What Exactly Is Houzz?

 And Why Should You Be Using It?

Let’s imagine for a second that you’re planning a home remodeling project; maybe a bathroom, kitchen, or combining a couple of small spaces into that large family room you’ve always wanted.

Now imagine you could pour yourself a hot cup of coffee (or tea) and step into a room full of building, remodeling, painting, and design professionals. Every single one is there to answer questions, show their work, discuss materials and methods, and offer inspiration.

Other homeowners are there too, sharing their success stories, engaging with you about your own project goals, and offering tips that they either picked up or learned the hard way. It’s a relaxed, enthusiastic, and organized event, and everyone is simply there to help.

Finally, let’s imagine that you could do this without leaving your home. In a nutshell, this is Houzz.com.

The Short History of Houzz

In case you aren’t entirely familiar with the site, here is a very quick look at its origins.

Houzz was born out of the frustration of a couple trying to describe the vision they had for their home to an architect. They were asked to assemble photos and information about what they were looking for, but it was a tedious, messy, inefficient process.

They set out to create a website that simplified this process. Since its conception in 2009, Houzz.com has grown into a home improvement powerhouse, boasting over 35 million users around the world.

Is Houzz Worth Your Time As a Busy Professional?

The benefits for homeowners are clear. But, we can hear you asking yourself this all-important question:

“Why should I spend any time on this? Is it really worth it?”

Trust us. We understand. As a busy remodeling and restoration company, we know what it’s like to prioritize time, carefully considering what is worth the investment of those precious hours. In short, yes. Building and growing your Houzz business profile offers the following benefits:

• Allows you to claim real estate in one of the busiest home improvement market places in the world
• Provides a chance for you to showcase your very best work
• Directs visitors back to your website and, ideally, converts these visits to leads
• Houzz casts a wide net, but users can search for businesses that are local to them. This means that you will likely connect with potential clients right in your service area.
• Clients can leave reviews and feedback for others to see
• With consistent positive reviews and engagement, you can enjoy recognition by earning annual “Best of Houzz” award badges. These respected badges can then be shared on your website, Houzz profile, email signature, blogs, etc.
• Further establishes you as a helpful, experienced leader in your field of expertise

Don’t Just Make a Houzz Profile; Make it a Destination for Your Audience

Houzz offers clear steps for how to begin your business profile, but there are specific tips and techniques that you should put to work in order to make yours thrive once it’s launched. There is definitely a big difference between a minimal, stale company profile and a busy hub of activity. If yours doesn’t engage your visitor they can (and will) always move on to another!

Let’s take a look at a few of the most important techniques.

7 Steps to Creating an Engaging Houzz Profile

• Describe your company – Include a brief, upbeat description of your company and/or services. Don’t be too sales-driven or wordy, but quickly and concisely tell visitors who you are, what you do, and how you can help. Imagine what you would tell someone in person if they shook your hand and said, “So, what do you do?” As an extra tip, consider sharing why you love your work!
• Choose a profile picture – Avoid a generic photo (no sunrises or kittens). Include either a photo of yourself, a couple of key players in your business, or an official logo for quick brand identification.
• Include social links – Do you have accounts on other social profiles? If visitors like your page, they might also want to follow your other social media outlets.
• Add photos – This is such an important topic that we’ll focus on it more heavily in just a moment.
• Seek out reviews – A positive review lends tremendous credibility to your profile. You can invite clients to leave a review through an email platform built right into Houzz. For extra convenience and clarity, the email automatically includes a link that provides simple instructions.
• Engage in the community – There are a huge variety of home forums on Houzz where people ask questions, share photos, look for advice, and seek out professional opinions. Take time each week to look for questions you can answer and ways you can engage in the conversations. It may be as simple as pointing out what you like about someone’s recently-completed project!
• Point to your Houzz profile – We touched on the value of showcasing your “Best of Houzz” badges, but be sure to include links to your Houzz account on your website, in your email, and on your other social accounts too. Take a look at our page here to see what a Houzz widget looks like (it’s on the right-hand size).

Why Are Photos Important for Your Houzz Profile?

On one hand, pictures are an opportunity to showcase your work. It’s also no secret that social media is a visually-driven outlet, meaning that a photo is more likely to grab attention than a line of text. Here are a few tips for making the most of your images:

• Go for quality AND quantity – No fuzzy, low-resolution photos. Try hiring a professional photographer to capture the highlights of your finished project, or at the very least invest in a quality camera.
• Upload your photos to Projects – You can create a Project album to either share images related to one specific project you completed, or use them to categorize certain types of photos (kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, etc.).
• Tag your photos – When you upload an image, be sure to add as many refining descriptions as possible. And, don’t forget to label each one with descriptive keywords to help Houzzers find your photo.

