught up in the composition of the board.

Conclusion:

That’s really it, short and simple. When you want to nail the feeling you want for your home’s décor:

• Write out how you want your space to feel

• Engage your senses to achieve that feeling

• Create a mood board to visually depict that feeling.

• Create a Product Selection Board

When you have all the ways you want your space to feel, you’ll be excited to bring it all together. It will be a joy to create the room you’ve envisioned.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I am so grateful that you decided to spend a few minutes with me to talk shop.

Now it’s your turn:

Tell me about the ways you’ve gotten inspired to makeover a space in your home. Do you use a technique similar to this in your planning process? Leave me a comment below. I love to hear from you all and I respond to all my comments, promise!

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Michael is Principal designer and blogger at Michael Helwig Interiors in beautiful Buffalo, New York. Since 2011, he’s a space planning expert, offering online interior e-design services for folks living in small homes, or for those with awkward and tricky layouts. He’s a frequent expert contributor to many National media publications and news outlets on topics related to decorating, interior design, diy projects, and more. Michael happily shares his experience to help folks avoid expensive mistakes and decorating disappointments. You can follow him on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook @interiorsmh.