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How Quickly Our Brains Can Redefine Normality
So let me show you how quickly our brains can redefine normality, even at the simplest thing the brain does, which is color. I want you to first notice that those two desert scenes are physically the same. One is simply the flipping of the other. Okay? Now I want you to look at that dot between the green and the red. Okay? And I want you to stare at that dot. Don't look anywhere else. And we're going to look at that for about 30 seconds.
And I'll tell you -- don't look anywhere else -- and I'll tell you what's happening inside your head. Your brain is learning. And it's learning that the right side of its visual fieldis under red illumination; the left side of its visual field is under green illumination. That's what it's learning. Okay? Now, when I tell you, I want you to look at the dot between the two desert scenes. So why don't you do that now?
Your brain is seeing that same information as if the right one is still under red light, and the left one is still under green light. That's your new normal.
So, what does this mean for context? It means that I can take these two identical squares, and I can put them in light and dark surrounds. And now the one on the dark surround looks lighter than the one on the light surround. What's significant is not simply the light and dark surrounds that matter. It's what those light and dark surrounds meant for your behavior in the past.
Notan – A Term That Architectural Illustrators Should Know
For many architecture friends, the line between engineering and art can be very blurred. A well designed building is one that is highly functional, sturdy, and of course, breathtakingly beautiful. Buildings designed with artistic finesse will often have excellent use of trusses, the Golden Ratio, and color theory. When you take a look at a photo featuring architecture of famous buildings, you can also see another element of design and aesthetics that many people overlook – notan.
Haven’t heard of Notan? You are not alone. This term is used in Japan as a way to describe a perfect harmony between white and black in artwork, especially when it is used as the foundation of a piece of artwork. Notan is a stark black-and-white contrast that reaches the core of the work of art, and it is something that can be witnessed when you look at the photo of a well-designed building. Notan simplifies things into the solid shapes that are the very basis of the structure. Moreover, though the term itself is Japanese, the truth is that the Notan is a universal concept.
When every portion of the drawing, painting or photo is rendered into black and white, you get the purest example of Notan that you could have, and in many cases, it is one of the most striking ways to view artwork. Notan is known for bringing out the very basic skeleton and foundation of any artwork, primarily through the use of contrast between black and white. It turns the concrete into the abstract, adds depth to every design, and also can help emphasize the focal point in the work of art. Though Notan is regarded as an aspect of art that is relegated to just black and white, you can see a lot of the aspects of Notan as the display of the very basis of a piece of artwork with monochromatic pieces featuring 3 or 4 different shades of a single color.
In many ways, notan can be used to judge the foundation of the work of art or architectural design. The stronger the notan is in the design, the more aesthetically appealing a painting will usually be. The same idea can be used to help make decisions about an architectural rendering. This is because notan, in its rawest form, is the very bare bones of the work of art, be it an architectural rendering or a painting. With architectural renderings, notan can be used to emphasize sharp angles, deep cuts, and particular stylistic focal points.
Notan can be an architect’s best friend, despite the fact that most people in the architecture industry are unaware of this universal art idea. Black and white architectural renderings, be it done by pencil or CADD, can make a huge impression on both admirers of architecture and potential buyers, as well. If you are unsure about the way that your architectural rendering will be received, looking at the Notan of the rendering may yield flaws that would otherwise be difficult to find.
Construct GTC Teaser
Construct GTC Teaser from Kevin Margo on Vimeo.
CONSTRUCT is a Sci-Fi short film advancing the art of filmmaking, VFX and virtual production.
This teaser was presented as part of a tech demo at Nvidia's GTC conference March 25, 2014. This is a work in progress intended to illustrate recent advancements in graphics hardware and software capabilities.
Watch how we're pioneering new filmmaking and virtual production workflows.
youtube.com/watch?v=nnaz8q6FLCk
Special thanks to Chaos Group, NVIDIA, Boxx, OptiTrack, iTooSoft, Just Cause Entertainment and the AMAZINGLY TALENTED team of artists, actors and stunt performers who've supported this project.
1. Rendered using V-Ray RT GPU 3.0 for 3ds Max
2. Rendered with NVIDIA K6000s and K40s on 3DBOXX 4920 GPU Edition
3. Typical video RAM usage 6-7GB
4. Typical render time 5-10 minutes (DOF and motion blur are all rendered in camera)
CONSTRUCT in its entirety is coming soon...
