Whether you are renovating, buying a new home or just redecorating, it is not uncommon to spend dozens, if not hundreds of hours poring over shelter magazines, books, websites and blogs. Not only is interior/exterior design information and photos scattered (and oftentimes costly), it can be utterly overwhelming.
Houzz, which is touted as the “Wikipedia of interior and exterior design” by CNN, consolidates everything from finding home improvement professionals in your area to gathering inspiration into Ideabooks, all in just one app.
And that’s not the half of it. Learn more after the jump.
The Basics
Born from the inability to find a consolidated online resource for design when renovating a 1955 house in Palo Alto, California, Adi Tatarko and Alon Cohen created Houzz, the holy grail of all things design.
Featuring over 180,000 interior and exterior photos, an incredible network of design professionals, product recommendations, articles by design professionals and sample Ideabooks, Houzz is the most comprehensive interior/exterior design app on the market.
The Features
Setup is as basic as creating an account.
See? It is easy.
The home screen lets you dive right into Houzz’s endless stream of photos. You may notice that some of the photos have dangling green tags (when you move your phone from side-to-side, activating the iPhone gyroscope, the tags swing). These are for “tagged” products. When you tap on a green tag, a new page will pop up giving you vendor information and links to the vendor’s website if applicable.
Another option you might see at the bottom of the screen while perusing the photo stream is a Professional tab. This tab will open a new page providing profile information on the architect or designer that designed the space.
Tagged items link to product description pages
The other options for utilizing the Houzz app are to browse by the following categories: Photos, Products, Ideabooks and Professionals.
The Photos category is divided up into different sections ranging from Wine Cellar to Powder Room. This category also has a search function, just in case you need something more defined, for example “turquoise bedroom.” Once you determine your specific category, you have the option to narrow your findings by selecting one of the dozens of available metro areas or one of the specified style groupings (Asian, contemporary, eclectic, Mediterranean, modern, traditional and tropical). For a narrower list of results, choose both a style and a metro area.
Photos can be sorted by category, metro area and design style
The Products category is divided into the main general groupings of various home products, all of which include more specific sub-categories.
Products can be sorted by style and type. Each product will include price, vendor name and a link to the vendor's website if applicable.
The Professionals tab is like the Yellow Pages — with the further benefit of a bio or description — of the Houzz app. This category offers the following groupings to choose from: all, architect, general contractor, home media, home staging, interior designer, kitchen & bath, landscape architect, media & blogs, photographer and showroom. Once you tap on any of the professional categories, you can further narrow your search by your closest metro area.
The Professionals page is essentially the Yellow Pages of Houzz
And finally, the Ideabooks. These are the inspiration guides and answers for commonly asked questions for the design world. You may have noticed an Add to Ideabook tab in the upper right hand corner when viewing products or photos. This is exactly as it sounds; an easy to use add function for when you find relevant inspiration or ideas while browsing the Houzz app. Once you tap the add tab, you will be asked to describe why you like the photo, or really any notes you might want to include, and have the choice of which Ideabook to drop the image into.
Ideabooks are an easy way to keep track of inspiration. You can create a variety of themed Ideabooks to help keep you organized.
The Ideabook is a great way to keep track of inspiration for yourself and if you are working with an architect or interior designer, it is even more beneficial as you are able to visually explain your ideas.
You can browse other Houzz user's Ideabooks for inspiration and answers to common design questions.
There is also a share function at the bottom of every photo or article enabling you to share via Twitter, Facebook and Email.
Findings
Hands down, this is the best app for all interior/exterior related things. Houzz’s database is incomparable, the app is easy to use and the design is comprehensive. My favorite design aspect of the app would have to be the motion-sensitive product tags. I must admit, I found myself shaking my phone from side-to-side just to see the little guys move.
One thing that I wish the Houzz would have is the ability to share Ideabooks. With the sharing functionality available for the products, articles and photos, it would seem natural that an Ideabook could be shared as well.
Overall, this app is a handy tool, and I for one, am glad to have found it.