Popular home decoration website Houzz is now in S’pore

SINGAPORE - Popular American website and app Houzz — known for its ability to induce a serious bout of room envy — was recently launched here, and its founders, Adi Tatarko and her husband Alon Cohen, are looking to add more with this foray into Singapore after seeing “strong demand” here.

Singapore is its second market in Asia after Japan.

According to Tatarko, more than 150,000 Singaporeans are already using Houzz every month to help renovate and design their home, either by sourcing for inspirations or engaging a home professional (there are more than 3,000 of them listed on Houzz).

“These homeowners and professionals expressed strong interest in helping us localise Houzz,” explained Tatarko. “We’re excited to work with them to tailor the experience further and bring the Singaporean home renovation and design market to the 21st century.”

Like many services, Houzz was born after Tatarko and Cohen struggled with their own home remodeling project back in 2009. They decided to start an online market place linking architects and designers with the parents in their children’s school.

Today, Houzz has more than 40 million unique users monthly and with the addition of Singapore, there will be more than 20,000 local design photos on the website.

Interior designer Caroline Chin-Geyler of Arete Culture said the website is a “centralised platform” to showcase the firm’s work.

“Houzz allows readers and customers to easily identify the stylist or designer who works for them. In this way, customers who approach you through the platform are already aligned with the brand,” she elaborated.

Fellow interior designer Priya Naik of Interior Design Journey said Houzz assists with pitches and customer service as well. “The site allows access to wonderful images which can be used to portray a mood or design idea to potential clients.”

As for potential home owners such as Eugene Teo, surfing for ideas just got better. “It opens up more choices and ideas,” said the 35-year-old, although he felt the American version was better because “you can buy the products and furniture you’re interested in found on the app”.

Tatarko promised everything available on the US version of Houzz would be made available in each international market at some point. “We will add the monetisation channels, which will include our local subscription service for home professionals as well as a home products marketplace,” she said, although her priority now is growing the community and content for the local market.

Tatarko isn’t too concerned about local competition with similar homegrown websites such as Qanvast. “Many try to copy ... the experience we deliver — you can’t lead by copying, you lead by innovating. Houzz delivers the only end-to-end solution for home renovation where people can get everything they need to improve their homes in a single place,” she said.

“We’re staying focused on our mission: to deliver the best experience for home renovation and design on the web by providing the best tools and technology for this industry. It’s about the user-experience. You need to create a product that people need and love using.”