For more info:
constructfilm.com/
facebook.com/constructfilm
twitter.com/MargoKevin
kevinmargo.com
Optical Illusions Show How We See
Beau Lotto's color games puzzle your vision, but they also spotlight what you can't normally see: how your brain works. This fun, first-hand look at your own versatile sense of sight reveals how evolution tints your perception of what's really out there.
“Beau Lotto is founder of Lottolab, a hybrid art studio and science lab. With glowing, interactive sculpture — and old-fashioned peer-reviewed research—he’s illuminating the mysteries of the brain’s visual system.”
Why you should listen
"Let there be perception," was evolution's proclamation, and so it was that all creatures, from honeybees to humans, came to see the world not as it is, but as was most useful. This uncomfortable place--where what an organism's brain sees diverges from what is actually out there--is what Beau Lotto and his team at Lottolab are exploring through their dazzling art-sci experiments and public illusions. Their Bee Matrix installation, for example, places a live bee in a transparent enclosure where gallerygoers may watch it seek nectar in a virtual meadow of luminous Plexiglas flowers. (Bees, Lotto will tell you, see colors much like we humans do.) The data captured isn't just discarded, either: it's put to good use in probing scientific papers, and sometimes in more exhibits.
At their home in London’s Science Museum, the lab holds "synesthetic workshops" where kids and adults make abstract paintings that computers interpret into music, and they host regular Lates--evenings of science, music and "mass experiments." Lotto is passionate about involving people from all walks of life in research on perception--both as subjects and as fellow researchers. One such program, called "i,scientist," in fact led to the publication of the first ever peer-reviewed scientific paper written by schoolchildren ("Blackawton Bees," December 2010). It starts, "Once upon a time ..."
These and Lotto's other conjurings are slowly, charmingly bending the science of perception--and our perceptions of what science can be.
What others say
"All his work attempts to understand the visual brain as a system defined, not by its essential properties, but by its past ecological interactions with the world. In this view, the brain evolved to see what proved useful to see, to continually redefine normality." —British Science Association
The Expert (Short Comedy Sketch)
Funny business meeting illustrating how hard it is for an engineer to fit into the corporate world! Starring: Orion Lee, James Marlowe, Abdiel LeRoy, Ewa Wojcik, Tatjana Sendzimir
- Written & Directed by Lauris Beinerts
- Based on a short story "The Meeting" by Alexey Berezin
- Produced by Connor Snedecor & Lauris Beinerts
- Director of Photography: Matthew Riley
- Sound Recordist: Simon Oldham
- Production Designer: Karina Beinerte
- 1st Assistant Director: James Hanline
- Make-up Artist: Emily Russell
- Editor: Connor Snedecor
- Sound Designer: James Bryant
- Colourist: Janis Stals
- Animator: Benjamin Charles
The original short story "The Meeting" (in Russian): http://alex-aka-jj.livejournal.com/66...
Are We Passing the Uncanny Valley?
Today, almost isn’t close enough and can hurt your presentation. People get an uneasy feeling, which some say is inherent in our nature, and inherently don’t like things that are almost real looking, but not close enough. Are we passing the Uncanny Valley?
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Build a Good Name
“Build a good name. Keep you name clean. Don’t make compromise. Don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful. Be concerned with doing good work... And if you can build a good name, eventually that will be it’s own currency ”
Augmented Reality for Architects and Contractors
Everyone knows virtual reality, but have you considered how augmented reality in architecture and construction could help your firm?
Augmented reality is a live, copied view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input. Virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one, whereas augmented reality takes the real world and adds to it with—in the case of architecture—a 3D model of your design.
With the help of advanced augmented-reality technology such as computer vision and object recognition, the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and able to be digitally manipulated. In augmented reality, computer software must derive real-world coordinates, independent from the camera or from camera images.
SmartReality augmented reality app from JBknowledge
Augmented reality is used in architecture and construction by placing a 3D model of a proposed design onto an existing space using mobile devices and 3D models. AR has been used in the video gaming and media entertainment for a much longer period of time to show a real image interacting with one created from computer graphics. Its utilization matured in the AEC industries in the past five years when contractors such as Seattle’s BNBuilders began using it to show clients proposed designs in the context of existing conditions using iPads and other mobile devices on a construction site.
Seeing a Revit or other 3D model in context greatly assists in space planning and design visualization. Augmented reality was confined mostly to AEC firms that had large technology groups who could spend hours integrating Revit models with homemade 3D game engine models, but the technology has now been democratized and is available on a per-project basis, so small firms and even sole proprietors can take advantage of it.
