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Home Decorate

The secret weapon used by stylists and designers to get a room scheme right

Stay on track and ahead of the pack with this classic design tool.
green moodboard for interior design bathroom ideasPhotography: Will Horner / Styling: Nonci Nyoni

Embarking on a home renovation can seem like a gargantuan task, especially when your brain is overflowing with ideas. So many decisions ahead of you and so many options to choose from… this is where a mood board can really come in handy.

“A mood board helps set the vibe for a space and gives you a visual direction that you can keep coming back to during the project,” says Lauren Li of Sisalla Interior Design. “It’s the very first step in establishing how you want your space to feel, yet it’s often overlooked. Without a mood board you can flounder and it’s like you’re making decisions in the dark.”

Many interior designers and architects create mood boards as a planning tool to develop the overall concept for a home. Home Beautiful stylist Lucy Gough uses mood boards to share ideas and concepts with the team ahead of photo shoots. “I have a lot of creative thoughts, so it helps me to sort them out into different looks,” she says.

And as a homeowner, you can use a mood boards to communicate your vision and style to your chosen designer or trades.

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Carlene Duffy of Cedar & Suede created this inspiration board when renovating a vintage caravan for her family. (Supplied: Cedar & Suede)

So what is a mood board?

Mood boards can take one of two formats: a physical board or a digital board.

A physical mood board might be a scrapbook, a pin board or a tray that you fill with images and tangible, touchable samples. Think tiles, door handles, surfaces, fabrics, carpets or wallpapers, as well as magazine tear-outs, Polaroids and paint tiles. These mood boards have great visual impact and are easy to tweak – simply add or remove things as you like – but you can’t always take them with you when you’re out and about.

A collection of fabrics, prints, materials and ceramics helps define the look and feel of a renovated space. (Supplied: Cedar & Suede)

A digital mood board is perfect if you love scrolling online for ideas. You can use platforms like Pinterest or Canva or any number of mood board creator websites and apps, such as Style Sourcebook or Moodboard, to pull all your ideas together in one place. Digital mood boards are easy to edit, can be shared with your interior designer or friends and can be accessed when you’re out sourcing items for your home – just whip out your phone!     

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A stone feature wall, chocolate sofa and statement coffee table in Shelley Craft’s Byron Bay home provide plenty of visual fodder. (Photography: Lynden Foss / Styling: Carlene Duffy)

Interior designer Carlene Duffy from Cedar & Suede says physical and digital mood boards both play an important role in the design process. “I would start with a digital inspiration board to get you going. For client projects, we always present our concepts with the physical samples, as digital colours and materials are typically not well depicted. There’s nothing like having the real deal in your hands to touch and feel before pressing go.”

Lucy adds, “I use digital moodboards for my magazine shoots because I have to work at a fast pace and there is less need for physical samples, as the images will be printed in the magazine or online. For real homes and interior design, it’s important to feel all the physical samples before you buy them for your home.”

What should you include in a mood board?

There is no limit to what you can add to a mood board. Start with imagery of rooms and interiors that you love – like these very adult pink spaces – followed by the colours, textures and materials that make your heart sing. Then, Lauren suggests casting the net wider.

“Think about the vibe that you want to create. Remember, it’s a ‘mood’ board, so it doesn’t have to be literal photos of spaces, it can also be images that underpin the way that you want the space to feel. Consider photos of nature, cities, architecture, fashion and even food,” she says.

“You may also collect materials, artwork and even found objects. Anything that captures the essence of the space – it’s quite abstract.”

Mocha Mousse Pantone Colour of the Year 2025 in cushions
Take what you want from this cosy living space – from the coffered ceilings to the colour palette or just the timeless appeal. (Photography: Lisa Cohen / Styling: Tess Newman-Morris)
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Carlene agrees: “As well as completed spaces by other designers, I’ll add some metals in the form of hardware, fabrics, paint colours, carpets and hard finishes like brick, timber or tile. You might even be bowled over by the colour of a rock. There really are no rules and certainly no restrictions as to what you can be inspired by.”

Case in point: Carlene and husband Michael’s vintage caravan renovations ‘Goldie’, ‘Bumblebee’ and ‘Millie’ all had strong visual concepts achieved with mood boards.

Hot tip from Lucy: “Most companies will send you three samples of paint/wallpaper/fabric for free before you need to start paying for them.”

How to get started

Both Carlene and Lauren agree that the secret to a successful mood board is to not overthink it.

“Start by saving anything that speaks to you into a folder,” says Lauren. “You don’t need a reason to save it yet; collect as much as you like, because the editing process comes later. You might also like to write down some key words that help you articulate the way you want your space to feel. This mind-mapping can assist in the kind of images that you’re looking for.”

Blue bathroom sinks.
If a striking blue bathroom appeals to you, save it in your folder to show your interior designer. (Photography: Tom Ferguson / Styling: Holly Irvine)

Take your time, scouring styling blogs, websites, magazines and Pinterest or Instagram for online inspiration and visiting fabric stores, home centres, hardware specialists and tile showrooms for physical examples.

Once you’ve got a good collection of images and items, it’s time to cull. Remove any items that feel out of place or just not right and take notice of any themes that might be forming. Maybe you have a lot of blue in your moodboard or you’re leaning towards rattan details or all of your room shots have a similar look and feel.

Keep adding and moving things around, and come back to your mood board over a period of days, weeks or even months until it feels right.

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A Renaissance Red inspiration story created for Home Beautiful by Lucy Gough. (Photography: Kristina Soljo / Styling: Lucy Gough)

Lucy shares this mood board above that she created for a decorating story that appeared in the November 2024 issue of Home Beautiful. “You can see the mix of velvet, deep red, gold, white and walnut taken from the mood board and interpreted for the photo shoot. This scheme is rich, elegant and abundant,” she says. “Start with your chosen colours and finishes on your board and use them on repeat through your scheme so it feels cohesive throughout.”

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