The Houzz community has spoken! Today, we announced the ninth annual Best of Houzz awards, a homeowner-to-homeowner guide to the top residential remodeling professionals on Houzz, including kitchen and bath remodelers, architects, interior designers, landscape pros, and more.
This exclusive award recognizes just three percent of the more than 2.5 million active home professionals and interior and architectural photographers on the Houzz platform and is awarded annually in three categories: Design, Customer Service and Photography.*
Below, a few pros reflect on what it means to receive the Best of Houzz award alongside the designs that earned them the coveted 2020 award from the Houzz community.
© Niche Interiors (Designer); Landscape Architect: Terra Ferma Landscapes; R. Brad Knipstein Photography
San Francisco-based Niche Interiors has consistently been awarded Best of Houzz for both design and service since 2012. Principal designer Jennifer Jones says, “The Best of Houzz program makes a big impact in lending credibility to our company. It’s significant because it follows a very democratic approach to evaluating our work based on what is resonating among a wider audience rather than a small panel of judges. That carries a lot of weight for a designer.”
© PBC Design + Build (Builder); Photographer: Crystal Glass
Dave Spetrino, president of PBC Design + Build in Wilmington, NC, reflects on the impact to his team. “I can tell my team that they are doing a great job, but when an organization we hold with such high regard provides that validation for their hard work through the Best of Houzz awards, my whole company swells with satisfaction. Their heads are higher, their smiles are brighter and they get the opportunity to shine.”
© Crisp Architects (Architect); Photographer: Rob Karosis; Designer: Chango and Co.
“Best of Houzz is a confirmation that the work we’re doing and the effort we’re putting in is being appreciated,” says Jimmy Crisp, founder of Crisp Architects in Millbrook, NY. He views his Houzz profile as an active portfolio with a complete repository of his work and recommends that other architects find a good photographer to capture their projects.
© Friedman & Shields (Designer); Photographer: Scott Sandler
Traci Friedman, owner of Friedman & Shields in Scottsdale, AZ, found photographer Scott Sandler Photographic on Houzz to help capture the serene atmosphere of this bedroom retreat. “Best of Houzz is unique because it’s not just consumers saving photos of your designs to ideabooks, but other professionals — your peers — as well. To be selected by these groups among the millions of photos on Houzz is a fantastic recognition.”
© Martha O’Hara Interiors (Designer); Photographer: Troy Thies
Kate O’Hara sees the Best of Houzz badges, along with the more than 150 five-star average reviews on the Minneapolis-based, Martha O’Hara Interiors profile page, as immediate signifiers to potential clients of the quality of design and customer service they would provide if hired for a project. She believes that her design photos stand out to the community because her team “aims to create images that tell a story. Our job is to connect with every potential client, and Houzz is a great platform for achieving this.”
© Outdoor Dreams (Landscape Architect); Photographer: Becky Rees
“Getting the Best of Houzz service award is a credibility badge,” says Greg Koehler, owner and lead designer of Outdoor Dreams in Richmond, VA. “We’re nothing without the trust of our clients, so the reviews we receive from them mean the world to me. We’re all being pulled in a thousand directions and the fact that our client is willing to take the time to sit down and write a review. It means we’re doing something right.”
To see the most popular home designs on Houzz visit: houzz.com/best-of-houzz-2020. Curious about how to get noticed by the Houzz community for Best of Houzz 2021? Check out this article for tips!
*Design awards honor professionals whose work was the most popular among the Houzz community. Customer Service honors are based on several factors, including a professional’s overall rating on Houzz and client reviews submitted in 2019. Photography badges are awarded to architecture and interior design photographers whose images were most popular.
Lead Photo credit: Solitude Homes