We had a grand old time whipping up this nature-inspired mood board for anyone who’s looking to add some kick to their living or family room. We sadly can’t find the time to create custom mood boards anymore (it took a good 6+ hours to make one client commissioned board since we’d have to familiarize ourselves with the space, note the items that they want to keep/lose, brainstorm a new floor plan, etc). And because we don’t want to shortchange clients by tossing sub-par mood boards together (or watch mood boards disappear permanently from our site) we’ve come up with what we like to believe is a nice compromise…
We’ll be whipping up general mood boards that anyone can adapt for their own home and sharing them on the regular! Happily, we can whip up mood boards a lot faster when we get free rein to build a room entirely from our imagination instead of working with existing parameters & furnishings. In fact, they can now be completed between Clara feedings (which is totally part of our criteria when it comes to evaluating what we can and can’t do these days). So without further ado, our nature-inspired mood board full of punchy hues, branchy textures, and even a few nocturnal creatures. Man it feels good to be back.
1. We love the handsome yet playful combination of dark chocolates, deep teals, sandy wheats, cheerful yellows, and crisp splashes of white. And speaking of white, when it comes to paint for this space, we’d love to see glossy white trim along with clean white walls (Benjamin Moore’s Decorators White works for both surfaces) so the punchy art and accessories really pop. Of course a soft cream, tan, or even a subtle teal or yellow would work too if you’re not the white wall type.
2. This graphic geometric pillow paired with this saturated teal beauty will add interest and color to amp up the sandy tan tones in the sofa, coffee table, and the rug.
3. This glittering $69 chandelier introduces ambiance and softness, plus we love how the round disks (and the round shape of the fixture) will echo the curves in the round coffee table that will sit beneath it.
4. This amazingly affordable clean-lined sofa (on sale for $699) is perfect for the masculine meets feminine vibe that we have going on in the room.
5. These punchy yellow accessories will add a splash of sunny hue to any media stand, console table, or fireplace mantel.
6. This abstract yellow and amber toned art (for just $24.99!) has us so smitten that we wouldn’t object to ordering two identical prints and hanging them in thin wood frames with large white mats above the sofa.
7. & 8. & 9. The juxtaposition of the patterned twiggy rug (just $299 for an 8 x 10!) and these sleek & modern teal side tables gets us all hot and bothered. We’d love to see one on each side of the sofa with playful matching owl lamps on them (just $39.99). It’s such a fun eclectic pairing.
10. This round light wood coffee table will subtly blend in with the area rug and ground the entire sitting area. And the wood grain is such a playful pairing with the branchy rug that will rest beneath it.
11. This $159 slipper chair in faux alligator leather is not only outrageously easy to care for (so wipeable and beverage/pet/kid friendly!) but the price is pretty nice too. We imagine two of them flanking a fireplace with the sofa facing them for a nice luxe and balanced effect, but other floor plans would work too – slipper chairs are amazingly flexible.
So that’s our twiggy, owl-riddled, nature-inspired mood board for anyone who’d like to adapt it in their space. Got any favorite items among the roundup? Or any additional pieces that you’d love to suggest for those who may bring this dream room to life? Anyone out there who may be implementing a few ideas from this mood board? We’d love to see your after photos! Happy decorating…
I love that wood coffee table from West Elm!!
I think it’s great you guys are finding a healthy balance with your little wee one – I think the generic mood boards are a fantastic idea!
I love the chandelier with the fabulous pops of color.
I absolutely love this mood board and the ideas of them! I adore that silly owl lamp, but sadly I have no room for lamps in my place :(
I look forward to seeing what other boards you come up with!
i have a 5 month old, so i know how much life can change post-baby. but, i’m so glad that y’all found a way to keep the design inspiration coming. the mood boards and reader redesigns are my favorite parts of your site and i’m happy that they will still be around.
perhaps you guys could highlight different styles, such as modern, traditional, eclectic etc. for different rooms of the house.
