I started creating mood boards for purely personal reasons almost a year ago. I’m a visual person {aren’t we all?} so grouping decor items all together in one place helps me visualize the bigger picture.
Mood boards are great for figuring out what will and will not work in a room before I actually DIY or buy anything. For me, mood boards set the tone for a space.
After I complete one that I’m happy with, I don’t necessarily follow it to a T but, instead, use it as a springboard for inspiration. I may tweak a few things here and there before the end result is achieved. That’s what I’m known for after all. Tweaking.
Somewhere along the way, readers started asking me for help with their own spaces.
If I saw potential in a room and the timing was right, I’d give it a go just for fun. Really. Creating mood boards is to me what solitaire is to my grandma. A fun way to pass the time. {Love you grandma.}
Up until now, I’ve never thought of charging for my pastime. I’ve done them all free of charge. {Although, a recent mood board recipient kindly sent me a West Elm gift card for my help. Thankyouverymuch.} Handy Hubby has been pestering me since the first mood board to bring in some extra cash, but I have a hard time with the ‘getting paid to do what you love’ concept. That probably stems from the fact that I hated my well-paying job for the last 10+ years. The more I got paid, the more I hated my job. I know that doesn’t sound right but it’s the truth. The more money I made, the harder it became for me to say ‘take this job and shove it.’ Somehow the paycheck justified my unhappiness, my discontent. And, no, I wasn’t a stripper. That might have actually been fun. Ha!
I officially quit my job one month ago after Mabrey, our surprise #3!, was born. I feel very lucky that we’re able to live modestly on HH’s single income while I devote more time to our young family. Still, there’s a part of me that wants to contribute financially. I’ve worked since I was 15 years old and working – whether I like the work or not – gives me a sense of credibility to some extent. Not that staying at home with my kids isn’t working or credible. It is work and some days it’s incredible. It’s the hardest job I’ve ever had! But, of course, I don’t get paid to do it.
So, long story short, I’m going to start offering custom mood boards for a fee. I haven’t ironed out the details yet. I’m looking to you guys for help with that since that’s where most of my past clientele {listen to me! already using fancy words like clientele} have hailed from. How do I go about putting a price tag on a creative service? Do any of you have experience with this? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’m not looking to make a killing. I’d be happy to make enough to cover blog upkeep since it looks as if I need to upgrade my host services yet again because increased traffic keeps crashing my site. {That means you guys are awesome, btw.} A little extra bacon for mama to tweak her heart out wouldn’t be a bad thing either!
Anyhoo, what sounds reasonable to you? Charge by the room? Charge by the hour? Flat fee per mood board? HH thinks I need to charge per square foot of room space but I think that sounds like something an engineer would do. ;) Honestly, what would you be willing to pay for a custom mood board that addresses room cosmetics such as paint colors, finishes, furniture placement, furniture selection, storage/organization, accessories, window treatments, lighting and wall art?
Talk amongst yourselves.
PS – I’ve had an overwhelming number of inquiries concerning the technical side of creating mood boards. The short answer: polyvore. The long answer: coming to you in a future post.
images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
budget decor, DIY, inspiration, interior design, mood board