My Very First Color Board!

I'm sure most of you know that I am going back to school to get a degree in Interior Design this fall. Along with the school application, I had to create a color board to apply to the actual ID program at LDS Business College. We are supposed to select fabrics, paint colors, flooring, wood finishes, etc to decorate a living room, and arrange them in a professional-looking way on a foam mat. It was so much fun! I have never planned out a whole room all at once before, except in my head, so it was really exciting to see it all come together in 3D.

I began by looking through a whole bunch of furniture catalogs given to me by a friend, mostly Pottery Barn, Home Decorators Collection, Restoration Hardware, etc. This helped me visualize my colors and furniture pieces, even though I didn't need to actually select furniture. I then hit the discount fabric store and got a bunch of samples, which I had to pay a dollar each for, not too bad for an eighth of a yard (even though I just needed a little tiny square!). While I was there, I got several compliments on my fabric selections from fellow shoppers and the girl cutting the fabric! I got a free flooring sample from Home Depot (FYI--Lowe's charges you a dollar for them) and some formica countertop samples to represent the wood finishes.  A few paint chips from the paint department and I was ready to go! I'm really happy with how it turned out!

Another view in different lighting: