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Have a Design Dilemma? Talk Amongst Yourselves
Solve challenges by getting feedback from Houzz’s community of design lovers and professionals. Here’s how
Judy Marusa’s Rhode Island vacation property was falling down. The structural bearing for the house was collapsing, and if she didn’t find someone to address the problem immediately, she would be in trouble. Stuck on the problem, Marusa began browsing the Houzz Discussions forum, where she frequently posts and comments in the Design Dilemmas section. She found a post about a beach home in Rhode Island whose owner, Houzz user Al Lazaro, was looking for suggestions on how to improve curb appeal. In the same thread, a post by design-build pro Joseph Yencho caught Marusa’s eye.
Yencho had commented that he worked and had a house on Matunuck beach, near Point Judith Pond, where Marusa’s collapsing home was located. She clicked on Yencho’s Houzz profile and saw that he was friendly, was active in discussions and had experience. “The proximity was very fortunate,” Marusa says. “He was nearby, so I said, ‘Let me just see if this contractor is interested in my situation.’” She immediately posted a comment addressed to Yencho describing her situation and asking him if he’d be interested in taking a look.
Since structural carpentry is Yencho’s specialty, the opportunity was a good fit. “She did her research. Checked me out. Called on a Sunday. I finished breakfast and drove down there,” Yencho says. He found that the structural bearing was, indeed, collapsing. So he jacked up the corner and installed new framing, fixing the problem. Marusa then asked if he could look at some other problems. He’s now going down there two to three days a month to rebuild a section of her house.
When the Houzz Discussions page launched in 2010, users posted a few hundred discussions overnight. Today, Houzzers have created millions of discussions. With the addition of GardenWeb in 2014, a vibrant community of home and garden enthusiasts was welcomed to the Houzz family, creating a resource of passionate and knowledgeable people for community members looking for information on landscaping, plants and more.
The Discussions page is a place where homeowners share their remodeling experience, find professionals to hire, help other homeowners solve problems and brainstorm design ideas. It’s also where pros find clients, network, offer advice and hone their problem-solving skills. And the feedback can be generous and ongoing. (“I need desperate help with decorating” has well over 3,000 comments and counting.)
Whether you have a question about a project, want to connect with other design lovers or just need some support as you renovate, here’s how to get the most out of Houzz’s Discussions forum.
Yencho had commented that he worked and had a house on Matunuck beach, near Point Judith Pond, where Marusa’s collapsing home was located. She clicked on Yencho’s Houzz profile and saw that he was friendly, was active in discussions and had experience. “The proximity was very fortunate,” Marusa says. “He was nearby, so I said, ‘Let me just see if this contractor is interested in my situation.’” She immediately posted a comment addressed to Yencho describing her situation and asking him if he’d be interested in taking a look.
Since structural carpentry is Yencho’s specialty, the opportunity was a good fit. “She did her research. Checked me out. Called on a Sunday. I finished breakfast and drove down there,” Yencho says. He found that the structural bearing was, indeed, collapsing. So he jacked up the corner and installed new framing, fixing the problem. Marusa then asked if he could look at some other problems. He’s now going down there two to three days a month to rebuild a section of her house.
When the Houzz Discussions page launched in 2010, users posted a few hundred discussions overnight. Today, Houzzers have created millions of discussions. With the addition of GardenWeb in 2014, a vibrant community of home and garden enthusiasts was welcomed to the Houzz family, creating a resource of passionate and knowledgeable people for community members looking for information on landscaping, plants and more.
The Discussions page is a place where homeowners share their remodeling experience, find professionals to hire, help other homeowners solve problems and brainstorm design ideas. It’s also where pros find clients, network, offer advice and hone their problem-solving skills. And the feedback can be generous and ongoing. (“I need desperate help with decorating” has well over 3,000 comments and counting.)
Whether you have a question about a project, want to connect with other design lovers or just need some support as you renovate, here’s how to get the most out of Houzz’s Discussions forum.
2. Post a Design Dilemma
Getting advice on a design dilemma is the main allure of the forum. Have a problem that you can’t solve alone? Upload a photo and let the Houzz community weigh in. Users can leave comments, offer suggestions and help you navigate choices for your home remodeling project.
You can select up to three relevant topics for your post, to increase your audience and reach more people with expertise.
How to get more responses on your post. Keep your title brief. Pose a clear question. Include at least one photo (you can post up to 10, and you can always leave more in the Comments on your own post). Post a link to your dilemma on your Twitter and Facebook accounts to get more participation from your own networks.
Commenting tips: Include photos to help illustrate your points. (You may upload photos directly or insert links to Houzz photos.) And ask for clarification from the original poster (if it’s not you, of course) if you are not sure about the details of the dilemma.
