Create a Mood Board to Design a Roof That Complements Your Home

 What is a Mood Board?

If you’re considering roof colors and materials and can’t decide which ones look best, a mood board will help!
A mood board is also called a style board. Mood boards are often used for home interior design projects, but they are also great tools for landscape planning, exterior building design, and roof design. Creating one will help define your preferences–which then will help shape your roof design choices.   
Certain colors, textures, and shapes naturally appeal to different people. With a mood board, you can gather information on these things in one place to see which ones appeal to you the most. Your mood board will help you see what goes with your style and what does not. 

It’s Your Decision!

If you ask your friends about the best roof type and color, you may get many different answers. No two people see color the same way, and there are many roof colors to choose from. Roofs comprise up to 40% of a home’s exterior elevation, so their color makes a difference in how the home looks.  
Your decision may not just be the choice of roof color or texture for now, but you may want to think ahead for future home design. How does that design show your personality and style, and where do you want to go next in home design?
One of the best ways to decide these things inexpensively is to create a mood board.  This tool will help you determine what you like and don’t like, see which colors go together and which do not, and be able to play with color combinations before you have to spend a lot of money.

Working with Your Roofing Contractor

Contractors are not design consultants. They put together thousands of roofs but often do not take the entire aesthetic of the home into consideration. They may try to sell you the roof based on what is trending or on materials they have in stock. Neither may fit your style or overall home design.  Contractors don’t mean harm; they simply are not design experts.  Make your roof design decisions first, then speak with a roofing contractor.

Steps to Making a Roof Mood Board That Will Work for You

Start with Inspiration Inside the Home

Look around your home or a local shop to see things that appeal to you or make you happy. You may look for photos from magazines or find things in your home, such as window coverings, linens, furniture, pillows, plants, or pottery that you like. These items are not roof related, but they can help you determine your preferred colors and designs.
Look for repeated picks or multiple selections. If you often return to a color or a pattern, that can signal a preference. Look to your board to identify an overall decorating theme that you can continue with your roof. Some themes could include Country, Traditional, Rustic, Formal, Victorian, Beach, or Farm.  
Make your mood board by designing it online, or create a physical board with poster cardboard plus pictures or samples from home design stores. This will help you visually. Look at mood board samples online for inspiration.   

Transfer Indoor Ideas to Your Outdoor Design

Look at the colors and designs you have chosen. Decide where in your grand scheme a color or pattern would be best implemented. Look at the size of the area you are considering.  A bright color may not work as your wall or roof color but could look great on a front door.  

Now for Your Roof

There are many colors to choose from in roof shingles. Look for a color that goes with the theme and colors of your mood board. It should complement your entire design. 
Modern roofing material choices include complementary color tabs. For example, one roofing shingle may have two or three colors of brown. There are, of course, single-color tabs that you can color coordinate with as well. There are also dimensional choices, such as 3-tab and architectural shingles. Look for colors and designs that match your mood board choices.

Look for a Feeling of Unity in Your Mood Board

Now that you have decided on a shingle style and color and have coordinated them with your home exterior design, you need to put your colors together on your mood board to see the final picture. Watch out for colors that do not match the whole or that contradict the style you’re trying to create. Make sure a color or design is not too bright or eye-catching on its own. The goal is to make the whole design look integrated and cohesive.

Meet with Your Roofing Contractor

You can now share these choices and your board with your contractor. Some roofing material colors may only be available in certain areas or may have to be specially ordered. If it is what you really want, it is worth the wait. You will be living with your roof selections for many years! 
You can often view your choices online or ask your contractor to bring samples to view. You could look at samples in a roofing supply store. Once you have narrowed down the color and design, ask the roofing contractor to guide you to a home in your area with a similar roof so you can see what yours may look like.  
So, there you are!  You have gone through all the steps to choose and design your roof using a mood board. Soon you will see the results in your own beautifully designed roof and home exterior.
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