I already loved you two, but now I love you even more for putting your family and sanity first! I think you are doing an awesome thing by posting free mood boards that everyone can use. I’ll wait for the perfect one for my house and send you the after pics!
I am currently working on my family room. I just got a rug from overstock and can not seem to find the perfect tan paint color for a chocolate brown/silver sage/blue room with some hints of rust. Maybe I’ve got too many colors swirling around in there! I’m working with a sage micro suede couch that I can’t wait to replace but have to work with for now :) I am trying to resist the urge to pick up a couple gallons at Restoration Hardware. That is the easy but pricey route!
Hey s&j –
Great work on the general mood board! I loved the old ones, but I’m kind of a sucker for a good before & after, so it was always kind of sad that you were never able to get the after photos of the spaces you redesigned!
Somebody mentioned something about coffee tables/console tables and how to work around them?? You should totally have readers submit their photos and pick the ones you like to show good ideas, etc. That way people could see different scenarios, different ideas – just to ease you guys up a bit since you guys are SWAMPED! Of course, it’s author’s discretion, so whichever you would pick as examples would be it.
Just a thought! Good luck with the new board adventure! I’m liking it already!
xoxo,
Lindsay
Hey Lindsay,
We actually have something along those lines in the works. It’ll take us a while to work out the kinks (it involves a lot of coding) but we hope that the result will provide tons of reader-submitted rooms that are inspiring and amazing!
xo,
s
Looks great! For some reason I am scared of yellow, even though I love it. Well, I guess it’s not that I am scared of it, I just seem to pull away from it in my own home. Isn’t it funny how we all have those colors that just don’t draw us in like others do?
I like the idea of generic mood boards. Readers can customize them to their own spaces which is great. I love that capiz chandelier!
love love love that lamp!
Sooo happy to see that mood boards are back. I love everything that you do. I’ve been following you since your “Nest” magazine article and I’m pretty addicted since I check your site twice every day. You guys have accomplished so much. I hope my hubby and I can transform our home into something great.
Thank you for being a huge inspiration to alot of starting off couples!!!
I’m so excited to see a mood board back! Luvs it! And I agree with my fellow commenters, it would be so great if you could help us style simple design dilemmas we all face! Please and thank you :)
LOVE these! Could you do one a week? Pretty please? :-)
Hey Beth,
That’s definitely the goal! We’ll certainly do our best!
xo,
s
I too, love the idea of “mood boards for all!” Great idea.
Sherry and John,
I might love the general mood boards even more than the customized ones, because they’re more flexible and you give many different ideas of how the items could be incorporated into a space. I’m so excited that you are doing them!!
I’m bummed that you are “on hold” for the national designing show gig, but believe it will work out for you two hard-working and loveable folks!
~Allison
I love the sofa and the punch of orange art. great pieces and as always, thanks for the info on them!
xoxo
Lila Ferraro
I am a big fan of the mood boards, and it doesn’t matter to me that they are generic (I almost like that better). I have to say I am IN LOVE with this mood board more than any other before. I literally just bought this sofa yesterday. (Our old sofa is being propped up by Harry Potter Books since we broke the supports 2 years ago…I say it is time for a new sofa.) And this mood board would really work well in my living room. So I am really excited to take this inspiration and work with it in my space! I will have to send you pictures when I am done to show a before and after.
I actually just bought this chair this past weekend! It’s a little on the short side (about 34″), which seemed like it would be okay, but the seat is long so it makes for a little of an awkward proportion. It sits in a corner in our Guest Room next to a window, so the proportions work. We wanted a real leather Parsons chair, but not the $400+ price tag, so we compromised and it’s turned out great! Our kitten, Benelli, especially loves to use it and sit and look out the window.
