There are many superfluous things in this world, but in the midst of the fluff are absolute gems that make us wonder what we ever did without them. In the world of Chicago home remodeling, the Houzz.com website is one of these.
Harness the Power of Houzz When Planning Your Chicago Home Remodeling Projects
Once referred to as "House Porn" by the New York Times, Houzz was born of a couple's inability to show architects and designers exactly what they wanted by scouring design books and magazines. They felt that method was a waste of time and resources, and it didn't yield exactly what they wanted. As residents of Silicone Valley, and with one-half of the relationship employed as the technology director at eBay, they decided creating a website was the ultimate solution. The couple asked several Bay Area architects and designers to begin uploading their portfolios and internet design history was born.
What is Houzz.com?
Today, when you type anything related to kitchen, bathroom or other interior design search phrases into your web browser, a Houzz post typically pops up in one of the top search engine results positions. What began as a visual archive has developed into a hub for architects, designers, DIYers and soon-to-be home remodelers to share ideas, connect, refer one another and converse about both exterior and interior home design. You can look for highly regarded professionals in your area or browse hundreds of thousands of photos to glean inspiration.
Individuals can ask questions about a particular photo, "Love the backsplash! Where can I get it..." and designers have the ability to write a detailed response. You can create your own design books to store favorite ideas and photos, and you can also read blog upon blog with advice, suggestions and opinions from leading industry experts.
How Can I Use Houzz.com For My Upcoming Bathroom or Kitchen Remodel?
In any blog or article about "How to Plan an Upcoming Remodel..." one of the top pieces of advice will be to spend time brainstorming ahead of time before meeting with prospective architects and designers. By establishing what you like and what you don't ahead of time, and having visual representations to show the professionals, your initial design consultations will be much more effective.
Here are some of the ways Houzz.com can be of service for your Chicago home remodeling project.
Find a Pro. Use their Find a Pro feature to locate architects, remodelers, vendors and so on in your area. You can view their portfolios, read reviews and begin compiling your list for bids and consultation requests.
Browse photos. Don't try this at work! Houzz's photo galleries are prolific and highly-addictive. Use the search browser to view pictures of real houses to find what you like.
Create Idea Books. Start an idea book for each project so you have an organized place to store all the awesome tidbits you come across. This book will come in handy when it's time to meet with your team.
