Sharing their creative vision with clients is one of the most crucial things interior designers do. Helping clients clearly see and feel how you re-imagine their space gets them closer to saying ‘yes,’ and avoids misunderstandings that may arise once their renovation is underway. At Houzz Pro, our integrated set of tools use the latest technology, take the guesswork out of visualization and are simple to use so both you and your clients are happy.

Here, we share how designers use the collection of Houzz Pro visualization tools: Room Scanner + LiDAR; 3D Floor Planner; Life-Sized Walkthrough; Product Clipper & Mood Boards, and our newest feature, Selection Boards. Learn how to use the tools with ease and view video demos of each one in action.

1. Measure a Room in Minutes

LiDAR is the latest and greatest scanning capability for the Houzz Pro 3D Floor Planner. 

• Automatically captures room measurements, detects walls, furniture and more so you can create 2D and 3D floor plans at lightning fast speed.
• Reduces the need to return for additional measurements.
• Upload, edit and share floor plans via a desktop computer.
• Coming Soon: The ability to upload existing floor plans too.

How it Works            

•  LiDAR technology is available on iPhone Pro models 12 and higher and iPad Pro 2020 or newer models.
•  Scan a room by gently moving your iPad or iPhone up and down.
•  Capture every angle and watch floor plans and furniture come to life before your eyes.

What Pros Say: “I used the Houzz Pro Room Scanner with LiDAR, it was mind blowing! We are promoting to our clients that we use the most advanced technology here and this is a highlight.”

- Sandia Krauss, LUXE Designers Group

Learn More: Watch How to Scan a Room Using LiDAR Technology 

2. A Faster 3D Floor Planner

The Houzz Pro 3D Floor Planner is one of the most popular tools among interior designers because it is a fast way to get conceptual and schematic designs in front of their clients with high quality 2D and 3D visuals. We know that homeowners often have trouble visualizing the end state of their project so having a 3D floor plan that you can share with them and look at together is a great way to get them to that point. 

• Speed up decision making by getting a shareable design faster than using a more traditional desktop CAD software.
• Align with clients on the design vision by providing a 3D walk through even before you present a formal proposal and save time over the life of the project.
• Differentiate your business in the minds of homeowners with the high-tech professional tools that today’s sophisticated clients expect. 
• Use the 3D Floor Planner to get client approval on the overall, final design.

How it Works 

• Select, draw and zoom in and out to add walls and measurements.
• Drag and drop doors, windows, staircases and other features from a wide selection of styles.
• Add generic or Houzz products such as sectionals, coffee tables, lighting, and more.
• Change wall colors. Houzz Pro partners with both Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams so you can search paint colors by SKU numbers.
• Choose from tiles, rugs and wood options to create flooring details.
• View in 2D or the dollhouse option and send to clients so they can interact with it too. 

What Pros Say: “We love using the 3D Floor Planner because it is easy to use. It takes ⅓ of the time to create a concept and put together a layout vs. other tools. This means that we can go from measurements to floor plan quickly, and often have something to share with clients the same day.”

- Victoria Ray, Featherlane Design Co.

3. Make Your Walkthroughs Life-Sized & Authentic

Imagination becomes reality with AR Life-Sized Walkthroughs because they show clients your new proposed design in the backdrop of their actual space. Having AR capability on your everyday device isn’t just a competitive advantage. It can help get buy-in form clients faster and prevent design, communication and costly changes. 

• Wow clients and convey your design vision with this Augmented Reality view.
• Convey the big picture and even the smallest design detail in an authentic way.
• See the new design come to life against the backdrop of a client’s current space so they can better envision the plan and feel ready to give final approval faster.

How it Works

• Go to the Houzz Pro Mobile App and select your 3D floorplan
• Press the AR button next to the floorplan
• Point your device around the room you are in and the 3D floor plan will be overlaid into the real world space

Learn More: Watch How to use the Houzz Pro Life-Sized Walkthrough 

4. Why Designers Love Houzz Pro Product Clipper & Mood Boards

Two of the most beloved Houzz Pro tools go hand in hand: The Product Clipper and Mood Boards. They work seamlessly together. The Product Clipper lets you skip the cut and paste routine so you can visit any website and start clipping images, descriptions, dimensions, SKUs and more to add to your Houzz Pro Product Library, Mood Boards, Selection Boards (see next section for more information) and more.

• Clip product images, information, price, description and more from any website.
• Quickly and easily add clipped items to Selection Boards, Mood Boards, tear sheets, proposals and other relevant client communications.
• Automate the process of online product sourcing.
  - Automatically calculate product markups in proposals
• Integrate the Product Clipper and Mood Boards directly into your design and workflow so you never duplicate the effort.
• Use visuals instead of spreadsheets to create your vision and let clients sign off on the products you have clipped and sent them in your Mood Boards.
• Save clipped products in your Houzz Pro Product Library to use again

How it Works

• Download the Houzz Pro Product Clipper from the Chrome web browser.
• Hover over the image of a product, like a sofa, on your favorite vendor website and click on the leaf icon.
• Choose up to five images per product to add to your Product Library or Mood Board.
• Decide which details you want to include for the product
• Use the powerful layering and background removal to add products, directly to a room, add paint swatches and other images to your Mood Board. Resize and rearrange to meet your goals.

What Pros Say: “The Product Clipper is a blessing that has made our lives way easier. Before Houzz Pro and the Product Clipper we were using spreadsheets, the clients couldn't see the items and they’d have to click on links. Now, I love that you can clip items and they’ll appear directly in your Selections Board.”

- Asisat Edu, DIH Designs

Learn More: Watch this demo of how Product Clipper and Mood Boards work together seamlessly

5. Bring it all Together with Selection Boards

One of the newer Houzz Pro features, Selection Boards combines a workspace along with presentation so interior designers can go from concept, to presentation to client approval all in one place. Streamline communication, manage expectations and control your client’s experience with Selection Boards. 

• Use the budget tracker to work with your team to determine how different price points impact the overall budget.
• Streamline communication by letting your team and clients leave comments on specific products within the Selections Board. Make updates based on the feedback to keep the process moving along.
• Control how much information you want your clients to see
• Focus the attention of clients on specific aspects of the design such as the areas still awaiting their sign off.  

How it Works

• Add products from your Product Clipper, Product Library, 3D Floor Plan, Mood Boards and more.
• Quickly convert your projects. Turn any Selections Board into a professionally branded proposal or invoice.
• Share your Selections Board with clients either directly through email or text links or through the Houzz Pro Client Dashboard

What Pros Say:

“I love how in the Selections Board you can add multiple products for clients to approve or decline. For instance, you can add a few lamp options that they choose from, and see them approve and decline the lamps they want. It’s an amazing function to have!”

- Andrea Martoccia, Motivo Home Design

Learn More: Watch a demo of Houzz Pro Selection Boards in action.

Watch & Share: See our complete webinar on Visualize This! How designers use Houzz Pro Visualization Tools and pass it along.