When you’re thinking of building, an inspiration or mood board can be a very useful tool. It can help you gather your thoughts and create a cohesive look for your new home, inside and out. Sometimes it’s hard to visualise how your ideas will all come together. And what looks good in a magazine might not work when you bring a number of different ideas together. So putting them all on an inspiration board can really help!
From selecting a certain style of home to choosing a colour palette, an inspiration board allows you to see how different looks, colours and concepts work together, before making any final decisions. It also helps you focus on creating a cohesive look, rather than just throwing lots of random ideas together and hoping for the best!
If you’re not quite sure how to create an inspiration board, take a look at these three easy steps.
Starting with a blank page is daunting for anyone, so to get your creative juices flowing, it’s a good idea to look at different sources for inspiration. The online world is filled with thousands of amazing images, ideas and trends – Instagram, Pinterest and interior design blogs are a great place to start. If you have a particular style in mind – eg. Hamptons, simply search Google Images and you’ll be spoilt for choice!
If you’re more of a tactile person, you may prefer to look for inspiration in the ‘real’ world. Browsing homewares stores and collecting catalogues from places like Freedom, Adairs and Ikea provide lots of inspiration. Interior design and decorating books, home magazines, and brochures from kitchen and bathroom companies are also jam-packed with the latest products, styles and trends. You can even collect paint chips from hardware stores and fabric swatches from furniture retailers, so your inspiration board becomes a mix of images, colour swatches and textures.
Elements from nature can also form part of your inspiration board – leaves, bark, flowers and even things like gumnuts can provide wonderful inspiration for your new home. And try to take photos of things that catch your eye, while you’re out and about.
Next, you need to choose the best way to display your inspiration. If you use a computer a lot, you might like to create your mood board electronically, using free online tools like Pinterest. If you’re more ‘old school’, you may prefer to cut out images you like and stick them to a large piece of chart paper (kind of like a school project). Or, if you’d like to get the whole family involved, why not use a pin or corkboard, so everyone can contribute their ideas and you can all talk about them. This option also makes it very easy to move or remove images.
When you think you’ve gathered enough inspiration (or maybe even a little too much!), it’s probably time to edit your inspiration board. Look at your mood board as a whole, rather than individual elements and try to remove elements that just don’t gel. If you don’t absolutely love it, get rid of it. Perhaps you’ve got too many different colours and need to remove one or two. Remember, sometimes less is more!
If you think your inspiration board is looking a little flat, try introducing some colour or texture. From natural materials like rattan and timber, to luxurious finishes such as marble or gold accents, there’s no limit to the materials and textures you can add.
Finally, spend time reviewing your finished inspiration board to make sure you’re happy with it, before you make any final choices for your new home. If you can, place your board in an easily visible spot, so you can see it throughout the day. You’ll soon know which elements aren’t working for you, and which ones you definitely want to implement.
Creating a cohesive look for your home can add enormous value to your greatest asset. At Hallmark Homes, we look forward to assisting you with this exciting process. Our expert design consultants at Select by Hallmark will personally guide you through all the product choices, finishes and fixtures. They will also take you through the colour selection process, ensuring that everything you choose works together seamlessly, both inside and out. Select by Hallmark is exclusive to Hallmark Homes’ clients, and entry is by appointment only. And if you’re looking for some inspiration for your new home, check out our Inspiration Gallery pages.
Here you’ll find inspiration for the kitchen, dining, living room, bedrooms, bathroom, activity rooms and home office, and you may even find ideas to help you maximise your alfresco space and make the most of the Southeast Queensland weather! Our Inspiration Gallery also showcases a variety of styles, including Contemporary, Coastal, Farmhouse, Mediterranean and Mid-Century Modern, and you can view videos of all our current display homes.
Thinking of building a new home in South-East Queensland? The friendly team at Hallmark Homes is ready to help. Come and check out one of our display centres for yourself. If you have any questions about our home designs or house and land packages, please contact us today.
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