Industry professionals now have to opportunity to quickly gain insight into their level of business credibility online with the Houzz Pro online impact score. Based on an analysis of nearly one million professionals worldwide, including designers, builders and speciality contractors, the score reflects the strength of your website and Houzz profile. Houzz provides the total score and a breakdown of its components, as well as a benchmark against the top 10% of pros in each category.
In March 2021, Houzz conducted a survey of more than 500 homeowners who were planning, in the middle of, or had completed a renovation within the past two years. The survey found that online credibility is a significant factor in homeowners’ hiring decisions, with two-thirds reporting that a pro’s online presence, along with the ability to offer remote collaboration tools, are major determinants.
Photography: Charles Deluvio
“The home renovation industry is booming, but our research shows that a majority of pros could attract and close more of the work they really want,” says Tony Been, ANZ managing director at Houzz.
Even among homeowners who rely on word-of-mouth referrals to find pros, more than two in five reported that they conduct additional research, including reviewing their business website and profile, reviews and project portfolio, before deciding to make contact.
Photography: Daniel McCullough
“Even pros who rely on word-of-mouth referrals may miss out on significant new business opportunities, since those prospects conduct additional research to confirm the recommendation before reaching out,” Tony explains. “With a more credible online presence, they’ll build a stronger pipeline for the long-term.”
The Houzz survey also uncovered the key factors impacting homeowners’ decisions to hire specific professionals for their project. Top priorities included pricing within their budget, communication and organisation skills, and availability.
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As most of you know, I’m knee-deep in renovations at my house, so I thought I’d put together a list of handy online tools to help you plan and execute yours! I hope you find them useful.
Hipages
If you know tradies or have handy relatives, lucky you! I do not! When it comes to getting a job done at my house, it’s a bit like the blind leading the blind with my husband and I. This is why I love and use Hipages all the time. You hear so many horror stories about cowboys, that you want to feel secure you’re not being ripped off by rogue tradies. Hipages puts you in touch with three licensed trades for three free fast quotes for your job, whether it be painting, paving, garden maintenance or window-cleaning (I have personally used Hipages to find someone for all four things and more!). The best bit is you get to see their ratings and recommendations from other users. And Hipages make sure they are licensed for you. One less thing to worry about. I have hand on heart had nothing but good experiences hiring trades via this site. And there’s an app too which make it even easier. And in case you were wondering, the ‘Hi’ stands for home improvement! Get the app.
Beaumont Tiles’ What’s My Style app
Beaumonts What’s My Style helps identify your style from the top 10 global interior design trends based on your personal tastes and responses to a two-minute quiz.It’s like having your own personal stylist to help you nail the current trends with complete confidence, no matter your budget. It then recommends an on-trend style guide to achieve your designer look, of must-haves for each room including colours, stand-out furnishings, signature fittings, tiles and bathroomware, all curated to evoke creativity and design flair. Get the app.
Latitude Financial Services website
Latitude have some great online tools to help you work out which loan or card would work best for you and your circumstances. There’s also a personal loan repayment calculator and a handy budget planner to make sure you don’t borrow more than you can comfortably afford. Visit Latitude’s website.
If you’re thinking about financing your reno but worried you might get in over your head, check out this video with Jen and Jess Aloi from Latitude. It contains some great advice about how to borrow responsibly.
Reece Bathrooms’ 3D Planner
Reece marketing manager Belinda Geels said that making the bathroom design experience as easy and visual as possible was key to this online tool’s development. As well as allowing users to select from the entire range of Reece bathroom products and preview how they’ll look, the 3D Bathroom Planner also lets you choose fittings, lighting and tiles to complete the look. Read more.
Here’s a short video about how it works:
The Houzz app
This one’s all about inspiration! Browse more than 14 million high-resolution photos of home interiors and exteriors. Choose by style, location or room, such as kitchen or bathroom. Save and share photos with friends, family and home professionals and then even use the Sketch feature to annotate and draw directly on photos from Houzz. What’s more, you can connect with over 1.5 million active home improvement professionals, including architects, general contractors, interior decorators, repair professionals and more, to find the right person for your project. Get the app.
Findanarchitect.com.au
This tool, from the Australian Institute of Architects, helps you find the right architect for your job. There’s also lots of information on what architects actually do and why you might need to use them. Visit the site.
Naomifindlay.com
Naomi Findlay is Australia’s rapid renovation expert and a regular contributor here and on our sister site Reno Addict. Check out her site for free downloads, advice articles and to find out when she’s next speaking at a city near you. Visit the site.