Ideally, people will not only find your photos but add them to their own Ideabooks. If we circle back to the very beginning of this post, Ideabooks are essentially why Houzz was created and what makes it unique.

Homeowners can create an Ideabook that includes photos that exemplify the styles, materials, and designs they love. It’s a wish-list, if you will. This can then be shown to their professional (maybe to you!), offering you a clear perspective on their vision.

Once Your Houzz Profile Is Up and Running, Use It!

Remember, don’t set it and forget it. Houzz is an opportunity for quality engagement, and you should dedicate time each week to answer people’s questions, add new project photos, comment on other folks’ work, and answer personal messages that you might receive.

Most of all, have fun with it! Houzz is an amazing tool if you use it to its potential.
Keith Gerety is the president of Gerety Building and Restoration, a full-service remodeling contractor specializing in renovations, additions, and restorations. For more than 35 years, He and his team of craftsmen have helped to transform, enlarge, enhance and restore homes throughout the Westchester, NY, and Greenwich, CT, area.

 

 

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Painters Prices

When you have a task, having the appropriate work wear for that task is an essential part of getting the task at hand done to the best possible conclusion. For instance, a painter may find it beneficial to have painters apparel on hand that can withstand the vigorous workout encountered when completely your task. Painting is a dirty job, and the painters apparel you choose has to be capable of providing protection and safety to your in your often harsh and always messy environment.

Painter's apparel comes in all sizes, shapes, and types. The major goal of painter's apparel is to provide you with work wear that can look good, feel comfortable, and offer enough pockets and spaces you can paint what needs to be painted without worrying about your working attire.

So, are you a painter? Regardless of whether you are a full time, career painter or a hobbyist where painting is simply something you do because the occasion arises and you enjoy the task at hand.

The majority of painting pants offer extra carrying space for those brushes and extra tools you may find necessary to accomplish your task the fastest and safest.

Painter's pants come in a variety of sizes and a white or natural coloration allowing you the benefits of a clean slate – so to speak. Of course, you will find that along with those versatile pants come a line of shorts. Yes, you can protect your legs from paint while staying warm or cool depending on your environment and preferences.

One of the all time favorites is the bib overall popular within the painting profession. You get a lot of functionality with all that pocket space, and the build of bib overalls means you will not have to worry about a belt or your pants or trousers falling down as you reach to pain those tall spaces that need to be touched up or covered. The pockets start at the chest and work their way down. Ultimate functionality!

Of course, work wear for the paint professional is an absolute enjoyable task, but the task would not be complete without adding a few jackets, coats, or other outerwear specifically designed with the task of painting at hand. That outwear comes in a variety of colors and sizes. Of course, you may need an all season jacket or a heavy duty lined coat for ultimate warmth. No matter what you need when it comes to outwear, there is something specifically designed for you!

What do you need to complete your work wear ensemble?

There are a range of accessories and other niceties you may find beneficial to your task at hand and future tasks. From paintbrushes to paint utility belts, there are work wear designers making your working day a little bit easier. And at this price, whoever could ask for anything more.

As a professional or hobbyist painter you realize the necessity for having the appropriate apparel. Painting is messy and chaotic at times, and the right attire means you are able to concentrate on the task at hand not on whether your paints are going to stay up as you reach to those hard to reach places.

The following blog post Painters Prices was originally seen on Wimbledon Painters Exterior Decorating Service

Read Full Article: http://wimbledoninteriorpainters.blogspot.com/2015/12/painters-prices.html

The Painter

The brush of a painter is an important tool through which the artist wields his power and expresses his emotions. The canvass, the oil, and all the other painting media are important too, but these leave the artist when the work is done.

Only the paint brushes stay, faithful and willing to participate in the making of the next masterpiece.

Painters need two kinds of brushes. One is stiff and the other is soft. A painter usually has a range of sizes for both types of brushes.

The stiff brushes are used for the majority of painting tasks and it comes in three shapes: the round, the flat and the filbert. For all ye art beginners, filbert is a shape that's rounded at the base and tapers to a point at the tip. Stiff brushes are made with hog bristles but there are also synthetic bristles available that can make acceptable results. Naturally, many painters prefer the genuine article.

