Creating a living room mood board is a great way to test out decor, furniture, and colors without committing or spending money. I get a ton of ideas when it comes to interior design, but I can’t always put them together unless I put them on a mood board.
If you struggle to decorate a room or figure out your interior design style, using a mood board will help you figure out your style.
Mood boards are a fun way to bring your vision to life without spending money. You can easily mockup your living room in an hour or less especially when you don’t have a budget to worry about.
The biggest benefit to a mood board is that the price tag doesn’t matter. Have fun with your living room mood board by decorating with items you wouldn’t normally splurge on.
Then take a step back and review your design to make sure you are satisfied and everything ties together.
Sometimes it helps to let your mood board sit for a bit to make sure your mood remains the same and this style will last.
How to Create a Mood Board for Interior Design
There are several interior design tools available to create a living room mood board, but my favorite is Canva. The great thing about Canva is that it’s free and user friendly when it comes to designing mood boards for beginners.
To get started with Canva, simply create a sign in and start designing.
There is a paid version of Canva which offers really cool features such as background remover, branding, unlimited templates, and much more.
You can design your mood using the free version of Canva and another background remover tool or take advantage of the features of the paid version.
After creating an account in Canva, select the “Create a Design” button toward the top of the screen.
This opens a window with various sizing options for your design. You can create a custom size or select from one of the available sizes.
I typically select blog graphic or Pinterest size design, if I plan to share the living room mood board on Pinterest or LTK.
Once you determine the sizing for your mood board, the design screen will open automatically.
Tips to Designing Your Living Room Mood Board
You can either take a photo of your space or create a living room mood board with miscellaneous ideas and paint color swatches.
Both of these options are helpful when it comes to designing your home, so it is all your preference.
I prefer to take a photo of my home then upload it to Canva. For instance I recently repainted my kitchen and I wasn’t sure what to do with the wall next to my cabinets.
It is an awkward space, so I took a picture of the empty wall then added decor to see how it would look.
I went a little overboard here with my design, but I learned afterwards that I preferred less items and no shelving.
You might find yourself adding too many items like I did because it is fun to create your dream space on a mood board when you don’t have to worry about the cost.
How to Add Paint Colors using Hex Codes
If you added a photo of your home or if you want to add a background, you can select a specific paint color.
To change the color of the background, select “background color” tool next to “Position.”
To add custom paint colors to a mood board, to a Google search on the hex code for that color or go Sherwin William’s website.
Browse the Sherwin color selection until you find the color you want to try out in your living room mood board.
The hex code should be provided by Sherwin in the color description. If you cannot locate the hex code then search in Google under the color name followed by hex code.
Copy and paste the hex code into the “background colors” section as shown above in the screenshot.
This is a great way to compare paint colors and even test them in your space with different decor and furniture.
How to Remove Background with Canva
If you are using the paid version of Canva then you can remove the background right in the app. To do this, simply upload the item to Canva then select “Edit Photo”.
After you select the edit photo button, you will see the tool called “BG Remover.” Select the BG Remover tool to remove the background then save the edited photo.
Then move the item into your design and continue this process until you have designed the entire room.
How to Remove Background on Your Phone
Another way to remove a background from an image is to use your iPhone or Android device.
Save the image to your camera roll then open your phone photo app. Select the photo then hold down on the photo for 5-10 seconds. The photo will highlight the subject with a shimmering effect.
You can then copy or share the item without the background. Move the item to your mood board on your phone or send it to yourself if you are working on a desktop.
How to Remove Background for Free on Desktop
If you are not using the paid version of Canva, there is another tool that you can use that might already by installed on your computer.
Most Windows computers come installed with the Paint 3D app. If you have this tool, open up a new document to get started.
Take a screenshot of the item that you want to remove the background. Paste the screenshot onto the white artboard in the Paint 3D app.
Then click the “Magic Select” tool and crop as much out of the image as possible then select the “Next” button toward the right.
You may need to go back and adjust the cropping from the image and try again to get it right.
Another option would be to use the “remove” and “add” tools toward the right. You can either draw circles around items or draw a straight line.
Some images will remove the background perfectly and others will take a bit of manipulating to get it right.
After you have removed the background, copy the item from Paint 3D then paste directly into your living room mood board in Canva.
Continue to follow these steps until you have designed your entire space. If you do not have this tool on your desktop, you can try using the remove.bg website.
Conclusion
If you don’t know where to start with your mood board design, browse social media for ideas or interior designer portfolios.
Another great place to look is on the Better Homes & Gardens website. They have a well written post with decor ideas to refresh your living room.
Determine what your style is by figuring out your dislikes and likes then select a color palate. Then keep expanding from there until you have the inspiration for your living room mood board.
Another trick to design a room is to select a decor item that you love then use that to bring your vision to life.
Start with a colorful area rug, textured curtains, or an accent chair. Pull a couple of colors from these items or find colors that compliment them then design the space from there.
Did you create a living room mood board? We would love to see it and even share it on this post!