Building a palette with a “vibe” is perhaps one of the easiest ways to develop a material scheme. What is a vibe? Generally, it can be defined as “the atmosphere of a place as communicated to and felt by others.” And that’s what we can do as designers - communicate the atmosphere!

The best way to start material selection with a vibe is to first brainstorm the atmosphere and setting we’re trying to create in our design. I like to start this process by jotting down key words that describe the atmosphere of the place or describe the feeling of being in the place. Let’s jot some down in no particular order - rustic, luxury, glittering, regal, home, traditional, elegant, rugged, eclectic, buzzing, inspiring, stimulating, ethereal, airy, heavy, chic, flowing, lofted, tight. These just scratch the surface of how you can describe the feeling of a space.

For this palette my keywords were “rich" and “rustic,” bringing these two vibes together through rough reclaimed materials and posh materials like velvet and gold accents.

Try out these keyword “vibe” words next time you put together a material scheme!