Storyboards: Part 1

If you're a regular reader of design or lifestyle blogs like I am, you've probably seen storyboards all over the place. You know, those collections of fabrics, furniture and accessories that create a visual springboard for designing a room. They're often called mood boards, too. Young House Love has made these into an artform. You can view theirs by color or room.

Now, I don't have fancy-schmancy software like PhotoShop, but I do create my own storyboards in good ol' Microsoft Word. I tried doing it in Picasa, but I find the collage function on this free software to be a bit limiting. So, basically I just right click images I see around the web, paste them into a Word document and it helps me see if fabrics and colors kinda go together before I take the plunge and buy something. I guess you could use Pinterest, but I like being able to see it all overlapped and side-by-side in one place. More on my exact process later...

For now, I just wanted to share my living room storyboard with you along with a few pictures of our actual living room, work in progress that it is. The storyboard process helps me stay on track. I tend to get confused when I'm putting a room together...with all of the visual stimulation out there, particularly with all of the blog-reading and writing I do, it's easy for my mental image to get muddled. The storyboard prevents me from veering off course (too much). So here's what I wanted the room to look like:

I had started out with most of these images, but the blue wall was a late addition. The pillows were all from various Etsy sellers, except for the "Home" one, which is Pottery Barn (out of stock). The floor lamp was from JC Penney but is now discontinued and the table lamp is Ikea; I ended up purchasing these exact ones. The green damask print is by Waverly...I was inspired by the curtains Maria uses to make clothes on The Sound of Music. The etagere was from the Cindy Crawford collection at the "old" JC Penney. I can't find it anywhere anymore, however, which saddens me. I've always liked mixing old (silhouettes, ticking stripes) with new (modern florals, glass lamps) and natural stuff (terrariums)...

So here are some images of what it actually looks like.



This loveseat desperately needs slipcovered...I'm thinking a brown ticking stripe? The painting is from Tuesday Morning.



All of the green glass is from garage sales; the tray table is an old piece that I revamped. Oh, and I made the bottle lamp, too.





Here's a good shot of the JC Penney lamp. It was originally $200 and I got it for $60. Score! The nesting tables were from a barn sale. I made the large silhouettes of the girls. The small ones are antiques from the Springfield, Ohio, flea market.





You can see the Ikea lamp in this pic. We purchased the sectional after we moved in, but the coffee table is another Ikea classic we'd had for years. I'd like to replace it with something more stylish, but for now it serves as the girls' coloring and craft spot so why bother? The white dresser is another antique we've had forever. I just painted it and added new hardware. I couldn't find a mirror like the one on my storyboard at a price point I liked, so I settled for this one from HomeGoods for $20. We definitely need a rug! And I'd like to own a grandfather clock someday.





So there you have it! It kinda looks like my storyboard even! Do you use storyboards?