If you've ever struggled over which chair (or table, or rug -- you fill in the blank) will work with your room and the rest of your furniture, then making a design board is the easy way to see how it will play. You may already have a Pinterest page or a Houzz book, but creating a dedicated board for your space that can be edited is key to getting the full benefits of this visualization tool. Here are a few tips for making it work:

1. ONE PAGE PER SPACE - Create a page for each room and if you need a reminder, put a small photo of the space on the board. 

2. USE WHITE BACKGROUND IMAGES If you have a choice of furniture images, always choose the one that doesn't have a background 

3. CREATE A WAREHOUSE -Don't put EVERYTHING on your primary room page. Create a second page for your image 'warehouse'. This is where you put other items so they don't clutter up your main page. Borrow items from your warehouse to try. 

4. KEEP IT CLEAN - Don't include any links or extra descriptions. These can also live on another page or in your 'warehouse'. 

5. DON'T LEARN A NEW PROGRAM TO DO THIS - Or you won't get it done! Use a program you are comfortable with - I use Pages, but I've seen some great boards with PowerPoint, Word, and of course Photoshop and Indesign. 

6. THIS IS ALL ABOUT EDITING - it costs you nothing to add and subtract pieces -on your board! Play around, reduce and add and you will see when it feels right. Ask yourself the age-old question from Sesame Street: Which one of these things is not like the other?

Here are a few boards I really liked...not all turned into final spaces so it's good to be able to go back and see the original plan.

Have any questions? Would love to hear what's on your mind when it comes to design! Want to work with me on a design for your space? Let's talk -- you can book a call below.