Interior Design: How to create a Sample Design Board

Sample Boards, Mood Board or Concept board, these are just some of the names that you may call this and for a lack of a better term let's use Sample Board for this blog. Interior designers, graphic artist, architects, photographers, advertisers and even make up artist use sample boards as a tool to convey their concept to clients.  They place the color samples, images of the selected furniture, examples of the materials to be used and accessories selected for the project on a board.

A Sample Board may included the following pieces:

• swatches  (paints , fabrics, wallpapers) basically little pieces of things you proposed to use
• Proposed Look -  it can be  perspectives, 3d, photos , or shop drawings, sketches
• Plans (floor plans)
• Materials (carpets and laminates etc.)

There are a number of reasons why designers use sample boards. Firstly they can be used as a way of communicating interior designing ideas. It can also be used to act as a reference tool during the life of a project. The tools need to make a board include the board, tape, adhesive, Stanley knife and labels.
Tools needed to create a sample board

• Board (paper, foam, illustration, museum boards, or Gator board for heavy materials)
• Tape (masking, double sided, Velcro for heavy items)
• Cutting tool (Stanley knife, pinking shears, sharp scissors)
• Rulers (metal for cutting, scale rule for measuring)
• Pens and pencils (felt tip, soft pencil, colored pencils, colored pens)
• Adhesive (Clear all purpose, spray adhesive)
• Cutting mat
• Labels (usually white)

The size of the board selected to create the sample boards usually depends on the size of the project. In these eco friendly times, the smallest board size possible should be used for the project. The most common sizes used by designers are A2 or A1.
Creating the board

• Most designers leave a border of at least 1cm from the top and the 2 sides of the board
• A larger space is left at the bottom of the board
• The border can be colored to coordinate with the color scheme of the interior designing ideas.

Tip:  A sample paint pot of the color to be used in the room could be used for the border or the space inside the border

• Work out the size for each item (for example the carpet sample would be bigger than a lamp)
• Trim the items to be placed on the board
• Fabrics can be cut with pinking shears to stop fraying
• If more than one room is involved in the project then each board should be labeled (living, bedroom etc.)
• Create labels for each item (labels can be created on your computer or by hand)

Tip: Have all the tools and items ready before you begin

• Position each item on the board according where they would be placed in the room (for example carpet at the bottom of the board, ceiling paint sample at the top of the board)
• When you are happy with the arrangement you can use adhesive to place each item in place
• Remember Velcro can be used for heavy items (tiles, timber….)

Tip: A hairdryer can be used to remove some glued items if they have been position incorrectly 
To see some of my sample boards here are some links:
 Bachelor's Pad
Glam Nail Spa
Inner Sanctum 
Prince Living Room
Living Room Design Board 

Interior Design : Room in a Box by Windsor Smith

Have you ever had your Interior Designer shipped right to your doors step? Well, now you can. Interior Design is very stressful and time consuming for both, either you are the client or you are the designer. It entails a lot of work, from actual site measurement , concept boards, samples boards, and so many other things. Sometimes you also want a particular designer to do it for you but your schedules just wont meet.

I have been toying with this idea for a long time in my head, being an Interior Designer/ Architect/ Project Manager I wanted to make things more simple for me. If I can get away into doing a "shortcut" in how it is done then this must be it.

Windsor Smith of Windsor Smith Home has actually brought this idea to mainstream. She launched Room in a Box which is a complete Interior Design that you can order online and have it shipped right to your door step. It is an innovative virtual design program on the internet. All you have to do is to go online and follow the steps and your just a few clicks from getting your Interior Designed Room.  It is quite genius if you ask me, but then again this has been in every designers mind ever since. Somebody finally had a guts to do it. Coming up with an idea like this has its own pros and cons.

Pros:
Its fast and easy.
Can be done in the comfort of your home.
They claim to be cheaper and economical.
Gives you link to where you can purchase your items.
Less leg work.
Instant Gratification.

Cons:
More room for errors.
Can be unrealistic.
Actual site situations may vary  constantly.
Can be costly if not done right.
Lack of professional advice.
Lack of personal touch.

Cramming Again!

Work has been awfully busy this days, I have been attending to customers all day long. Since Ramadan started, the sales people who should be attending to the walk-in-customers has almost become non-existent. Understandably because they need to preserve their energy since they don't eat nor drink all day long. So every time a customer comes in I automatically stands up and assist them while choosing their tiles. my job description as an "designer" is to design. So most of the time I am glued to my laptop as I finish a design board for a proposal, but occasionally, I am also expected to become a "sales lady", or even a "kargador" if needed. It has been very busy at the shop and the real sales ladies are always gone. So in the past week, it has been a very busy day for me. The Interior design that I am working on that should have been finished a week ago is still on going. I can barely have a 5 minute rest, or even sit on my chair the whole day. Its as if I am a crew in a fastfood chain, running from one location to the next. So here I am, cramming to finish the proposal for tomorrow 10 am meeting. I don't think I will be able to sleep at all tonight, and I stayed up late all week nights because daddy always wants to chat and see me. Whew! So got to go, and continue my work. I will be leaving you with the Living room Design board, still have to do 10 more rooms.

Choosing your Paint

Color may make or break you room. Most make a mistake of trying to choose their paint color as what they have seen on TV or on the magazine. Yes, this media are a good source of inspiration, but it is extremely tricky to choose exactly the same color as your inspirational room. Most often than not they end up having a room with a color too dull or too bright for what they expected. What most people do not consider is that this rooms as featured in TV's and magazines are designed by professionals such as Architect's and Interior designers, not too mention lighting was enhance further by a very able photographer. First things first, do not expect your room to look as great as those in magazines, especially if you do not have the extremely high budget that they used to come up with that. But, do not lose hope, we can still come up with a beautiful room even if we do not have that much money, all we need is a srpinkle of imagination and a bowl full of resourcefulness.

Lets go back to colors. First, is that you have to come up with a concept, you should know what you like and stick with it. Sure you can come up with electic design, where a lot of inspirations are rolled into one, but this is very hard to pull off. An experienced designer may have difficulty in pulling this off, much more a neophyte. So let's stick to one concept, a good basis for a design concept is your personality. If you are the laid back type, who doesn't like much clutter, it would be best to lean your design towards modern minimalist, or zen asian designs. If you are the artistic, energetic type, then a colorful more vibrant design will suit you. Lastly, if you are not sure yet, I suggest you go to the safe side, not too dull, but not too funky.

My rule of thumb is to use the half tone, this can go either way, its color but not color over all. Just a splash of it. Just a touch. Do not go over bored with the color that you might end up with a bedroom that looks like McDonalds.

If you are relying on a paint swatch, pick the 2nd tone from the darkest. So instead of choosing a vibrant red use the melon pink, just a notch from the darkest. You may still use the vibrant red, but be sure that it is just one wall or else it will be too overwhelming. Another thing is you can choose a favorite dress or bag, and use that as your basis, if you like the coordinates so much ang you have lived with it for a long time chances are it is good coordination of colors that will also look good on your wall.

Lastly have fun, if you chose the wrong color, what the heck you can paint it over.

Modern Nuetral Bedroom Designs

I am working on a new Project right now, Interior Design for a young executive. So far, what he gave me as basis is just the plan and he wanted it bright and clean. More on modern minimalist design. As color theme all he told me is that he want to keep it on the neutral tone. So far here are some of the 3D that I have made. I will have to submit a color swatch and sample pictures of the materials to be used since my software doesn't get the exact color that I wanted. Most of the 3D looks yellowish which I didn't intend to. I need a little more tweaking on this.

Design for International School Brunei - Canteen

A very simple design for International School Brunei- Canteen. The existing facade is very simple, no design at all, just a tarp for the Signage is added. This is a low budget project so the owner just wants to spice it up a little and add something to brighten up the place. So I added a drop ceiling in wood veneer with recessed halogen lights. He originally wants some hanging lights but I think it will just add more obstructions to the existing wild wires above. So I opted to cover it up with the drop ceiling and add more lights. To add more color, I added some menu board at the top and above the window.

Meragang Interior Design Board

Premier Bar Stools for a Contemporay Home

I'm surfing the net looking for furnitures. Im particularly looking for a bar stools, for an interior design project. Im in the hunt for sleek, simple yet elegant counter stools when I stumbled on this site Priemere Barstools and I hit the jackpot with this one. Their designs are beautiful, sleek, simple, yet elegant. Exactly what I've been looking for. The best part is that they offer Free Shipping, and most of their items are on discount prices.I found it, the right item, the right design element for my project and is even a discount barstool. This is what I am purchasing for my client . This will lokk great in their breakfast room. The wood is exactly the same shade is their existing table. With some mood lights, the wood and leather will complement the whole interior.

White interior spaces are a commonplace, a custom a convenience. White is the chromatic base par excellence and this is what I have in mind. The project emphasixes the subtle differences between all the contrasting colors. I opted to put diffrent shades of white. Unlike the cold effect of minimalist white, the variations between these tones endow the dwelling warmth. The wood bar stools and black leather complements it.

The kitchen which is right beside the breakfast room, consist of an L-shaped unit thtat includes the sink and the stainless steel hood. With this project I'd like to show that a common, basic color as white is capable of endowing a space with character. The result as I envision it is a comfortable yet warm, an entirely contemporary home.