Houzz Anniversary Party in Dallas
Last week, I was thrilled to be part of the Houzz fifth anniversary celebration in Dallas. My team and I at Barbara Gilbert Interiors were some of the “early adopters” of this online platform in 2010, and Houzz has become an indispensable tool for my interior design firm.
The Houzz anniversary party was at PIRCH in NorthPark Center, by invitation only for their Dallas pro community: the architects, designers, and home builders who do such wonderful work in North Texas.
For the first time, Houzz featured a panel discussion, and I was thrilled to be the interior designer on the panel. When Houzz asked if I would consider being a panelist, they were very complimentary about my interior design projects, and the amount of reviews I have on the site. When I told them why Houzz is such an integral part of my business, I think that’s what cinched the deal! Out of all the talented designers in Dallas to have been chosen was such an honor—I never expected it.
Their program for the evening featured an overview of their latest industry insights and trends research, networking, as well as the panel discussion with myself, Mary Kathryn Reese, and Barry Hensley.
The panel discussed how we use Houzz in our businesses, and I had nothing but raves! It’s an essential part of my work. Whenever we have a new client, we give them homework to do: create five to ten ideabooks on Houzz. If it’s a couple, they have to do them separately with no peeking!
We look that photos they’ve chosen and can understand what they like and don’t like from them. I’ve been doing this for years and it’s such an integral part of my business—it makes it so much easier to combine a couple’s tastes that way and set the design style and color palettes.
There are over 66,400 Dallas home improvement pros active on Houzz, the site has over 35 million unique users a month, and there are now Houzz sites for 10 countries plus North America. This is such an important resource for all of us!
Liza Hausman, the Houzz VP of Industry Marketing, shared some fascinating insights into their market data. I really enjoyed learning things like how many people will be remodeling this year and seeking out interior designers, builders, or architects.
I’m so grateful to have been part of the Houzz anniversary Dallas event, and honored to have been asked to be a panelist. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next for this design platform.