![]() ![]() “You have to go out there and get in front of them. “Design is such a personal experience and I see a lot of designers who are just 100% focused on their online presence,” she says. In Burgason’s case, that means ditching online spaces in favor of “being more visibly active” and ”getting face-to-face contact with people” in her local central Iowan community. To demonstrate the value of designers in a DIY world, petition supporters like designer Casee Burgason are finding old-school avenues more fruitful than Houzz. “I don’t think a lot of people realize that there are a lot of decisions they’re going to have to make, down to what color they want the electrical outlets and how far apart they want the tile.” Melissa Frederiksen, founder of Atmosphere 360 Studio, says that most embark on DIY projects unaware of just how many small decisions and headaches an interior designer helps their clients avoid. Going forward, it has promised to continue to take steps to support the design community.Īny and all improvements in this realm will likely be welcomed by the anti-Houzz set, who thinks the company isn’t doing enough to stress the importance of a designer. Hausman stresses certain steps that Houzz has taken to prevent site visitors from using designers’ ideas free of charge, such as ensuring that visual match tags aren’t visible to anyone in a designer’s local area (a recent update based on designer feedback) or anyone who clicks into a designer’s profile page (a barrier that has always existed). We understand this is a challenge and a concern for designers and something they want more help with.” “They’re challenged to explain to homeowners why they mark up products and the value of their services. “The design industry is going through a lot of changes overall and designers are challenged to be profitable,” Hausman says. At a time when Pinterest and augmented reality design visualization tools like Houzz’s View in My Room 3D make going DIY seem like an easy, cheap alternative, designers are more hard-pressed than ever to prove their worth. It may come as little surprise that designers with alternate revenue streams (like custom products in addition to design services) are faring better on Houzz. “One year I had over $65,000 in online sales. “I’ve had people see my images and they want to have a dresser or bed that they've seen in the photo made,” Abrams says. Plus, Abrams notes, you never know when one of those inquiries might turn into serious business. “I can appreciate that not everyone has seen as much success with Houzz as I have, but I think it’s ridiculous not to give out a paint name-I mean, paint colors are not a secret! Is it that much sweat off my back to tell someone ‘This paint color is Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige’ and make their day?” “You do get a ton of people who are kicking the tires and have no idea what the cost of your work is,” he says. But if they’re not in that phase or don’t have the budget available to them, they should have other options.”Ībrams readily admits that he fields many questions and inquiries that don’t all turn into paying clients, but for him, that interaction is well worth it. “Would we love everyone to hire an interior designer and an architect? 100%. ![]() “Our #1 goal is to make sure we’re not interfering with the ability for people to hire designers when they’re excited about their work,” Liza Hausman, Houzz's VP of industry marketing, tells AD PRO. Laizure runs Interior Design Community, one of a number of social media groups where designers (who often work alone) can foster a collective consciousness, and one of the primary promoters of the Houzz petition. “Their going rate for increased exposure on Houzz is about $3,500 a year, and for a small designer that’s a big financial loss," says Laurie Laizure ($3,500 per year would net out to just under $300 per month, so somewhere between one and two Pro Plus zones). ![]() Designers say that most of the leads coming in through the service present unrealistic budgets or simply want to get a quote before embarking on a project themselves. Petition signees, though, feel that the return on investment for an interior designer advertising their services through Pro Plus is minimal. “People mark photos they like and then notice that many of them are mine, and they see that commonality and reach out saying, ‘I saw this pattern and I thought I’d give you a call,’” says Abrams. "For somebody in New York to say, 'I want to work with a Chicago designer is amazing,'" says Abrams, who believes his activity and large following give him a leg up outside his Pro Plus zone (Abrams has also secured clients from Seattle, Baltimore, and New York through the site and has fielded inquiries from locales as far-flung as Dubai). ![]()
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