Finding Inspiration on Houzz and How to Get the Most Out of Houzz on Your Next Design Project

“Are you on Houzz?”  This is a common question I ask my interior design clients during our first meeting.  And, sometimes, they ask me the exact same question.  Well, if this seems like Greek to you (what is a “Houzz” anyway, it sounds like a Dr. Seuss character!?), then hopefully this blog post will introduce you to the fabulous and free Houzz application and website which has MILLIONS of inspirational and SEARCHABLE photos (actually 14,690,857 photos the last time I checked) from which you can draw design inspiration.  (Sorry for the shouting…but I LOVE Houzz…….there I go again).
 
First, some background.  Houzz is the largest, most popular website that’s specifically designed for home interior remodeling projects. It consists of photos of interiors and products which are contributed by industry professionals (interior designers, like me, architects, and other trade professionals) who have their own pages on Houzz and post high-quality photographs of their projects.  So, yes, Center Stage Interior Designs is “on Houzz” in the “Window Treatment” Professional area at: 

         https://www.houzz.com/pro/barbcenterstage/center-stage-interior-designs-llc

​When you go to Houzz here is my CSID page that you will see:

So what do I mean when I ask my clients, “Are you on Houzz?” I’m asking if you have already found Houzz as an on-line resource since you can register on Houzz for free and browse all the inspirational photos - even though you’re not in the design industry.  You can look at sites like mine, look at the “Stories and Advice” area, post your own questions, shop, and best of all, collect all your favorite photos into “Ideabooks”.   I have done this same sort of “inspiration mining” on Houzz, and in addition to photos of my own work that I’ve collected into my “Project” folders, I have also categorized interesting photos found on Houzz into a set of “Ideabooks”. Anyone can assemble photos into Ideabooks (similar to the Pinterest model) and then you can invite others to share and collaborate on your Ideabooks.  Because of the way it is setup it’s a perfect platform for a client and designer to share ideas!
 
So, where did Houzz come from anyway?  According to Wikipedia, “Houzz co-founders Adi Tatarko and Alon Cohen launched the site in February 2009 as a result of their own remodeling projects.  In addition to finding it difficult to communicate their vision for their home, they found it difficult to find the right professionals for their projects. What started as a side project to help with their own home remodel soon spread by word-of-mouth, and they began to receive emails from homeowners and home professionals outside the San Francisco Bay Area asking them to open more categories on Houzz and to expand to other areas.  Houzz became a company in the fall of 2010.” 
 
I first heard about Houzz in early 2011, and having lived in Silicon Valley in California until 2001, I saw why these tech guys would turn to the power of computing and the internet to squeeze every bit of decorating utility out of every square inch of the expensive real estate in northern California.   It is incredible how Houzz has expanded over the years.  In 2014 they “only” had about 4 million photos.  Now, they have over 14 million photos and you can even buy furniture and home décor products directly from them.  But let’s discuss the best part about Houzz for you:  a searchable database of inspirational photos.

How to Search on Houzz:

1. Let’s say you want to redecorate your dining room and need inspiration.  On Houzz, you would select “Dining Room” from the menu at the far left or at the top. This is the screen you will get (shown below) with a whopping 462,411 photos.  Clearly, a more refined search is in order unless you just want to browse around, well, forever….….  

       2.  For a more targeted search, I put in the following search criteria on the top search bar within the Dining area: 
                       “Buckland Blue” “wing chair” traditional grasscloth

I’ve found that using a very particular name for a Benjamin Moore or Sherwin-Williams color (like BM Buckland Blue) will really zero in on rooms with a general color scheme that you are searching for, like teal.  If you just put in “blue,” well, that will help a bit, but Houzz will still return thousands of photos.  And voila, using this set of search terms here is the result below, down to 177 photos.
 
Look at that gorgeous color…would you be surprised if I told you my own dining room is teal (Benjamin Moore 2123-20 Caribbean Teal)?  Just so soothing in a dining room, and a bit unexpected, and goes nicely with wood tones.   Anyways, I digress, back to navigating Houzz…

So, how do you sign up to start poking around on Houzz?
Go to:  https://www.houzz.com/  - and here's the home page that you should initially see:

There are so many features, you will just have to explore the site a bit.
 
Personally, I think that the real strength of Houzz is in connecting you with designers (like me) and local home improvement contractors.  See the “Find Professionals” button on the bar across the top, right under the search bar.  You can see samples of past projects to learn about the company’s skills and capabilities, ask questions, and read reviews from clients to find a home professional that is right for you. 
 
If you are experienced using Houzz, you might wonder why you seem to get “outliers” in your targeted searches, inexplicably different than the style you are searching for. Well, like facebook and most other “free” websites Houzz has to have a sound business model to remain economically viable while serving the design community, and the insertion of additional “hits” is akin to advertising and the “adword” concept on Google.  These “outliers” are generally paid placement ads that are on-target geographically (meaning that they will present additional local designers and home professionals to you from your area).  
​

My 5 Tips for Using Houzz
Here are my top 5 tips to make the most of using Houzz for your home remodeling project:

1. Read the Stories and Advice. Houzz has a wealth of information for embarking on a home remodeling project, and I can attest that the info is excellent from a design point of view.  Authors on Houzz are well-vetted, and there are quality control mechanisms governing the type of advice offered.
2. Narrow Your Search.   Houzz is huge so it’s helpful to narrow your search to get comfortable with the utility and not get overwhelmed. 
3. Share Ideas. When you find a photo you want to show your spouse, a friend, or me, use one of Houzz’s sharing options. In addition to saving it to your Ideabook, you can email it and send a link to the page.
4. Pay Attention to the Geographic Range.  Foot-stomper here.  Houzz defaults to “within 50 miles” of your geographic location, so beware.  In the Boston area, 50 miles radius results in an enormous number of options and this might overwhelm a new Houzz user as “way too much information to weed through.”  But you can narrow your search to as small as “10 miles” by clicking on the range, as shown below on a search I did for “Kitchen and Bath Fixtures in Sudbury.”  As shown below, 10 miles radius is a good starting point.
5. Read the Reviews and Review Me Too.   Some of my clients have been so kind as to post reviews of my work on Houzz, and this is an extremely important element in the complicated Houzz search algorithm.  So, thank you all of you who have reviewed me, and I welcome more Houzz reviews from any of you that liked what I did for you.  As with any review, be thorough and honest; share what you liked and didn’t like about working with me and any other trade professional you have found via Houzz.  Imagine writing a review to your past self and answer any questions you had during the dreaming phase of the project. This will go a long way towards helping your neighbors find the perfect contractor for their own project. 

​​I really encourage you to check out Houzz and all that it has to offer.  Let me know if you have any questions……… and I look forward to connecting with you on Houzz!