The only issue I’ve found is the smell. I’m not sure if anyone will believe me, but it smells like…BBQ sauce! I had a problem with another faux leather ottoman from Bed Bath and Beyond smelling like this too. Eevery time someone uses the blankets we store in it, they mention BBQ sauce also, so I guess I’m not going crazy. Come to think of it, I’m not sure if Benelli likes the view from the new chair or the smell of dinner!
Hey guys,
I was excited to see the header, but alas I am bummed again. I am confused how you went from John working full-time and you blogging full-time to now doing so much less on this site with you both home! Once again your posts today were about buying a fern and then a general mood board. Major bummer. I appreciate the effort and the mood board is beautiful for sure, but this blog is just not the same! As you can tell I did love your blog so that is why this bothers me so much….it is so sad. I will try to stay hopeful, but ever since the return post it is just getting harder and harder for me. Even reader re-designs are just you posting someone else’s content…. Just a bummer. Please come back to us!!! You guys have so much potential!
Hey Katie,
Thanks for your thoughts. We don’t really know what to say other than we’re doing our best and it seems like a lot of other people are really excited about the return of our mood boards! I guess we could mention that having a baby is a full time job (since we don’t have sitters or childcare to depend on) so although John came on full time there is still only one person who can be writing posts at a time (along with answering comment questions, taking on the projects that we then blog about, coordinating giveaways, photographing and uploading things, making mood boards, writing up Reader Redesigns and House Crashings, answering questions on Twitter and Facebook, writing our weekly column for BabyCenter and our monthly column for DIY Magazine, etc). John’s decision to come on full time was to keep from having to close down the blog, not to gain any new time for extra things (since one of us would be watching the baby at all times, so it would all even out to one employee like it used to be).
Trust us when we say that closing our shop and giving up client commissioned mood boards was something that we thought long and hard about (those are both income making things for us!) but we just don’t have a spare moment to do them well anymore! We work on evenings, weekends, and even while we’re on vacation – blogging might seem like it’s simple but it’s the hardest job we’ve both ever had along with being parents! We definitely wouldn’t have it any other way, but we promise we’re not sitting around twiddling our thumbs!
I guess it just comes down to the fact that people who like our blog will read it and those who don’t will not. We hope that you continue to enjoy our blog, but if at any time it becomes more of a bummer than a joy to you we totally understand if you stop dropping by!
xo,
s
I think both you and John are superhuman! Your blog keeps getting better and better and I for one couldn’t ask for more! I think it’s laughable that one person (cough, Katie, cough) believes that they can tell you what to change or what they perceive to be wrong with your blog or true about your life. Don’t give it another thought!
There are plenty of us who know how hard you work and appreciate you so much for everything you do! You’re the only blog I read every day religiously and if anything I think you’ve stepped up your game in the past few months. Thanks for always being so kind to people- even when they’re not always kind to you!
Having a baby is definitely a full time job. A word of encouragement–both my kids have become much easier at around 6 months old. It’s never been easy, but by 6 months they’re in a pretty good routine and a little more able to entertain themselves. At least, that’s how it worked out for me so far. I think it’s amazing that you guys get as much done as you do and I love the idea for generic mood boards. Can’t wait until the next one!
I certainly can attest to how much time it takes to hand-select pieces for a particular room. You two are so busy, it’s a wonder you post as much as you do! Still, it’s great to see how you put a room together, even an imaginary one. Keep up the good work!
We offer customized mood boards, for anyone who will miss that service here. http://www.trimnyc.com
Yay! I’ve missed the moods boards! You guys just continue to provide an awesome blog – no matter how busy your lives have gotten. I look forward to reading YHL everyday! Thanks Petersiks!
I am loving that new “teal/blue” color–I see it everywhere! I want a splash of it in every room of my house! :)
Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this mood board! You won’t believe this, but you essentially designed my new living room. We already have a couch just like the one you picked and were looking at chairs similar to the slipper chair in color. We were wondering about what kind of rug we’d get and voila you chose that awesome twiggy rug. I’m going to order it asap. And we wanted to punch up the color with some awesome accessories which you’ve also chosen for us. Woo hoo! This will be perfect. I’ll have to send you a pic of the living room when we are all done! Thanks so much!!
