Suggested Reading

 I have a book recommendation for you all if you are interested in Atlanta's history, "Formula For Fortune" by Ann Uhry Abrams, about the historic Candler family of Atlanta and how they made and spent their fortune.

I am not an Atlanta native so there was a lot in the book I was completely unaware of or unfamiliar with.  You don't have to be a history buff to enjoy the book, it has murder, law suits and infidelities, but most importantly, you will recognize many names and places and hopefully it will encourage you to go visit the landmarks created by this family.

  

I had previously read "The House The Rockefellers Built" by Robert F. Dalzell and Lee Baldwin Dalzell which describes the architectural journey of Kykuit, the famous Rockefeller home in the Hudson Valley and "Fortune's Children" by Arthur T. Vanderbilt II which spends a lot of time recounting their architectural extravagances.  Little did I know, the Candlers rivaled these families in their spending.  Where Nelson Rockefeller spent his money on art, Asa "Buddy" Candler spent his money on animals for his own private zoo.  A family tree would be helpful throughout both of these books as the family names are re-purposed in a different order and different combinations from generation to generation. 

I highly recommend it!!!  I think you will also enjoy the other books I mentioned so check them out and let me know what you think.  Please send me any recommendations you have.

 

Happy reading!

"Why We Keep Clothes We Never Wear"

Here is something lighthearted for your Monday morning.  I came across this article this morning in The Guardian magazine and it will either make you breathe a sigh of relief, that you aren't alone, or you might recognize some early signs of hoarding.

We all have a closet full of clothes that we never wear, mine are spread across three closets.  I liked the comparison of the closet to a library.  Let me know how you identify with this article!

http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/costume-and-culture/2013/aug/05/why-we-keep-clothes-never-wear

Happy Monday!!

The advantages of Houzz.com from a business perspective

I have had several of my clients ask if there is a real advantage to creating a presence on Houzz.com.  When you visit the site, you will probably find images of your work already there, uploaded from other sites, with no mention of your name.  Why not have your profile on sites like Houzz and Pinterest where you can properly label the images with your company information and any information about the project and even credit those who worked with you on the project.  Don't forget your photographers.

I tuned in to a webinar today on Houzz that describes the "new, empowered client".  There were a lot of statistics presented that I thought a lot of my clients would find interesting.  Here are a few tidbits....

They did a survey with existing houzzers and found that most people don't search for their ideas and inspiration in magazines anymore.  They found that 67% of the people they surveyed used houzz.com and only 11% referenced magazines and as little as 4% took referrals from friends and family.

Those who were planning to embark on a home project in the next year or two were for the majority (72%) planning to re-decorate while 40% were planning to add on or renovate.  Only 10% were planning to build from scratch.

Of the areas in the house to be renovated, the kitchen was number 1 with an approximate budget of 27 K.  The areas with the smallest allotted budget were floor or wall replacements and the addition of an exterior structure like a deck.

The professional hired the most was the General Contractor and what I found interesting is that 43% of the projects went over their remodel budget and 18% didn't even have a budget.

There is so much more information in the webinar specific to various professionals, and it is only around 25 minutes long.

My takeaway is that if you are a builder, kitchen designer, or interior designer, you should definitely be on houzz.com from reading these statistics.  As for every other professional in the design, architecture and built environment, you should also be on houzz.com because the more exposure the better, especially if you link to your website, facebook, linkedin and twitter accounts.

A good example for you to look at is the ROMA houzz profile that I have worked on for over a year now.  It is full of projects, great images and lots of information about the projects, who executed them and who photographed them as well.  http://www.houzz.com/pro/romabio/roma-ecosustainable-building-technologies

Here is the link to the webinar, http://info.houzz.com/proswebinar, and I hope this information has been helpful.