You may have heard it referred to as an Inspiration Board, a Mood Board, or a Pin Board. Pinterest has done an amazing job of popularizing Inspiration Boards with their beautiful imagery, and boundless pinning ability.  One can pin with wild abandon, and not much discretion, and further very little ramifications. Who wouldn’t fall for the allure of the Pin?

JBoard on Flickr. Pinterest.com/pin/284712007662321095/

Perhaps someone that’s a little like me that relishes the tactile delight of a fabric swatch, a tile sample, the delicate and ever so subtle raised gold leaf pattern on a wallpaper sample – opps one really shouldn’t touch that as even the cleanest fingertip can mar the brilliance of the gold leaf…it is a sample though, so if like me you can’t resist, this is the place to get it out of your system.  Don’t let me find evidence of your lack of self-control all over your newly attired walls – it’s a no no. This sensibility of mine demands I pull it out of the digital realm and bring it on into my living room.  I call this holy grain of boards the Story Board.

A Board that’s Been Around the Block

It certainly serves as a visual communication tool – as does your digital board, but I ask you dear reader if you would be willing to roll the dice on the fabric for your $10,000. living room curtains from a picture you spotted on-line?  Don’t answer that – nobody is that big a gambler.  You need to see it, to touch it, to snuggle it up next to your sofa fabric and those wildly expensive pillows you insisted would change your world.  By it’s very nature design has a relationship to the other materials, colors, furnishings, and light in the space.  As such, decisions need to be made within that context.  Or expect expensive mistakes.  If you can afford to do it wrong, you can afford to do it twice.  Boy I hate that.  I’ve done it wrong so many times, I’m starting to get it right.  Take my advice, save yourself some of the grief I experienced, and start Story Boarding!

Surf Shack Option Board

Beginning is as easy as tearing out the pages from your favorite glossy magazines.  Your partiality toward certain colors, and forms will start to emerge – helping you define your style.

Setting A Tone

Paint chip samples are a must have on your board.  Free at any hardware store, color evokes emotion, sets a mood, and will let you know where your story is headed.  The physical board is like a puzzle.  You try a piece here, and there, sometimes it almost works, you know when you’re attempting to gently nudge a piece into place, or when you are not so gently shoving it into compliance.  Pull it out. If it doesn’t fit, don’t force it.  Experimentation and fun are keys to a happy boarding experience, and ultimately to a space where all the pieces of the puzzle have come together to tell a story.  Your story.