In addition to answering customer calls and making sales, employees in Nashville’s new Houzz offices are kicking back on the rooftop deck, enjoying greenery in the conservatory and hunkering down in the library. As I chatted with Head of Marketplace Operations Lisa Rambo in the conference room, I couldn’t help but admire the clawfoot tub, sink and shelving stocked with cotton balls and bath fizzies — clearly we were in the master bathroom.
Houzz occupies 65,000 square feet across the 24th, 25th and 26th floors of the UBS Tower in downtown Nashville. A home remodeling and design resource, Houzz announced their move to Music City early in 2017. Founded in Palo Alto, California in 2009 by Adi Tatarko and Alon Cohen, the company has experienced unprecedented growth. Now with offices around the world, including London, Berlin, Sydney, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and now Nashville, the company only continues to grow.
In Nashville alone, Houzz plans to double their team size to over 400 people in the next 12 months. Nashville-based employees cover the area of customer support and sales, but positions in logistics and account management are also becoming available. The Houzz community is based online and on a mobile app and gives shoppers and customers access to home improvement professionals, home design inspiration and a marketplace of home products.
“In Nashville, we are working to provide an office space that aligns with our brand, but also to create a space that feels like home for our employees. Each room is inspired by rooms in an actual home, and this gives people a sense of comfort and the ability to feel relaxed and comfortable in the space — this is an instrumental part of our company culture,” Lisa explains. In considering the space, designers landed on an open-concept office. At the heart of each floor, employees fill cubicles. It is here that the customer support and sales team spend the majority of their time on the phone. Framing the central work space are smaller rooms designed for meetings large and small, private phone calls and quiet work. These rooms — with themes like pool deck, kid’s room, art studio, loft and tool shed — provide the office with a home-y feel. “We want to provide a place where people are excited to come to work and to be a part of Houzz. Nashville has been a good fit for us, and we have been able to hire great, talented people to support our Houzz community,” Lisa tells us.
An internal team of designers are to thank for the stylish space. They utilized inspiration from the Houzz community, shopped in the Houzz marketplace and looked to Nashville for local influence. Today, we take a look at the 24th and 25th floors (the 26th floor is expected to be complete in April).
Houzz’s 24th Floor Offices
Aside from the master bathroom conference room, the 24th floor is home to nine offices: beach deck, southwest room, mod lounge, Russian den, break room, rooftop deck, music room, kid’s room and Spanish kitchen. In each of these rooms, the attention to detail is unbelievable. Not only does the beach deck feature a mural of an East Coast beach, but it also has dune fencing with real sea grass and sand and towels hanging on the wall. The rooftop deck features a croquet set, grill and string lighting. See for yourself how thoughtful design and personal touches make this the work place of everyone’s dreams.
Houzz’s 25th Floor Offices
A trip up the stairs brings you to the game room with a ping-pong table for a conference table, breakfast nook, Italian terrace with functioning fountain, British library with a classic telephone booth, brightly colored art studio, loft with spiral staircase, attic, Houzz on wheels, tool shed, kitchen, plant-filled conservatory, pool deck and mountain cabin. The imaginative spaces are simply amazing. “Aesthetically, the rooms look like a home, but they are also designed to function as work spaces,” Lisa says. The rooms are rarely seen by outside customers and clients, meaning the space was designed with employees in mind.
Between the 24th and 25th floors, 23 rooms in the home are represented — 21 more than in our own home. We can only image what they will dream up for the 26th floor!
Learn more about Houzz, shop their marketplace and find area professionals to help with home projects big and small, here.
A big thank you to Caroline Sharpnack for the photos that showcase the Houzz office spaces!
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For more home and office design inspiration, click here.
