How to create a simple room mockup.
For those of you who may be designing your own space, or curious what your room could look like with a refresh, I wanted to share an easy way to document design ideas using a tool you probably already own… PowerPoint!
I have been using this method to draft mood boards for each room in our house. It’s easy and doesn’t require any fancy design software.
Here’s how to get started:
Open a new blank PowerPoint presentation.
Using an original photo for reference, create a general framework of the elevation you want to design. You can keep the photo as the background if you are looking to resurface or add just a few things, but since we are updating the entire space I decided to start from scratch using the image as a guide. You can create your framework with the “Add Shape” tool using lines or rectangles to separate out the main areas of the space. In my example below I drew in lines where I knew the fireplace, walls, and floor would be.
Save inspiration photos. Put those Pinterest boards to use, or search Google Shopping for your favorite furniture pieces or decorative objects (images with plain/white backgrounds work best). Save images to your computer so you can easily upload them to your design board.
Clear image backgrounds. Photoshop works, but if you have a Mac - the “markup” tool in photo viewer is free and easy to use (see steps below).
Drag and drop your images into PowerPoint. Use the “Arrange” button to bring items forward or backward, layering them as you would see in the space.
That’s it! You are now on your way to visualizing and designing your space.
Here is an example of a PowerPoint mockup I created for our living room. Of course the room won’t look exactly like this, but having a visual is helpful so that our architects and contractor can see our vision for resurfacing the fireplace, adding built-in shelving and cabinetry.
To clear out an image background:
If you have a Mac - the “markup” tool in photo viewer is free and easy to use.
Double click an image to open it in photo viewer.
Click the pen icon to open the markup tool.
Use the magic wand to select the background area you wish to remove. The wand will shade the selected area in pink as you drag your mouse.
Click delete to remove any shaded areas.
Note: you may have to shade and delete a few times depending on the colors in your image.