The soft brushes are used for putting in fine details. Painters concur that the best soft brushes are the ones made with sable. Since sable brushes are expensive, there are substitutes available. But the brush strokes made using these replacements are not as good as the ones made by the sable-made soft brush.

There is also a kind of brush made with either sable or hog hair. It is called a fan-head brush and it is needed to seamlessly blend paint on the canvas.

We have heard of painters not taking a bath during a painting marathon, and there are painters known for having chaotic studios. But many painters like to be organized and the most cared for of their tools are the brushes. Besides, many painters believe, though no scientific data supports this, that used but well cared-for brushes perform better than new ones.

The first rule in caring for paint brushes is to never use them to mix paint. There are painting knives to do this task. Another important thing to remember is to never stand the brushes, especially the soft ones, with the point down in the jar. Those expensive hair or bristles are sensitive and may be bent permanently.

When a painter mentors you to place just the right amount of paint on the brush, he was not thinking about saving the paint. He was trying to save the brush. Too much paint on it will clog the ferrules, the part that holds the hair or bristles together. If clogged, you've to clean it and can't avoid parting the hairs. If done too often, the brush ultimately become useless.

Lastly, brushes should be cleaned as soon as you are done using them. You may use turpentine with soap and water. For soft brushes, these can be dipped in milk and allowed to dry for a couple of days. Remember to keep the tips up.

The following blog post The Painter is republished from Wimbledon Painters and Decorator Services

Read Full Article: http://wimbledoninteriorpainters.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-painter.html

Home Decorating

The quote, "a picture is worth a thousand words" is true for many, many situations. This famous quote even applies to home decorating. Several people draw their inspiration for their decorating projects from home decorating pictures. It's difficult to visualize a room decorated using the various design themes. You many think the French Country style is perfect for your kitchen but when you actually see this style used in home decorating pictures, you may change your mind. Contemporary style is hot nowadays with its trendy accessories, fabric and furniture but is it for your home? Browsing home decorating pictures of contemporary design will help you decides whether it's for your home or not. Tuscan design sounds beautiful when you read about it in magazines and books but until you see those home decorating pictures using tuscan design, you cannot be sure if it would work in your home.

Home decorating pictures are very beneficial when making plans to decorate both the interior and exterior of your home. Pictures either confirm your visions or provide a totally different reality. Home decorating pictures offer you an opportunity to browse and pick a design that best suits you and your home. There are so many designs to choose from, any you've probably never heard of. Current home decorating pictures offer you a chance to view all of the latest trends in home decorating for each and every room in your home.

Home decorating pictures portray homes and spaces that often seem out of the realm of possibility for you and your home. Because these spaces are so elegantly decorated and look so perfect and professional, you may assume it cannot be achieved in your space. This is not true. Home decorating pictures give you the finished product, the end result of much planning and work. Home decorating is a process and you too can work through this process to create rooms similar to those in the home decorating pictures. With the thousands of resources available to homeowners today, there is no reason you cannot have an elegant dining room just like the one you saw in home decorating pictures.

There are so many magazines, catalogues, books and websites related to interior home decorating. These resources provide many useful tools and offer great advice for decorating your home. When you begin your planning, you cannot imagine your space will resemble those in the home decorating pictures. The great news is – it certainly can. Using home decorating pictures as guides for your planning, you can choose colors, furnishings and accessories to improve your space and make it picture perfect. In home decorating, almost anything is achievable if you are willing to be open-minded and accept advice. Several home decorating pictures display rooms in bold colors that you just cannot imagine using in your home. This is when you have to relax and go out on a limb. In order to get that picture perfect room, you may need to compromise your normal methods of decorating. However if you definitely need the bathroom in the home decorating pictures, you'll need to put away those normal habits and adopt brand new ones.

The following article Home Decorating was originally published on http://wimbledonpainters.co.uk

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Bold, Dark Colours in Residential Painting

Let an Interior Painting Business Paint Your Walls in Rich, Dark Colours

Ask any interior painting business, and they will tell you they’ve seen it all—because they have. Walls in the wildest colours, patterns, and shades; anything the customer wants! But one thing many people can’t seem to reconcile is the idea of dark, rich colours in residential painting. Well, we’re here to change that by making the case for why you should consider chocolate browns, navy blues, charcoal greys, deep purples, and more. We guarantee, by the end of this article, you’ll want to come over to the dark side.

