DIYWEEK.net

The online home improvement and design platform will welcome the public to browse and buy its products via a new pop-up shop, DreamHouzz, in London over the next 10 days.

Described by Houzz UK managing director Marcus Hartwell as, “a new way to do retail,” DreamHouzz features eight dedicated room-sets created by designers on Houzz’s database and styled around different customer types, from ‘millennial flatmates’ to a ‘modern family’.

The event, set in a Bermondesy warehouse - the old tannery - is free for anyone to attend, with Houzz promoting the pop-up on social media, as well as inviting customers along by email. Everything in the room-sets can be bought and is displayed with tags giving product information and prices.

With the launch, Houzz is effectively creating a showroom; giving  customers the chance to touch, feel and enjoy the products before making a purchase – something they would not usually have the opportunity to do shopping via the online platform.

A bank of computers then allows visitors to complete their purchase on site and with the help of the Houzz team, who are on hand to curate the room sets or offer advice and support throughout the transactional process.

And, for those who can’t get along to the pop-up, they can still view the room sets and shop the look online via the Houzz website.

MD Marcus Hartwell explained that the new launch follows on from the ‘Houzz of 2018’ event the company ran earlier this year when they transformed a townhouse in Soho into a house into a showroom of products available via houzz.co.uk, including a fully-kitted kitchen and bathroom.

He said: “We said after the Houzz of2018 that there was an appetite for this. At DreamHouzz, inspiration meets shopping. It’s a new way to do retail.”

He continued: “It’s not an exhibition, it’s an immersive experience – people can sit on the sofas, lie on the beds and pick up and touch the products. It also plays with all the senses, with fragrances across every room and food being served. We have, hopefully, created a destination where people can spend hours.”

The immersive experience Mr Hartwell refers to has been enhanced by scent, music and food, including a partnership with Whole Foods Market, serving organic coffee and a selection of healthy snacks in the DreamHouzz café.

Sponsors of the event include UK Flooring Direct and Dulux, the latter of which worked with designers who used the palettes of its new Colour of the Year, Spiced Honey, to decorate the interior spaces. Whilst Dulux paint still isn’t available to buy on houzz.co.uk, the technology from its Visializer app is available on the site when viewing inspirational décor and design images, with users able to match Dulux paint colours to the items they are viewing and order a tester pot to be sent out to them.

Another inspiration behind the creation of DreamHouzz, said Mr Hartwell, was a recent survey of Houzz’s online community to find out what a ‘dream home’ really means to homeowners and renters. As a result, each of the eight creative spaces includes furniture and design accessories to reflect the findings of the survey. For example, according to the research, the items in the home that made homeowners feel most content were comfy furniture (70%), artwork (54%), houseplants (47%) and cosy touches such as candles and blankets (43%). The continued demand and love for houseplants has also led to Houzz teaming up with online plant retailer, Patch.

Another interesting statistic to arise from the research was that 66% of the 2,560 users who responded to the survey said their homes were not completed yet, showing there is still very much an appetite for home enhancement.

The pop-up shop, located on 47 Tanner Street, opened to the public between 12pm-9pm today and, will thereafter, be open daily between 10am-9pm, until September 30.