How To Create a Design Board (for free!)

Whenever I share my design boards for projects that I do around here at A Hosting Home, one of the most frequently asked questions I get is about how I make them! Making a design board is super easy, so fun, and it’s one of my favorite parts of planning out a project. Today on the blog, I thought I’d walk through the process to show you how you can make your own!

What is a design board?

In plain terms, a design board is essentially where you combine design elements (literal or inspirational) together to create a rough mock-up of a space. Design boards help you create a blueprint for a space through visualization of pieced together design elements.

Why (and How) I use design boards:

I am a super visual person when it comes to designing spaces in my home, and I love using design boards as a way to actually plan out my projects. Not only does it help me get inspired for an upcoming project by letting me play with different looks and options. But they also really help me piece things together or ‘see’ what it’s going to look like — and make sure I’m really going to love it! Design boards are a great way to make sure I’m really going to love something before I invest in it as well as make sure it’s going to work with what I already have in the space. While it’s a little bit of prep work on the front end, it has saved me so much time and money on the back end.

How To Create Your Own Design Board

1 | In order to create your design board, you’ll want to save images of products from the internet / retailer’s websites that inspire you and you want to design your space with. If possible, select images with white backgrounds. (It makes putting things together later so much easier!)

2 | When you’re ready to start creating your design board, go to canva.com and create an account.

3 | Click “Create a Design” in the top right corner. Then insert the dimensions that you want your design board to be. I typically use the presentation template so I can easily map out the length of a room that I am wanting to design.

4 | Upload your saved images and drag them into your blank design document.

If you are using an image with a background that you want to remove, you can easily remove it by selecting “Effects” and then selecting to remove the background. The background remover tool isn’t always perfect, but it typically does a really good job. Removing the background on the products will allow you to easily layer items on top of each other or right by each other to help you visualize things together much easier.

Keep in mind that this is a paid tool with Canva Pro — however it’s not totally necessary and you can get the same functionality of creating design boards with the free version. If you are using the free version of Canva, simply just crop your photos so that you are removing the excess background around the product. Cropping the image will allow you to collage your items closer together as you would by removing the background.

5 | Move items around your design board and position them using the position button in the top right corner. This will move items backwards and forwards to help you layer items and achieve the look you are going for.

6 | Admire your design and let it inspire you for your next project! Here’s an example of a finished design board that I created for my guest bathroom makeover. You can see how that design board translated into the finished project, HERE.

READ ALSO: Modern Farmhouse Guest Bathroom Makeover Reveal

Well there you have it, friends! I hope this super easy look into how I create design boards for my projects here at A Hosting Home inspires you to create one for yourself. Was this look into creating design boards helpful for you? Are you planning to utilize this tool / technique for your next project? Let us know in a comment below!