Getting advice on a design dilemma is the main allure of the forum. Have a problem that you can’t solve alone? Upload a photo and let the Houzz community weigh in. Users can leave comments, offer suggestions and help you navigate choices for your home remodeling project.
You can select up to three relevant topics for your post, to increase your audience and reach more people with expertise.
How to get more responses on your post. Keep your title brief. Pose a clear question. Include at least one photo (you can post up to 10, and you can always leave more in the Comments on your own post). Post a link to your dilemma on your Twitter and Facebook accounts to get more participation from your own networks.
Commenting tips: Include photos to help illustrate your points. (You may upload photos directly or insert links to Houzz photos.) And ask for clarification from the original poster (if it’s not you, of course) if you are not sure about the details of the dilemma.
3. Take a Poll
One of the most fun features in the Discussions section is the poll, which any user can create. Start by composing your post with a clear question in the title and elaborate in the body of your post on what you are asking. Including the context that you are basing your decision on will help community members select what they think is the best option. Include a photo to serve as the main image for your post, then click Poll on the lower-right side of your comment box to add poll options.
For each option, you can upload a photo or include a Houzz-photo URL with text you provide, to illustrate that option.
Polling tip: Keep the poll simple and clear. Example: Post a photo of your living room with the question “Which sofa style is best for my living room?” This will let Houzz community members vote on which option they like best for your space.
One of the most fun features in the Discussions section is the poll, which any user can create. Start by composing your post with a clear question in the title and elaborate in the body of your post on what you are asking. Including the context that you are basing your decision on will help community members select what they think is the best option. Include a photo to serve as the main image for your post, then click Poll on the lower-right side of your comment box to add poll options.
For each option, you can upload a photo or include a Houzz-photo URL with text you provide, to illustrate that option.
Polling tip: Keep the poll simple and clear. Example: Post a photo of your living room with the question “Which sofa style is best for my living room?” This will let Houzz community members vote on which option they like best for your space.
4. Find Interesting Discussions
Use the search bar to find discussion topics that interest you. Again, play with the Topic and Activity fields on the left, then use the search bar to search for a topic like “fireplace mantels” or “Rust-Oleum cabinet transformations.”
Search tip: If you’re the owner of a product or company, search here in the Discussions section to see what people are saying or if they have questions you can help answer.
Use the search bar to find discussion topics that interest you. Again, play with the Topic and Activity fields on the left, then use the search bar to search for a topic like “fireplace mantels” or “Rust-Oleum cabinet transformations.”
Search tip: If you’re the owner of a product or company, search here in the Discussions section to see what people are saying or if they have questions you can help answer.
5. Be Patient and Kind
Houzz is an open and inclusive community made up of very seasoned design professionals, experienced homeowners and people new to the design world. Sometimes passions about design choices can run deep! You may not always agree with other members of the community, but we do ask that you disagree politely.
There is a handy Discussions Code of Conduct posted on one of our help pages to help clarify expectations regarding how community members engage with one another.
If you run across content you feel should be reviewed by our team, please click the flag icon on any post or comment, and we’ll be happy to take a look.
Houzz is an open and inclusive community made up of very seasoned design professionals, experienced homeowners and people new to the design world. Sometimes passions about design choices can run deep! You may not always agree with other members of the community, but we do ask that you disagree politely.
There is a handy Discussions Code of Conduct posted on one of our help pages to help clarify expectations regarding how community members engage with one another.
If you run across content you feel should be reviewed by our team, please click the flag icon on any post or comment, and we’ll be happy to take a look.
Your turn: Have your own dilemma or project to share? Start a discussion.
Each topic on Houzz has a Follow button; click it to add the topic to your Discussions home page. By selecting the topics you find most interesting, you can customize your experience to better suit your needs and interests. The latest posts in the topics you are following will appear on your Discussions page.
Each topic you are subscribed to will be listed on the left side of your page to give you an easy bookmark to filter your page by just that topic.
You can also filter posts by activity level. For example, highlight one of your topics and then play with the Activity choices. You can see the most popular discussions or you can switch to see what’s new, which posts haven’t been commented on yet or which posts have been featured.
To find some topics to follow, visit the Explore Topics page. There you will find some user favorites, like Design Dilemma and Home Decorating.
In the Before & After section you can get inspiration and share photos of your own projects. In Using Houzz you can find out more about how the site works. Consider it an organic FAQ page.
A Pro-to-Pro forum is visible if you’re set up with a professional account. These accounts are typically for contractors, architects, interior designers, landscape designers and other pros to discuss business strategies and how to use the site for business, and to share resources with one another.