London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

How to Create a Mood Board for Your Dream Interior Design

How to Create a Mood Board for Your Dream Interior Design

Gather inspiration to help your decorating ideas come to life.

Embarking on a new interior design project, whether that's redecorating your living room or remodeling a bathroom, can be equally exciting and overwhelming. With so many decisions to make around paint colors, fabrics, furniture, and more, it can be difficult to know where to begin. One way to kickstart your design process is by creating a mood board to help organize your ideas.

This collage of inspiration, which can be digital or physical, provides a way to visualize and experiment with the design direction of your project. "Mood boards are an invaluable tool when it comes to designing a room or even updating it," says Tricia Guild, founder and creative director of London-based home furnishings company Designers Guild. "It is always useful to have a visual snapshot of how your space will look and flow."



How to Create a Mood Board


A mood board helps you connect various design elements you love into one cohesive vision. "It is a way of refining your ideas and editing the look, a way of experimenting in a small scale before you commit to buying large quantities," Guild says. It's best to have a general idea of the overall aesthetic or color scheme for your project before you get started. Then follow these steps to create a mood board that helps bring your interior design dreams to life.

Step 1: Choose a method for creating your mood board.


If you prefer to see and touch items before making selections, opt for a physical mood board. Using tangible elements, such as paint chips and fabric samples, allows you to experience the colors and textures in person and make the most informed decisions. A digital mood board, on the other hand, opens up a much broader range of design possibilities because you can use virtually any image you find online as inspiration. Designers Guild has a handy online tool for creating your own mood board, or you can use programs like Adobe Photoshop or the free website Canva to craft one from scratch.



Step 2: Gather design inspiration.


Look to colors and patterns you love to guide your mood board concept. Think beyond interior design, too, and draw inspiration from aspects of the world around you, including fashion, art, and nature. If working digitally, copy and paste images you find online (Pinterest, Instagram, and interior design websites are good places to start) onto your mood board canvas. Shop around furniture and decor sites to find actual products that fit your aesthetic.

For a tactile approach, start with a specific object that appeals to you, such as an art print or a piece of vintage dishware, and build your mood board around that. Compile samples of fabric, wallpaper, tile, paint, or flooring from manufacturers and small accessories like hardware and fresh or faux greenery to play around with. "Include as many elements of color, texture, pattern, and furniture as you possibly can," Guild says.



Step 3: Arrange and rearrange your mood board.


Shuffle around the various elements of your mood board, experimenting with different combinations of color, texture, and pattern. "Take your time but be confident," Guild says. As you arrange the items, try to keep them proportional to how they will appear in the actual room, she suggests. For example, a paint color that will coat all four walls of the room should feature prominently on the board, while a fabric that will cover only a few throw pillows should appear comparatively smaller.



Step 4: Use the mood board to inform your design decisions.


Once your mood board is organized to your liking, it's time to start purchasing items and get to work in the actual room. "If it works and flows on your mood board, it will work in your space, provided you have used the elements in the appropriate scale," Guild says. Use your mood board as a roadmap while you shop for furnishings and materials, and reference it often as you start filling out the room. With a solid plan laid out in front of you, creating your dream room isn't so overwhelming after all.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
×