How to Find Your Genuine Personal Style: A Guide to Creating Mood Boards

We see more beautiful images every day than our brains can even begin to process. We are surrounded by constant influence, inspiration and incoming messages on design and style. So it’s easy to imagine not being able to settle on just what you like or why. It’s hard to not feel like you just want a small piece of every image all at once to make an appearance in your home. But that probably won’t work. Right? Yeah, no it probably won’t.

It’s easy to get lost in the influence that your home need to look like something off the Insta feed of a seasoned designer or perfect Pinterest spread. But the reality is your home will feel right when it is infused with you. Successful design reflects those who inhabit it. A key to personal style is allowing yourself to like things just because. Just because they make you smile, just because they make you feel comfortable, or just because they have special memories. Those little things combined with a cohesive vision of how to combine your design influences in your space will help you create a space that feels uniquely tailored to you and fits your lifestyle and needs and gives you all the feels you are seeking.

Even as a designer I feel it, everyday I see something new I find myself attracted to or another idea that inspires me; in the ongoing process of renovating our home I feel a constant urge to change course and mix things up. But then I step back and revisit my vision for my home. I remind myself of the things that truly speak to me and what my family and I need from our home. 

So how with all this beautiful eye candy do you sift through and find your own vision and own style for your home? Let’s dive into the inspiration process and explore how a mood board can help you find your vision.

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So where do you Begin?

We think a great place to start is by creating a vision/mood board for your home. A mood board is a great way to collect and reflect on what speaks to you. You will find common themes and those will lay the foundation for crafting a vision for your space and the feeling you want to achieve.

But before you dive into the fun stuff, we think it is important to keep in mind how you live or want to live. What is your lifestyle and what do you need from your home? Do you have pets or kids? These important questions will help guide you down the road when you're refining your vision into reality and designing your home.

Now to the fun part. It’s time to tap your inner child, get out the scissors, glue and a poster board and dive into making a mood board.

Scissors and glue you ask. Yes! We think there is something special about working with physical images and materials. Feel free to gather images online but get old school and print them. If you are not able to work with physical materials you can of course complete a mood board with what ever tech you prefer, but it really will be more fun if you get your hands dirty.

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Step 1: Compile Images and Materials

I am sure you may have a head start on this one. Collecting imagery and materials that inspire you is key to establishing a common theme and identifying what speaks to you. So start to gather images or materials. Your collection could include anything from artwork to photography or physical materials. Don’t limit yourself to design images at this point. The more diverse the inspiration the more telling it will be to what feeling you are attracted to and what speaks to you. We like to look to unconventional inspiration to inform the design of spaces, you can learn a great deal about taste when looking at imagery outside of traditional design inspiration.

Step 2: Sort Your Inspiration

Now is the time you take all of those images and materials and lay them out. Look and see if you can identify any common themes among the images. Sort then into similar groupings. This will help you decide what will make it onto your final board.

Step 3: Assemble Mood Board

Now is the time when you will begin to assemble your inspiration onto a board. This is where you can let your creativity go. There is no right or wrong way to do this part, so have fun!

Step 4: Step Back and Take a Look

Now that your board is all assembled it’s time to analyze the imagery and materials and assess what it is you really like about them, how do they make you feel?

Some questions to ask yourself:

Are there any themes that stand out?

Is there one or more design “styles” that repeat?

Can you put any words to the feeling you get?

Are things light or dark?

Is there a certain kind of lighting you see?

Is the mood calm or energetic?

Is it comfortable or refined?

Are things tailored or loose?

Are there any common colors?

Are there certain textures that appear?

Do any materials repeat?

How did you lay out your board? Is everything in perfect lines or is it collaged and free? 

You get the idea….

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While you might be hoping this exercise will answer what specific design style you should pursue, the point of this exercise is to analyze what feeling you are attracted to. That feeling is what should guide your personal style. It’s not about picking a specific “design style” it is about how different design styles align with your lifestyle and the feeling you want to have in your home. Do your images and materials align with how you live and what you need from your home? The goal is to craft authentic spaces that are unique to you.

When I am designing my home I am not designing with a certain “style” in mind I am trying to create a mood and match my vision with the feeling I am trying to achieve. I fill my space with things that I love and that inspire me.

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What comes next? Looking for How to Apply Ideas to Designing Your Space?

Once you’ve become a mood board master you can hone in further and create mood boards for specific spaces. When you make a mood board for a specific space the goal would be to refine the process and select images that apply to that space and mix in pure inspiration as well. The result will be a mix of the feeling you want to achieve but also include the actual style of furnishings and interiors as well. Be sure to include images of elements you already have and want to include in your space, those are what make your space special to you.

This exercise does not have to be for a start from scratch space. Thats not practical and defeats the essences of creating a truly unique space reflective of you which can only truly be achieved through time. 

When I go through this exercise I like to compile a board that represents the feeling I want to achieve then create a board that represents how that feeling is accomplished through actual design elements. Below is an example of a board created to convey the feeling and inspiration for a space and a board that translates that vision into physical design elements. The inspiration was varied rich texture, natural elements, and a grounded earthy palette.

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Finding your own voice and style is important to crafting a home that is truly reflective of you, how you live, what you need, and what will fill you with joy in your space. While the imagery we see of others spaces can inspire and inform us, it is important to recognize what about those spaces you swoon over actually speaks to you. Identifying the what and the why is the key to identifying your own style. Recognizing what you truly like and the feeling you crave is the essence of defining your personal style.

Share your inspiration with us #prosperanddwell #prosperanddwellmoodboards. We can’t wait to see!

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