Over the weekend I was admiring the finished bathroom in my studio (as I often do when completing a project ) and went back to my computer to take a look at the model I had made of this wall design to see how close the finished room looked to this model. It was an interesting comparison. They are not identical, but the mockup gave me a general idea of what the design would look like. I like to create mockups of designs before designing the actual space because (1) the mockup gives me a roadmap and helps me stay on track toward my final vision, and (2) the mockup also helps me see where I may need to tweak the plan and make changes for the final design.
I’ve been doing mockups since we moved into this house. I have also made them to decorate for clients. It was one of my favorite parts of the project. I used to do all the drawings by hand and I loved the whole process of sitting at my desk with graph paper, ruler and fine Sharpie marker in hand and then working out all the details. And while the final look always had a few differences, they almost always looked pretty similar to the drawing or model I started with.
The first model I made for our house dates back to 2014. I made this drawing to work out my plans for the main closet wall.
The final look of this wall was pretty close to the drawing. In fact, I added the consoles in the original kitchen, so the only change I made was painting the area at the top for the storage baskets. This is one of those things that looks good on paper, but when I started building the kitchen I realized there really wasn’t enough room up there for baskets. So I enclosed the entire area with a top header and trim on the cabinets. And I also started with glass front doors, which I had for a few years before replacing the glass with the metal grills. And finally, the original center cabinets had one door each at the bottom, but at some point I ordered new doors to make the double doors on the cabinets.
The next drawings I made were for my studio. I can’t find my original drawings that I made in 2017. But as time went on, I began to tweak the drawings before construction began. I edited the drawings using my photo editing software and before starting construction I had decided on the following for the desk area of the studio.
And then I tweaked this idea a bit by adding the bridge to connect the two side cabinets.
And this final drawing was the one I chose. Here’s what it looked like in reality…
The drawing I made for the mural changed the most. Again, I can’t find the original drawing from 2017, but here’s what I had in mind after tweaking the design with my photo editing software a few years later. I had planned to design the two areas under the windows as desk areas with room for chairs. And I also planned to add top storage next to the side walls.
I constantly tweaked this design using my photo editing software and this was the final design I came up with before I started building.
But when I started building this wall, I changed the design even further and removed the top storage because I didn’t want to cover up so much of the mural. I also decided to add a few cabinets instead of putting drawers all over the wall. But overall it’s pretty close to the final model.
The drawing I did for our bathroom is probably the closest thing to the end result that I’ve ever done. I made this drawing in 2022.
And the last wall of our bathroom looks almost exactly like the drawing.
When I made the model for my walk-in closet, I was a little limited because I chose IKEA’s Pax wardrobe designer. It really helped me determine how to organize each wall. However, there are limitations to this planner as IKEA only offers certain sizes of Pax wardrobes and the options for arranging each section are limited. So I created the main design using the IKEA design tool and then added other things (mirror, wallpaper, dryer, upper cabinet) using my photo editing software.
Because I ultimately built the cabinets from scratch, I had no limitations on size or organization, allowing me to do quite a bit of customization in each section. I’m so glad I built my own because I was able to add my glass top jewelry drawer and custom necklace organizer. But overall, this model helped me formulate my thoughts and plans for how I wanted to arrange and organize the entire space.
For our bedroom, I created the entire model using my photo editing software and simply copied and pasted each individual element into a new image that I created from scratch. I like creating mockups this way because it gives a more realistic impression of what the room will look like than drawing the design on graph paper with a Sharpie marker. And it’s much easier to make design changes and swap out elements if I change my mind or want to try different ideas.
And since I can create a mockup this way, I can use the actual items I used in the room, such as: B. the fabric for the headboard, the carpet, the curtain fabric, etc., giving you a much more realistic idea of what the room will look like in the end.
But as you know, most of the mockups I’ve created over the last few years have been very quick and simple mockups where I copy and paste an idea onto a real photo of the room. I did this with the studio bathroom while trying out different wall design ideas and vanity colors. These models are never perfect or polished. But because they’re quick and easy, I can try out lots of different colors and ideas without spending a lot of time. And that’s really fun. Here’s what I did of the bathroom wall design and the vanity color I ultimately decided on. I took a real photo of the room, then copied and pasted the stripe pattern onto the top of the photo along with the mirror I chose. And then I quickly applied a new cosmetic color over the old color. The same applies here: These quick and simple models are never perfect, but they are very helpful.
And seeing this model also helped me in my decision to rearrange the colors on the wall design so that like colors were grouped together instead of displaying the colors in a random order.
So if you are remodeling a room, and especially a large remodel like a bathroom or kitchen, I highly recommend that you find a way to make drawings or models before you begin. They’re very helpful (and fun!) and can help you sort through design decisions, spacing issues, etc. before you get started. For large projects such as kitchens, there are online sources that are very helpful, such as the IKEA kitchen planner. If you’re doing smaller projects, like redecorating a bedroom, you can use any photo editing program that allows you to remove backgrounds and add layers to a photo. I can highly recommend Canva for this. Canva has a great tool for removing backgrounds from photos of items. Here’s how I removed the background in the online photos of the items I used in my bedroom model. I upload the photo (e.g. an Amazon product image) to Canva, use the background eraser so that only the element remains, and then I copy the element, paste it into my model, resize, move and position it where I want.
Or if you want to do things the old-fashioned way, buy a pad of graph paper, pencils, and fine-tipped Sharpie markers and let your imagination run wild. However, I highly recommend finding a way that works for you so that you can see your room finished before you actually start. It’s really helpful to have this plan in place before you even pick up the hammer or brush.
