Planning the room on a moodboard takes away some of the stress The key to decorating success is in the preparation.You can wow your family with your ideas (and then maybe they’ll even help with the decorating part, too).Lets you make all your mistakes on paper before you spend any money.You can refine your decorating ideas to create a cohesive scheme.(Image credit: Future) 5 reasons you'll love using a moodboard ‘Using a moodboard is all about refining your ideas to make sure you’re confident with your final look.’ ‘Don’t be afraid to take things away at this point – your dream sofa might stay, but perhaps that wallpaper you had your heart set on just doesn’t sit well next to it and needs to go,’ says Anna Morley, style editor of Real Homes magazine.

Pick up tester pots, paint colour cards and wallpaper samples from your local DIY store (or order them online), then mix and match with images of different sofas, lighting and accessories to see what works best together. Start to build up the colours, furniture and accessories you’ll need for your scheme and add them to your moodboard. These images should form the basis of your new room so have them on your moodboard as a constant reference point throughout the process. You’ll soon start to notice similar themes in the pictures, whether it’s the use of bold colour and texture, a pared-back Scandi aesthetic or maybe on-trend industrial touches. Tear them out of magazines ( Real Homes, of course) and start pulling them together. Find images of rooms that you instantly swoon over.

Living room mood board