HOW I USE INSPIRATION BOARDS

Yesterday I showed you some fantastic examples of inspiration boards used in decor.   Now, I would like to show you my own inspiration boards which are working boards and not always pretty.  Here goes...

I am fortunate to have room in our bedroom for four painted metal boards which are hung side my side to make one really long inspiration board.  Two boards are painted orange and two are painted hot pink.  Sorry if they look a little shrimpy here, the lighting in this room is not conducive to great photographs.

 Sometimes these boards are completely full, and other times, like now, they are a little sparse.  The two orange boards are currently being used for pattern inspiration, and the pink boards are used for muse ideas for this blog.  This is also where we hang sketches and print- outs of PowerPoints when we are designing something new.  I can't tell you how helpful these inspiration boards have been to us.  I wouldn't necessarily recommend that you hang work related images in your bedroom, but for Braxton and myself, our design work is our life and passion.  I also really love seeing things that truly inspire me before going to sleep...besides Braxton of course, ahum.

See the two white pieces of paper in the corner?  This is where we list our muses past and future.  Braxton cleverly balances a pencil across two plastic magnets so we never have to go searching for one. 

We keep unused magnets on a piece of paper because the ceramic ones tend to leave black marks on anything they touch - including my hands.

 The following is a single board,  which I painted in a Mondrian style (oh how I do flatter myself) in the colors of our living room which is where this one is hung.  I painted this because I wanted it to look nice even when it wasn't in use, which is most of the time.

I anticipate using this for hanging invitations to...you know....royal weddings, white house dinners and that sort of thing (which explains why it's empty).

 The following is an inspiration board that hangs in our kitchen/breakfast room.  Again, I painted it to look nice when not in use.  Actually I really love this Union Jack design, it's so fun.

 Here I want to show you how the size of these boards...2ft x 3ft....is perfect for hanging eight 8 1/2  x 11 prints.  They make a nice modern frameless display.

These are pictures I took in our backyard, which inspire me to keep practicing my photography.

This is my little corner of our studio.  I write my posts here and over the years have turned the paneled wall into a inspiration board .  Now that I have the metal boards I realize how primitive and awkward it is to tape pics. to a wall.  Magnetic boards allow for so much more flexibility.

 One last picture... the beautiful blue inspiration boards in our guest room.  It's nice to see these naked , because they are usually completely covered with fashion ideas.  Can you tell how much I love my inspiration boards?

And that's how I use my inspiration boards.  How about you?
Have a beautiful day.
YANCEY