Last Wednesday I went to the Design Within Reach Center in Charlotte for an Open Houzz event hosted by Annie Nozawa. Annie talked about the Houzz homeowners survey that was recently conducted, insider tips, new features and then some networking and building with industry colleagues.

Come see a few of the beautiful design in DWR and a little about what Annie said about some facts and figures about Houzz and Interior Design.

Here are a few pictures of the beautiful colors and designs that I captured during the event.

Here are some of the stats from a survey that was taken from HOUZZ.

14 million people are using Houzz.com every month, another 7 million have download the iPad/iPhone or Android apps.

In Charlotte specifically –

• • 90% are homeowners, average age is 51, average household income $110K, average home value $346K
  • In the next two years, 85% of homeowners are planning to decorate or redecorate, 37% are planning to remodel or build an addition, 10% are planning to build a custom home  – 51% of whom are building “high end”.
  • Top project planned among Charlotte homeowners are bathrooms (25% planning) kitchens (20%) and landscapes (18%)
  • Also in the next two years, 54% are planning to hire a general contractor, 33% a kitchen & bath pro, 21% an interior designer, 21% a landscape pro, 17% an architect, and 13% a design build firm, among other home professionals
  • 40% of Charlotte area homeowners went over budget on their last renovation project, and 18% had no budget specified at all
  •  79% said improving the look/feel/flow/functionality was an important motivation behind their projects, far higher than the 49% citing increasing home value, however home value did increase as a motivator vs. last year.  Other important motivators? Storage & organization at 45%, energy efficient at 30% and incorporating new technologies, citied by 15%.
  • Biggest challenges for Houzzers when it comes to renovation & design? Finding the right products and defining their style – a marketing opportunity for all pros on Houzz.
  • Top hiring criteria? The pro’s reviews & recommendations, that he/she is an expert in their field, and that the pro has a personality the homeowner can work with.

Looking for design Professionals to help you with your projects? Go to Houzz of course. You can hear the entire webinar here.

Want to improve you Houzz profile and exposure? Here are some step by step tips to help you.