If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly looking around and imagining the little improvements or finishing touches you’d like to add around your home. Whether it’s as simple as a wanting a new piece of art on the wall, or as involved as remodeling your whole kitchen; we all have these little projects whizzing around in our heads. Houzz is a one-stop shop for anything you’d need to get your projects done. With a catalog of over 5 million images, and brimming with cool features, Houzz will prove to be your must have, home design app. It’s also available on PC, Android, and iOS; and works offline which means you can always have it handy no matter where you are.
Features & Design
Houzz has a multitude of really cool features and information to help you realize all your home improvement dreams. At its base, Houzz is part image gallery, part social network, with a sprinkling of online marketplace. You could think of it as the Instagram of home design with a dash of Amazon. You’re able to favorite images into your various “Ideabooks” so you can keep all relevant thoughts together. It allows you to easily see other projects from that designer you like or related designs that others have liked. You can even follow your favorite contributors so your home feed is stocked with plenty of design ideas you’re sure to love.
Once Houzz starts to get a feel for what you’re looking for it does a really good job of suggesting other designs similar to the images already in your idea books. Some of the images are absolutely stunning! In fact I created a whole album titled “Pipe Dreams” that I’m gonna keep around for whenever I win the lottery!
This app goes beyond simply providing inspiration though. There’s also a wide selection of reading material and featured articles that can give you the confidence to take on that DIY project yourself. There’s even a very active online community where you can post any specific questions or concerns. You usually don’t have to wait too long before someone chimes in with some helpful advice.
In case your project proves to be a little too much for you to handle alone it also features a handy directory of various professionals available in your area. You’ll be able to find everything from a home designer, to general contractors, and home builders with just a few short clicks.
Sometimes you might even notice that some of the items in an image are available directly through Houzz. It’s often pretty pricey stuff… We cover pricing and shipping below.
Price
Houzz is free to use and download, and if you’re just looking for some inspiration that can be enough. With that said, given the wide range of products and services available, the real price of using Houzz will obviously differ greatly from person to person.
If you should happen to see that perfect item for your room and it happens to have a little green
sale sticker on it, then you’re in luck! You can buy that exact item through Houzz and have it delivered promptly. I’d really love it if this feature was more widely available throughout the app; but when it does work out it feels like a little stroke of luck. With that said… be prepared to pay for that perfect item! I’ve been shocked, more than once, at the price of some items.
The purchase process is simple and accepts Visa, Mastercard, or American Express. I’m sure some people would like to see Paypal added to that list but for the time being it’s not really a hindrance. Unfortunately, if you’re reading this article from outside of the United States, Houzz only ships within the Contiguous United States (sorry Alaska and Hawaii). But as long as you’re in the lower 48 you can shop to your heart’s content!
Final Verdict
Houzz is a fantastic tool, the kind of app where you can suddenly realize, “I haven’t, not liked a single one of the past 30 images…”. In that sense it makes me think of apps like Yummly where everything just starts to look irresistible. The mobile app is full featured and well designed, no knock on the website which is also really well designed, but most of the time I spent with Houzz I found myself endlessly thumbing through the beautiful images on my smartphone. I’d highly recommend it whether you’re considering a renovation of some kind or just want to fantasize a bit.
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