It Needs to Be the Right Room

Right off the bat, a dark colour can create a feeling of drama, or intimacy, but seldom a feeling of boredom. Before you do anything else, you need to pick the right room to exercise these effects on—a den quickly becomes a parlour, or a bedroom a chamber, when decked out in deep, rich, dark tones, so choose wisely before beginning your residential painting project.

Go for Contrast

A room that is nothing but dark colours quickly becomes as dull as a room that is nothing but white—only with a greater potential to become dim and depressing. Instead, use a dark colour to offset lighter shades throughout the room. One of the easiest ways to do this is by leaving trims and molds white or a lighter colour (or turning the tables and using a bold shade on the trims to add some light to a room). An interior painting business can also use colours to highlight bright architectural features, accent pieces, mirrors, window hangings, or art, creating balance.

Always Be Mindful of Lighting

What’s the biggest difference between baby blue and navy blue? Apart from being drastically different shades, poorly-lit navy blue can easily appear to be dull, colourless, or even black (which itself is a bold colour choice when done right, but if you had wanted black walls, you wouldn’t have painted them navy blue). The right lighting—including lamps, fixtures, and natural light sources—makes a world of difference, bringing out the detail in your colour palette, and making it look its best.

Hold Nothing Back

In residential painting, there are very few truly bad ideas (though, trust us, they’re out there). Mostly, there are just poorly-executed ideas. Choose a room, choose a dark shade that creates the feeling you’re going for, and make a plan. Decide how to balance out light and dark, how to light it, whether you want a dark accent or the whole room, and once you know all these details, go for it. After all, it’s your vision, and an interior painting business will be glad to help breathe life into it, no matter how bold.

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Painting And Decorating

Most of us like to draw and paint. Some of us are born artist while some of us are just fun painters. Now days one can find several kinds of painting books in the market. These painting books provide you with steps by steps guidelines to improve your drawing and painting skills. One of such types of painting book is Tole painting book.

Initially one needed to have natural skills to learn the art of Tole painting. But today even a fresher can learn the skill of painting, considering the number of painting books in the market.

Tole painting is an art of decorative painting of metallic objects like tins, coffeepots, and other similar household items. This folk art began in the 18th century in New England. The paintings are a wonderful artwork done on the surfaces of many metal objects.

And so today one can find number of online stores that provide such painting books. These painting books consist of many decorative and elegant paintings. The painting book also contains many beautiful displays of art for art lovers.

One can learn the art of original paintings, decorative paintings, patterns, pattern packets, and many more things like instructions, tutorials, artistic ideas and inspirations, through this book. This book comes with many delicate designs of soft and pretty color. What else, there are step by step instructions of all illustration, pattern, color mixing recipes, etc. in this book. The book will provide you with many unique ideas for Xmas painting.

These books also contain number of attractive painting patterns. For instance, there are patterns available for different designs and moods. Also, there are many country tole patterns, holidays' patterns and many folk art patterns. You will be introduced to the important techniques, tools and equipment required for the painting.

Painting And Decorating Find more on: http://www.wimbledonpainters.co.uk/

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Home Designs

So when you redesign your home, what exactly should you do to it? If you're short on inspiration, here are a few ideas to get you started.

The place where many people like to really go to town with their design ideas is in babies' and children's rooms – you can paint them bright colours, do imaginative pictures of fantasy environments, draw pictures of the child's favourite characters from books and TV, and so much more besides. If you do this, why not let the child join in with the painting and show you what they want, with you just being there to help make their decoration dreams come true. However, a thing to be careful of is to keep redecorating their room as they get older – you don't need them to be embarrassed to bring around friends when they are a teenager because of their babyishly coloured room.

Another idea could be to make an 'outdoors' house, taking inspiration from your garden in how to design your home. This means lots of greens and blues, lots of plants, outdoor fragrances, lots of windows – a real outdoor feel indoors.

Indeed, the best way to design a home yourself is often to just pick a theme and take it as far as it will go. I know a couple with a 'space house', complete with portraits of rockets and black ceilings with painted stars – it sounds silly, but it's really interesting to look at. Whatever you're passionate about, make your house show it.

Don't forget, though, that redecorating doesn't have to be all about tearing things down and buying new stuff. You can get a long way with a few posters, ornaments, or just reorganising or repainting your furniture. You really don't need to break the bank and hire a handyman to get your ideal home, as a little work can go a long way.

Home Designs Read more on: Wimbled Painters Plasterer Service

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