How to Houzz: Everything You Need to Get the Best from Houzz
Missed our series giving you heaps of tools for improving your Houzz experience? Don't worry, here's a recap!
Use Houzz for inspiration when starting your project, sharing ideas with those involved, and for finding the information, photos and products you need. Here’s how.
What is Houzz for?
Let’s backtrack briefly to the real basics, and summarise what Houzz is and how it can help you with your renovation project, whether that’s switching your paint colour, revamping your bedroom or converting your loft and extending your kitchen.
Houzz is an online community of homeowners and home-renovation professionals (in fact, it’s the largest such platform in the world). Users can access Houzz via their computers or on their phones using the Houzz app, and professionals and homeowners can connect in lots of different ways. (All covered throughout the series.)
Let’s backtrack briefly to the real basics, and summarise what Houzz is and how it can help you with your renovation project, whether that’s switching your paint colour, revamping your bedroom or converting your loft and extending your kitchen.
Houzz is an online community of homeowners and home-renovation professionals (in fact, it’s the largest such platform in the world). Users can access Houzz via their computers or on their phones using the Houzz app, and professionals and homeowners can connect in lots of different ways. (All covered throughout the series.)
1. Sharing inspiring photos
The platform contains more than 14 million professional photos – like this beautiful shot of a bedroom designed by London architecture firm Bertolini Architects (see their name in white, top right? If you like a photo owner’s work, click on the photo to find out more).
Most of the photos you’ll find on Houzz have been uploaded by interior designers, architects, retail brands and other design professionals. Sometimes they’ll also be uploaded by photographers, estate agents, those who own holiday lets and lots more. The pictures are all from these professionals’ portfolios or collections and are all at your disposal for inspiration!
How to find the photos on Houzz that’ll help you to plan your project
The platform contains more than 14 million professional photos – like this beautiful shot of a bedroom designed by London architecture firm Bertolini Architects (see their name in white, top right? If you like a photo owner’s work, click on the photo to find out more).
Most of the photos you’ll find on Houzz have been uploaded by interior designers, architects, retail brands and other design professionals. Sometimes they’ll also be uploaded by photographers, estate agents, those who own holiday lets and lots more. The pictures are all from these professionals’ portfolios or collections and are all at your disposal for inspiration!
How to find the photos on Houzz that’ll help you to plan your project
2. Creating and sharing mood boards
Homeowners can browse these photos and save them to what we call Ideabooks, which are sort of interactive mood boards. These can be used as a useful and practical way of filing your inspirations, and you can also share them with friends, family and contractors, as well as inviting others to collaborate on them.
Find out how to create and make the most of your own Ideabooks
Homeowners can browse these photos and save them to what we call Ideabooks, which are sort of interactive mood boards. These can be used as a useful and practical way of filing your inspirations, and you can also share them with friends, family and contractors, as well as inviting others to collaborate on them.
Find out how to create and make the most of your own Ideabooks
You can also create DIY mood boards like this one using a clever little tool called Sketch.
3. Finding practical advice
How exactly do you mount a basin onto a lovely vintage chest of drawers like this?
Discover tips for getting the advice and tips you need for your project
How exactly do you mount a basin onto a lovely vintage chest of drawers like this?
- What kind of Planning Permission do you need to extend your house?
- What’s a good colour to pair with mint green?
- How should you reconfigure the ground floor of your Victorian house?
Discover tips for getting the advice and tips you need for your project
4. Shopping!
Like the look of that blue retro radio or those wooden dining chairs? You can find out where things like these are from, click through to buy certain products or even purchase direct through Houzz.
Discover how to use Houzz to source and buy products
Like the look of that blue retro radio or those wooden dining chairs? You can find out where things like these are from, click through to buy certain products or even purchase direct through Houzz.
Discover how to use Houzz to source and buy products
For an excellent overview of all the ways you can use Houzz to get help with your project, we also have a series of really cool video stories – before and afters in which celebrities makeover a relative’s home. As well as giving you a good nosey around other people’s houses and showing a different side to some well-known names, the stories also illustrate in a super-clear (and heartwarming) way just how people have used the platform to complete a project from start to finish.
See inside, for starters, Ashton Kutcher’s mum and stepdad’s house as Kutcher battles with his stepdad over whether or not to keep his cherished recliners
See inside, for starters, Ashton Kutcher’s mum and stepdad’s house as Kutcher battles with his stepdad over whether or not to keep his cherished recliners
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