Hey Sherry,
Awesome! Send us after pics to share!!!
xo,
s
I NEED those Egyptian perfume-inspired bottles, and that incredible painting! Pity the small bottle is sold out – you guys should totally get commission for every time that happens, lol.
So glad the mood boards are back, even if they are tweaked a little bit. I’ve gotten so much inspiration from your previous mood boards and they weren’t event specific to my house! This is a great compromise!
Now I’m really confused. LauraC found a 1-star review for the rug. You claim there were three 4-star reviews last Wednesday. I just looked and it said there were no reviews. Is there something going on at Overstock that we should know about?
Hey Pamela,
That’s so odd! Our only thought could be that every time they run out of inventory and relist things the old ratings disappear (so if their stock of rugs sold out since our post this morning and were relisted they might not have any new ratings). Just a guess though!
xo,
s
So glad to see mood boards are back! It is one of my favorite features:) This is by far my favorite blog! Keep up the great work!
Sherry and John,
Regarding the idea from @Lindsay to submit photos and have you two post your favorites, you could in theory just create a photo group on flickr. That would require no coding at all, and users can create a free account to add their pictures to the group. Then you could still blog your favorite submissions from the flickr group.
Just a thought…
-J
Hey Jennifer,
We actually thought about that but John has some tricks up his sleeves (he wants spaces to be navigatable by room or color). Stay tuned!
xo,
s
I echo all the others who think this new kind of mood board is fabulous! Without the constraints of a specific floor plan, I find it easier to imagine how I might use some or all of the elements. It’s timely for us, too, as we are finally going to finish our unfinished basement, and warm wheat tones will dominate.
Add me to your fans who can’t start their day without Young House Love!
Cynthia
(A side note — kings and queens “reign,” and horses — and people — are given “free rein” to go in any direction they like.)
Hey Cynthia,
You learn something new every day! All fixed.
xo,
s
I think it would be fun to have readers submit color schemes and you could pick which ones you like (and/or already have ideas for) and build a room around that. That way your mood boards still have a bit of reader input to them
That would be fun! We’ll add it to the pot of ideas!
xo,
s
I was looking for my original post and answer but i can’t find it, so I’ll ask this question again. Can we now see all the mood boards at one time like we used to and where do I find it on your website?
Hey Marilyn,
See the button with our faces on it on the sidebar? If you click the tab that says shortcuts there’s a link to a Flickr gallery full of mood boards for ya! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Love that you’ve brought the mood board back :) it’s such a great way to feature random products and I love the little things you guy find.
One of the things that I loved about custom mood boards that I hope you’ll still keep in the forefront of your mind is the different styles people have already identified as liking. You can (and have!) put a Youngster’s spin on modern, retro, traditional, wordly, quirky, etcetcetc. Seeing the boards that are a little “out of your box” were my personal faves.
We definitely hope to tackle a slew of styles, rooms, color schemes and more! Thanks for the suggestion!
xo,
s
I want that couch, BAD!!! I think it will be too long for our space though. *big sad face*
I love the mood boards, they always give a good perspective on how to use things together in a room I would never think to put together. Keep it up!
I’m really looking forward to these posts! I’ve enjoyed looking back at old mood board posts to see different styles and gather ideas for my own home. Oh, and before I forget, I like the little changes you’ve made to your website.
Thanks for noticing Carolyn! John is always tweaking things in the hopes that it’s easier to get around our site and find things. Stay tuned for more upgrades in the coming months!
xo,
s
So glad you guys are doing these again. I missed them so.
Any chance you’d be inspired to do a whimsical playroom? :)
Hey Cassi,
We’ll add it to the list!
xo,
s
One of my all time favorite posts was last year’s Halloween decoration video post. Are you guys thinking about your Halloween decor for this year yet? I hope you’ll share your holiday decor plans again this season! You guys are the best!
