If you were to ask me which design style I’d use as inspiration when designing or renovating a home, my first answer would be to look at its architecture and existing original bones. Elements like original moulding, beams or millwork just cannot be ignored! However when it comes to designing a home from scratch, or when your home doesn’t necessarily have a style or identity, it’s equal parts exciting and overwhelming to assign it one. When we jumped into the new build process over a year ago, it was exactly this – which is often also what I hear from clients embarking on a room project or a whole home reno. Where did I begin in the design process? What did I use as inspiration? What were the big elements I started with?
The first big question: how did I want to feel?
This was the first question I asked myself. Did I want the space to embody coziness and comfort? Did I want it to feel timeless and classic, like a good pair of denim? Or sleek and sexy? Did I want guests like they could kick off their shoes and chill, or did I want it to feel more formal? Intimate and moody, or airy and bright? A big clue here would be looking at the way you live, your family and even how you dress. In fact, I find there are a lot of parallels between our personal style and our home style – they both say something about who we are. For me, home is about feeling comfortable and livable, but still layered, timeless, classic and collected. Which meant taupe-y neutrals, moody moments, layers, textures and of course, vintage.
From there, choose your colour palette.
Choosing a colour palette is my favourite part – because it’s also the part where I hit Pinterest. Look at what you gravitate to on this platform – or even in your favourite design books. Is it airy and bright white, taupes and beiges, or moody dark and saturated tones? Does the furniture or decor stay neutral, or is that where you want to experiment with colour? How about hard finishes like tile and stone? From your top photos (remember, it doesn’t just have to be interiors photos!), pull out 6-8 colours. I like to go straight to the paint source for this (Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams and Farrow & Ball) and start making my selections there. Once you’ve chosen, step back and remember how you want to feel. Do those colours and tones spark that? Don’t be afraid to physically go to the paint store and grab the chips so you can feel them and pair them with other elements. Here is the paint palette for our home:
Once you have a general sense of colour and a few inspiration photos saved, look at the architectural and design elements that can be added into the space. Consider wall panelling like tongue + groove/shiplap, moulding, casing and baseboards, archways and mantles. Because our home is English-inspired with modern rustic elements, I leaned into vertical shiplap, arched doorways, mixed metals and natural honed stone. Here are a few inspiration photos that I’ve referred back to over and over again throughout this process:
Sources: Jean Stoffer Design, James May Homes
Finally – the fun part! Make a mood board using everything you’ve gathered so far. I prefer to do this by room, but you can absolutely start with a broad and general board to inspire the entire house. Pull in your colours, furniture, lighting and plumbing fixtures, tile and stone, artworks and textures or fabrics. Here is a quick peek at our mudroom moodboard:
By creating boards room by room, you’ll be able to step back and determine whether the home and the design style feels cohesive. Of course styles can be mixed, however you still want there to be common elements throughout – colours, wall treatments, metals, lighting styles, furniture styles, etc.
I hope this gives you a jumping off point for your next project! However if you have the budget and are embarking on a whole-home reno or custom build, my suggestion is to always work with a designer to help navigate and streamline the process.
Happy moldboard-ing!