The Marvels of Moodboarding

We love helping people create spaces that feel true to them, while delivering a dash of the unexpected. When bringing these visions to life, it’s often a matter of teasing out the specifics. We provide a complimentary moodboarding service, where we get to know you and your space then create a comprehensive visual and textural roadmap to your dream interior. If, however, you’d rather dig into the task yourself, we can help there, too! We’ve held a series of moodboarding workshops over the years and met many lovely characters along the way. One such individual is a customer named Merrin, who joined us at our Islington showroom for a workshop in partnership with Topology. Merrin was kind enough to connect with us on how the experience helped to shape her now fully formed living space, tying into the personality and provenance of her Victorian home. Read on to get a taste for how it all works…

We so enjoyed having you join us for our moodboarding workshop in partnership with Topology! Can you tell us a little bit about your experience and how it helped to shape your interior?

I loved the workshop! I always have lots of ideas and inspiration swirling around in my mind and find it quite difficult to decide or stick to one. Instagram and Pinterest are such great sources of inspiration but sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming, especially when thinking about what you like versus what will work in your space. So, creating a mood board was a great way to refine my ideas in a visual and tactile way. Having the swatches and samples on hand helped to focus my vision and Athina from Topology did an excellent job guiding us through the process of planning colour schemes, all important statement pieces, and lighting, through to complementary accessories to tie a room together. Creating the mood board really helped me to get a better sense of the look and feel I was aiming for in my interior and how I’d like it to flow.

It was also a lovely, creative way to spend an evening! I came on my own and was nervous about not knowing anyone, but it was such a friendly and welcoming group.

Did you come in with a particular starting point for your design direction?

My starting point was the idea of being true to the period of our Victorian terrace house, without trying to directly replicate the dark maximalist Victorian style by bringing in some freshness and modern aspects. I wanted to embrace a cosy feeling in a north facing room, making a feature of what we already had, and I knew I liked rich blues and greens. It was also important to me that the rooms flow, while also benefiting from some zoning. Using sumptuous fabrics like velvet brought out the richness of the darker colours, while the natural materials of the pine floorboards we already had downstairs created a balanced feel. Athina from Topology taught us about using a thread to create cohesion – whether it’s through a colour, fabric or pattern.

You ended up going for our classic Hartfield sofa (great choice, if we may say so!). What is it that drew you to the design?

When we came into the Guildford showroom, we were immediately drawn to the Hartfield sofa – it looked deep and comfy which were important factors! My husband sat down on it straight away and didn’t want to get up. Style wise, its classic shape and gorgeous turned legs made it the perfect addition to our Victorian home. We chose the Aqua Velvet in Hunter which is a gorgeously muted not quite navy not quite green, which tonally complements our wall colour.

How do you use the space and what role does its design play in setting the right tone?

The space is our living room and it’s used for relaxation at the end of a busy day at work, or doing DIY on the house. The design has been so important in setting the right tone – we embraced the darkness of the north facing room and chose to use deep blue on the walls. Using fabrics to add texture, and neutral colours to balance the dark, while adding pops of colour through artwork and objects and of course…lots of lamps. The Hartfield sofa is the perfect addition adding a definite sense of luxurious comfort – the perfect place to get cosy!

Want to get going on your own dream interior? Get in touch with a member of our team to learn more about our moodboarding service and how you can use it to bring your vision to life!