Yup, we actually picked up some 50% off spooky stuff that we can’t wait to share in a few fun tablescapes when it gets a bit closer to October 31st.
xo,
s
Yay! I am excited! =)
I’m a fan of this! I would love to see loads of these! I get a ton of inspiration from your designs. Thanks for bringing them back!
I love everything about this mood board! I want this to be my new living room immediately. I especially love the couch and the Rothko print.
Pretty mood board J and S. Although, I will certainly miss the customized ones (that’s why I started tuning in everyday), but all is understandable. Just wanted to let readers know that design*sponge (another great blog like yhl) offer good posts on just specific items, like console tables, vases, lamps, sofas, etc. Very informative. Hope things get a bit less hectic for you guys! :-)
I LOOOOOOVE this mood board! I actually think I like the general type more than the customized. We haven’t paid for any of the furniture in our house (with the exception of my sewing desk and fabric dresser from IKEA!), so we’re trying to amp things up with fun accessories to keep things cheapcheapcheap. Your mood boards have the best accessories!
Oh, and I think you guys are doing an awesome job with the blog. I love your posts now just as much as the posts before Clara. Who, by the way, is so completely lucky to have parents willing to switch things around so much for her! Keep up the good work!
Happy dance for the return of the mood board! You guys are awesome and your blog continues to be tops on my list for inspiration! I just purchased that geometric pillow on your mood board; the link takes you to Crate and Barrel; just a note to readers who are wanting it…. I found that it has made its’ way to TJ Maxx for a fraction of the price! I paid $14.99 for it!! Keep up the good work, Petersiks:)
Thanks for all the kind words everyone! We’re so glad so many of you are thrilled with the return of the mood board! Can’t wait to tackle more of them – we were definitely experiencing withdrawal!
xo,
s
Wow! That’s amazing! Thanks so much for sharing!
xo,
s
It is fun to see the moodboards again! I loved the idea of making over your readers space with these, but I think I get my fix through your greatly beefed up “reader redesigns” where they did the work themselves. Reading all of these comments, I was thinking about how much you guys get done…I mean, not only do you blog about this stuff, but you actually DO it….and read all of the responses from your fans and manage advertisers, etc. You guys have enough work for two full-time people without adding Clara to the mix….then you did, yay! Just wanted to offer a vote of support, cause this string of comments exhausted me, and you do this every day!
Aw thanks Jen! There’s nothing else we’d rather be doing!
xo,
s
So glad that you’ve started posting mood boards again! I always like see what colors/products you put together. These are one of my favorite parts of your site, and I always revisit them for inspiration!
What an awesome awesome idea!! Sooo thoughtful and soo fun! Ive been waiting and waiting to have a mood board for myself and maybe ill get some ideas from these that you will be posting! I really hope you do an office with a zebra rug.. hint hint! =)
I enjoyed your new mood board. I like the fact that you do the leg work on different sites & post things that you find which I always seem to like as well. My question is concerning the slipper chair. I bought 2 slipper chairs from Target 3 years ago for a beach house. They are a nice beige fabric & look very nice. But I find they are not very comfortable to sit in for very long. When watching TV we end up sitting on the couch. Do you sit in yours for long periods of time?
Love the owl lamp, the chandelier & the teal side table!!!!
Hey Deborah,
Our Dolce lounge chairs from Target were a bit firm at first, but about a week into owning them we had broken them in thanks to about 20 minutes of sitting in them every day (just to read the mail, watch half a show, etc- we spent a little time here or there in them for about 7 days and it did the trick). Since then, over the last 3 years, they’ve been super comfy. We sit there all the time when we entertain, watch TV, I even nurse Clara there from time to time. Hopefully yours just need some breaking in!
xo,
s
I was really missing the mood boards but this is such a great compromise. Thanks guys!!
hooray for moodboards!!! I really missed it, so glad you are back in business :-)