Inside Houzz
Announcing the 2020 Best of Houzz Award Winners
The annual awards recognize home design and building professionals who have stood out in the Houzz community
A sleek black, white and gold contemporary bathroom in San Diego. A gorgeous farmhouse bedroom with a wood-beam ceiling in upstate New York. A wood-wrapped outdoor living room with a kitchen and fire feature in Chicago. These are just a few of the designs that earned home design and building professionals recognition in the 2020 Best of Houzz awards, announced this week.
In addition to a Design award, pros can earn a Service award for receiving positive reviews on their Houzz profile page. Some pros earn both distinctions, each represented as a badge on their Houzz profile page. Photographers who specialize in interior design and architectural photography can also earn an award. Here’s more on some of this year’s Best of Houzz winners, as well as information about the award process.
In addition to a Design award, pros can earn a Service award for receiving positive reviews on their Houzz profile page. Some pros earn both distinctions, each represented as a badge on their Houzz profile page. Photographers who specialize in interior design and architectural photography can also earn an award. Here’s more on some of this year’s Best of Houzz winners, as well as information about the award process.
The best way to become eligible for a Best of Houzz Design award is to upload high-quality photos of your work to your profile page. Photos that get a high amount of saves to Houzz ideabooks, among other forms of user engagement, have a higher chance of winning a Design award than those that don’t.
To qualify for a Best of Houzz Service award, pros on Houzz need at least one client review from a project completed in the year leading up to the award year. In other words, if you want to earn a Best of Houzz badge for 2021, start uploading photos and encouraging clients to leave a positive review now.
Professional photographers on Houzz can earn a badge for photos that get a large number of saves to ideabooks, among other forms of user engagement.
Interior design firm CM Natural Designs won a Best of Houzz Design award for the bathroom shown here. The black steel-and-glass shower enclosure; black hexagonal floor tile, vanity and bathtub; and brass fixtures and accents create a dramatic atmosphere that thousands of Houzz users responded to by saving the photo to ideabooks.
How to earn a Best of Houzz badge for 2021
To qualify for a Best of Houzz Service award, pros on Houzz need at least one client review from a project completed in the year leading up to the award year. In other words, if you want to earn a Best of Houzz badge for 2021, start uploading photos and encouraging clients to leave a positive review now.
Professional photographers on Houzz can earn a badge for photos that get a large number of saves to ideabooks, among other forms of user engagement.
Interior design firm CM Natural Designs won a Best of Houzz Design award for the bathroom shown here. The black steel-and-glass shower enclosure; black hexagonal floor tile, vanity and bathtub; and brass fixtures and accents create a dramatic atmosphere that thousands of Houzz users responded to by saving the photo to ideabooks.
How to earn a Best of Houzz badge for 2021
The airy Boise, Idaho, entryway shown here — with its white shiplap walls and charming emerald green barn door — helped the team at Solitude Homes earn a Best of Houzz Design award. The space is also among the most-saved entryway photos uploaded to Houzz in 2019.
“We had a lot of fun with the details and woodworking in terms of the textures that we put on the walls and the ceilings,” Solitude Homes president Cody Weight says.
How to get better reviews on Houzz
“We had a lot of fun with the details and woodworking in terms of the textures that we put on the walls and the ceilings,” Solitude Homes president Cody Weight says.
How to get better reviews on Houzz
This unstained ipe wood outdoor area in Chicago includes a dining area and kitchen near a blackened-steel fire feature, as well as a lounge area just out of view. The photo earned architecture firm dSPACE Studio a Best of Houzz Design award.
A Boost for Business
New York architect Jimmy Crisp says many of his clients come to him through Houzz, and the numerous Best of Houzz award badges he has earned for design and service over the years displayed on his profile are a big factor. “It’s a confirmation that the work we’re doing and the effort we’re putting in are being appreciated,” Crisp says.
Aside from using Houzz as a portfolio, collaboration tool and client generator, Crisp says he often looks to the platform to better understand the photos and designs that are resonating most with users. He adjusts the way he has his projects photographed, such as asking the photographer to focus on certain details he knows will appeal to Houzz users, and chooses photos to upload to his portfolio based on what he thinks will appeal to users.
For the bedroom shown here, Crisp collaborated with interior design firm Chango & Co. and general contractor Structure Works Construction to create a cozy farmhouse retreat in a voluminous space capped with a warm wood-beam ceiling. The photo earned Crisp Architects a Best of Houzz Design award.
“Do good work, have it photographed by a great photographer, and as soon as you get the photos, put them up on Houzz,” Crisp says.
New York architect Jimmy Crisp says many of his clients come to him through Houzz, and the numerous Best of Houzz award badges he has earned for design and service over the years displayed on his profile are a big factor. “It’s a confirmation that the work we’re doing and the effort we’re putting in are being appreciated,” Crisp says.
Aside from using Houzz as a portfolio, collaboration tool and client generator, Crisp says he often looks to the platform to better understand the photos and designs that are resonating most with users. He adjusts the way he has his projects photographed, such as asking the photographer to focus on certain details he knows will appeal to Houzz users, and chooses photos to upload to his portfolio based on what he thinks will appeal to users.
For the bedroom shown here, Crisp collaborated with interior design firm Chango & Co. and general contractor Structure Works Construction to create a cozy farmhouse retreat in a voluminous space capped with a warm wood-beam ceiling. The photo earned Crisp Architects a Best of Houzz Design award.
“Do good work, have it photographed by a great photographer, and as soon as you get the photos, put them up on Houzz,” Crisp says.
Martha O’Hara and her team, who have won a Best of Houzz Design or Service award (or both) every year since the awards were launched in 2012, always strive for good photographs of their designs. This increases the likelihood that a high number of Houzz users will save those photos to their ideabooks and that O’Hara will earn a Design award.
“We take the time to style and editorialize our shots a bit,” says designer Kate O’Hara, who is Martha’s daughter. “We try to create images that tell a little bit of a story.”
Adding keywords and topics to newly uploaded photos can make them more searchable and therefore more popular among Houzz users.
For the Minnesota lake house bedroom shown here, Martha O’Hara Interiors designed built-in bunkbeds to sleep six kids and added a durable concrete floor to hold up to sandy foot traffic from the lake. The space earned the design team a Best of Houzz Design award.
View all the Best of Houzz 2020 award winners
More Resources for Pros on Houzz
Read more stories for pros
Browse millions of photos for inspiration
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
“We take the time to style and editorialize our shots a bit,” says designer Kate O’Hara, who is Martha’s daughter. “We try to create images that tell a little bit of a story.”
Adding keywords and topics to newly uploaded photos can make them more searchable and therefore more popular among Houzz users.
For the Minnesota lake house bedroom shown here, Martha O’Hara Interiors designed built-in bunkbeds to sleep six kids and added a durable concrete floor to hold up to sandy foot traffic from the lake. The space earned the design team a Best of Houzz Design award.
View all the Best of Houzz 2020 award winners
More Resources for Pros on Houzz
Read more stories for pros
Browse millions of photos for inspiration
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
If a professional wins a Best of Houzz award, a badge automatically appears on his or her Houzz profile page, as shown here. High-resolution versions of badges are available for pros to use in marketing materials as well. Winners also receive an email with a full promotional kit that helps them get the most exposure for the award.
Just 3% of the 2.5 million home design and building professionals on Houzz receive a Best of Houzz award each year. As mentioned, there are three categories: Design, Service and Photography. Pros can earn an award for design, service or both in the same year. Professional photographers who upload photos to Houzz can also earn an award.