Do you look at Houzz.com?

[hesitantbride]

Given how much I love to consume design images, I'm pretty surprised I don't visit Houzz.  Do you?  If so, in what way do you use it?  Is it kind of like pinterest in that you can pin/collect certain images?

I've spent only a little time on the site but I get frustrated not knowing the story behind the rooms and the design.  Is there a better way to read Houzz?  Please educate me 

[house]

Ha.. I spend a lot of time there when I am looking for a specific inspiration. Yes, you can collect your own images (like pins) in your different "idea books"(boards). Yeah not much stories behind those. It can be frustrating. I do see people asking questions about the pics. Sometimes there are answers and sometimes there's none.

[pitterwoo]

I don't really like it. If I do save an image aka pin it, I always click "make my comment private". Shortly after I started using Houzz and had saved a couple images I googled my name and my comments about kitchen counters or whatever came up. I disliked that a lot.

[jhawks482]

I look at Houzz for the pictures, and I also get their weekly e-mails full of idea books (which I love). When I look through images, I can search by keyword (I searched "wood bar tops" when we did our basement bar) and I'm able to save certain images and note what I like about it. A lot of what I see is obviously, out of my budget (I don't own a multi-million dollar home) but its easy to take away something from a room when it's designed wonderfully- no matter the budget.

I also love it because it's quite different than everything I see circulating on blogs- a lot of the images are from architects and interior designers. It's actually a nice change to be able to flip through hundreds of great photos without having to read 2,000 words about every detail.

The emails are great because it's basically a compilations of 15 idea books every week about landscaping, trees, living rooms, a Houzz tour, Paint colors and palettes, architecture styles, etc, etc.

[decoraholic]

I loooove Houzz. I don't use their idea books, I just pin stuff to my Pinterest boards. I like that a lot of the designers answer the questions, and I've asked a couple and had quick responses. Some don't respond...it really just depends on the designer.



The search is the best part for me because so many people ask questions and post comments, that if you are looking for examples of something specific, those results will pop up. So like when were choosing things for bathroom, I could search Kohler Archer Bathtub and a bunch came up, things like that. Since there are a lot of comments, you can search general things too like "small bathroom" and the results are actually pretty good.

[kristilynnmy]

I use it to look at certain rooms for inspiration. Like kids rooms/nurseries, bathrooms, living rooms. I pin what I like onto pinterest but I don't actually utilize the Houzz site. I don't need another site like pinterest when I'm already on pinterest.

[simpsongal]

Meh, it's okay. I've used it to look for particular inspiration (e.g., the porch we want to build one day).

I find a lot of the designs are focused on high end and upscale architecture. The room are gorgeous but I don't have three french doors with transoms in my living room.

I much prefer This Old House

[sratsey]

I was a Houzz fan before I became a Pinterest fan. Still frequent it, but for me, Houzz is just a totally different kind of place to gather inspiration. I follow a lot of interior designers and architects on Pinterest and they have taken me to sites I've never heard of. There is one interior designer I love and whenever she has a new pooject, she paints such great ideas that all already work together in terms of styles and finishes (lighting and cabinet hardware for example) which would take me HOURS to compile on my own.

I like Houzz because I like to look at how entire homes have been decorated from room to room, and overall I think their great for whole room inspiration. I also feel like the stuff on Houzz is not as overdone, although this is a lot more weeding through the pictures.

[kaylie]

I do look at it, but I don't love it. I feel like a lot of the rooms and ideas they post work better in a designer world than the real world. It seems like they mostly feature larger homes. I would love to find a site where they give tips on how to work with a more "average" house.