Taubmans’ Paint Planner Tool
The Taubmans Paint Planner is designed to do the thinking for you. It will put together a customised list of everything you’ll need for your paint project; from what materials to buy to how long it will take. You might be surprised at how quickly your room can be transformed! There’s also online colour charts (although these should be sued as a guide only), painting tips and a paint calculator. Check it out.
IKEA Place augmented reality app
Coming soon, this app from IKEA will let you visualise what furniture will look like in your own home. We think this will be particularly useful when designing your open plan spaces. Read more.
Pinterest
And last but not least, I can’t finish an article about where to go online for help planning your reno without pointing out the obvious! Pinterest is, in my view, the best starting point for inspiration and getting ideas. You can use this on desktop or download the app. And it’s great for creating your own online moodboards which you can easily share with others. Visit the site.
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We hope you found this guide useful. Let us know in the comments if we’ve missed any great online tools!
To help Australians breathe new life into their interiors this spring, Taubmans — in collaboration with Colour Creative Director and Brand Ambassador, Shaynna Blaze — have unveiled the Taubmans Transformation Tools. The suite of clever digital tools will help DIYers with every step of their painting journey, from picking a colour, choosing the best product and preparing, to painting, cleaning up and styling the finished look.
Spring is the perfect time to shake off the winter cobwebs, embrace a positive transformation and create a fresh new look in the home. However, a national survey* of over 1,500 Australians uncovered that nearly half (47%) of people feel that they lack the skills to accomplish a painting task as well as they’d like, and 37% say that when it comes to painting and decorating, they need all the help they can get.
Taubmans has come to the rescue and created the Transformation Tools to give consumers extra help to get started with their paint and decorating projects. One inclusion is the Paint Planner, an innovative, industry-first tool that takes the pain out of planning, and provides users with bespoke, step-by-step plans for their painting project, from start to finish.
The research also found that over 70% of respondents don’t like paying people to do things they can do themselves. Taubmans Transformation Tools aim to give much-needed confidence and inspiration to Australians embarking on an interior or exterior overhaul so they can relish in the accomplishment of doing it themselves.
With hours of hands-on painting experience on hit renovation TV shows, Shaynna Blaze understands the need to educate and motivate Australia to tackle their projects in the home, and says that spring is the perfect time to make a change. “Everyone is familiar with the traditional notion of spring cleaning, but the start of the new season can also be the perfect time to give your home a fresh new look to leave you feeling invigorated and energised. However, not everyone has the know-how to take on an interior or exterior transformation. That’s why I’ve worked with Taubmans to create expert guidance for DIYers of all levels – from first-timers to experienced painters.”
The suite of Taubmans Transformation Tools has been launched on the newly refurbished Taubmans website and includes:
• Paint Planner – a step-by-step plan to help users plan their painting projects, with a tailored timeline and shopping list to set them up for success
• ‘How To’ videos starring Shaynna Blaze – 12 videos that provide all the information, tricks and tips needed at every step of the painting journey, like how to select paint colours, how to prep a room for painting and how to paint
• Paint Your Own Room Tool – an easy way to visualise a colour in a space by uploading an image of a room and then digitally re-colouring the walls to compare potential options “With Taubmans new tools and inspiration, Australians can feel confident in their abilities to pick up a paintbrush and tackle projects to create a fresh, new feeling in their home,” says Shaynna.
Nadine Miller-Vachon, Marketing Director, Taubmans explains: “Our research has highlighted the need for functional and fun tools to arm Australians with the knowledge and confidence to get their paint projects started this spring. “With the constant evolution of online and social media sites, we know that people are looking to the web more and more for inspiration, tips and tools to help them complete their DIY dreams. That’s why it was important for us to develop a suite of digital tools on the Taubmans site that consumers can rely on for support throughout their painting journey.”
To try the new Taubmans Transformation Tools and get more expert decorating tips and tricks from Shaynna, visit www.taubmans.com.au
*Research completed in April 2015. A national online survey was conducted with 1,679 respondents. Participants were a representative sample of Australian residents, aged 18 or older and who have conducted a home painting project in the past two years.
Renovators will be able to save time, money and stress, thanks to the new one-stop home improvement shop launched by the NSW Government’s Department of Planning and Environment.
The new PlanningHub, which is a collection of ePlanning tools, aims to slash red tape. Making it easier to understand whether adding straightforward features to your home needs planning approval, or you can just get straight into it.
So, whether you want to update your bathroom, add another level to your home or build a deck, the PlanningHub will make understanding the complying development options, a lot easier.
