Seedrs Alum Houseology.com Introduces Three Services As it Builds Interior Design Community

Following the closing of its highly successful Seedrs initiative, UK-based Houesology.com announced it is launching three new services as it builds its digital Interior Design Community.

Formerly known as Occa-Home, Houseology.com was founded in 2010 by Kate Mooney, who notably saw an opportunity to open up her design studio to the digital world, offering tools and advice to consumers and access for trade customers to an unrivalled number of designer brands and dedicated interior design services.

These services are the following:

• Designers’ Directory: Building on the existing Houseology Trade Community, this is a unique listing of Houseology approved interior designers, architects and contractors, all Trade customers of Houseology, brought together to showcase their work and services. Each listing gives the designer a full profile and portfolio.
• My Houseology: A social collaboration that empowers customers to become product stylists and share their creativity and style with the growing Houseology Community. My Houseology encourages users to share images of recent purchases for a chance to win £500 worth of Houseology vouchers each month. Users can browse the inspirational gallery of images where products are tagged for easy shopping access and images are published on product pages with their creator’s name.
• Student Travel Scholarship: Completing the circle and supporting the next generation of interior design talent, the annual scholarship has been developed in collaboration with heads of department of some of the UK’s most successful design schools. With a prestigious judging panel, it will give interior design students the opportunity to win a £4,000 Interior Design Travel Scholarship, enabling them to gain invaluable experience and an unrivalled network of contacts, going behind-the-scenes at some of the world’s leading design brands. The runner-up will enjoy a summer internship at Occa Design, Houseology’s hotel design business. Every entrant will also be given a personal profile on the Houseology website, showcasing their portfolio and CV and exposing them to millions of Houseology visitors annually – many of whom will be potential clients or future employers

Mooney stated:

“The huge rise in popularity of interior blogging as well as apps such as Pinterest and Instagram prove that it’s not just professionally styled photos that people are looking for. Making choices for your home is an incredibly personal choice and people are seeking as much peer-to-peer information as possible to make informed decisions. With images being sent through to our customer service team from proud and happy customers every day, it became clear to us that our customers themselves are often the best source of inspiration, reminding us frequently what a talented group of photographers they can be too.”

She continued:

“With the Millennial Generation forecast to have record breaking purchasing power [$1.4 trillion by 2020] and already spending up to 5 hours a day on content created by their peers, we believe that this type of social interaction is one of the best ways to respond to our customers developing needs, We’re building a trusted community and hub of authentic content to ensure that we are where they need us to be and delivering what they are looking for.”

She then added: