Houzz Unveils 2012 'Best Of Remodeling' Winners

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Homeowners are looking for the right professionals to help with projects ranging from gutting a kitchen to redecorating a living room, updating a bathroom, or designing a backyard landscape. Houzz, the leading online platform for residential remodeling and design, today announces the community's picks for Best Of Remodeling, a homeowner to homeowner guide to the top architects, interior designers, contractors and other residential remodeling professionals in more than 50 North American cities.

"With 3.5 million monthly unique users and 80 million monthly page views, Houzz has rapidly become the definitive resource for all things home remodeling, providing homeowners and design enthusiasts with first-hand advice from those in the Houzz community who have been through the remodeling and decorating process." said Liza Hausman, vice president of marketing for Houzz.  "Chosen by the largest community of active remodelers, the winners are comprised of professionals who have exceeded homeowner expectations and those who have designed the most creative, beautiful and intelligent residential spaces."

The Best of Remodeling award is given in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design. Customer Satisfaction award winners are based on homeowner members who rated their experience working with remodeling professionals in 12 categories ranging from landscape architects to design-build firms.  Design award winners' work was the most popular among the 1.2 million members, also known as "Houzzers," who saved more than 16.5 million professional images to their personal ideabooks via the Houzz site and iPad/iPhone app. With Houzz, homeowners can identify not only the top-rated vendors, but also those whose work visually aligns with their own design goals. Homeowners can also evaluate professionals by contacting them directly on the Houzz platform, asking questions about their work and evaluating their responses to questions from others in the Houzz community.

In addition to identifying the top-rated remodeling professionals across North America, the Best Of Remodeling 2012 serves as a qualified consumer panel, identifying decorating and remodeling trends across the country:

• Houzzers' wish lists and must haves include practical choices like motorized shades; a central vacuuming system; dedicated craft room; radiant heating; well-placed outlets, switches and thermostats; and an integrated gadget charging station for phones and more.
• Wish list items for the kitchen? Houzzers seek organization and efficiency, choosing a pot filler; walk-in pantry; hidden sponge drawer, outlets and knife storage; conduction ranges; and two dishwashers. Houzzers with two dishwashers cannot say enough good things about them - they even take clean dishes straight from dishwasher to table, a luxury that you enjoy when you don't need to empty the dishwasher in order to refill it with dirty dishes.
• Bathroom conveniences like shower niches go to the next level as Houzzers plan for the future with universal design features like curbless showers, grab bars and handheld shower extensions. Towel warming bars and drawers and places to hide hairdryers and flat irons while leaving them plugged in are also tops.
• When it comes to closets, shoe storage is top of the list, but newer conveniences include pull-out counters and built-in ironing boards.
• Houzzers working on exteriors are going green with solar panels, drip irrigation systems and rain collection barrels. Entertaining must-haves include outdoor speakers, landscape lighting, outdoor kitchens and outlets, and even outdoor showers. Practical priorities include security systems and conveniently located spigots to clean pets and muddy boots.

About Houzz

Houzz (www.houzz.com) is the leading online platform for home remodeling, providing inspiration, information, advice and support for homeowners and home improvement professionals through its website and mobile applications. Houzz features the largest residential design database in the world, articles written by design experts, product recommendations, a vibrant community powered by social tools, and information on more than 1.3 million remodeling and design professionals worldwide who can help turn ideas into reality. @houzz_inc

SOURCE Houzz