SmartReality from JBknowledge, a technology company previously known for bringing subcontractors and jobs together, is a mobile AR app available as a beta test on a per-project basis. It can place a 3D model in context, viewable through an iPad or iPhone, whether on a 2D set of plans, in front of an actual site, or even on an image of your project’s site. Users focus on a given design or plan file with the camera on their iPad, iPad Mini, or iPhone; the app then recognizes the design, and the screen overlays a virtual model of what the project will look like upon completion. Anyone can see a Revit model in context (Revit drawings have to be imported into a different format to be recognized), in a full, 360-degree view.
Augmented reality has a wealth of design and construction uses beyond visualization, too. It can be used for design analysis to pick out clashes by virtually walking through your completed model. It fits the bill for constructability review by letting the architect and contractor collaborate on changes that have to happen between design and construction due to constructability issues. It can even assist with prefabrication of building components.
An oft-cited use of augmented reality came in the aftermath of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand. The University of Canterbury released CityViewAR, which enabled city planners and engineers to visualize buildings that were destroyed in the earthquake. It gave planners a great reference to what used to be there while also letting them gauge the devastation the quake left behind. Since then, it’s been used as a tool throughout Australia for construction and earthquake investigation.
To learn more about AR, check out 3 Steps to Tap into Visualization with 3ds Max, and read about virtual reality In Take a Walk Inside Your Designs.
Does your firm use augmented reality? If so, how do you use it? Please share your experiences below in the comments section.
CityViewAR is available for both iPhone and Android athttp://www.hitlabnz.org/index.php/products/cityviewar. To download the beta of SmartReality for iOS, visit http://smartreality.co/. To learn more about how BNBuilders has used augmented reality, visithttp://www.bnbuilders.com/building-information-modeling/.
Crystal Point Renderings
Please, feel free to give me some feedback. Moreover, if you have any technique questions, feel free to ask; I would love to share.
The Great Artist Problem
“For artists, the great problem to solve is how to get oneself noticed.”
Embracing Change
They say change is the only constant, and most people don't like change. Well I think that's half correct. To be sure there are a lot of change efforts at work that fail, because the effort wasn't planned well. Employees had no voice in the process, or the right resources weren't in place.This reality makes many employees jaded whenever any manager starts talking about change.But it's also true that humans get stuck in ruts.
Employees find comfort in the routines that define their day. Anything that upsets those routines just might be met with resistance. So what can you do to overcome that tendency and personally deal with change successfully, especially unexpected, difficult change? Good research and common sense tell us that attitude is everything. In sports, the elites have been studied. We know much about how they think and how they behave. They relentlessly focus on the positive perspective, framing things in a way that speaks to opportunities to be realized, instead of tough challenges to be dreaded.
They plan and adjust as needed, never believing that what they are today is who they need to be tomorrow. And the very same traits are found in great leaders. If you don't follow this advice,you know what? You become the professor who appears completely irrelevant to his students.Using 20 year old examples that don't really apply anymore. You become the company that ultimately fails because they believe customers will love the same product tomorrow that they loved today. Doesn't have to be that way. You can learn to make change work for you.
Coping with change and embracing change is a skill. It starts with building an identity bigger than only your professional identity. Even if you love what you do, that's too narrow. Healthy people have multiple, positive identities in addition to their professional identity. This might include father or volunteer or maybe basketball coach. Whatever it is, remember that to stay healthy,you need to be more than just one thing. Next, listen to the age-old advice about counting your blessings.
There's no mystery to share here. You just need to do what many people neglect to do.Periodically stop and reflect on the many specific things you're lucky to have in your life. A person who supports multiple positive identities in life and remembers to take stock of the things they're lucky to have in life is exactly the type of person who has the best odds of successfully navigating change. Okay, now when change actually hits, whether it's a merger you never saw coming and the new boss that comes with it or if it's the loss of your job that you didn't expect.
I want you to react in three simple ways that will help you make change more about possibilities instead of pains. First, remember to think before you act. When big change hits, don't make hasty decisions. Your emotions will be on overdrive. So here's the rule. No big decisions for at least 48 hours. Depending on what's happened, you'll be thinking about your team, your house, your finances, your family, you name it. Resist making quick decisions on any of these for at least 48 hours.
Next, when the shock is gone, it's time to start adjusting, to begin facing your new normal. This begins with a passionate commitment to being positive. You have to make the choice to be better, not bitter. Think about that choice consciously, first thing in the morning, everyday following a big change. Finally, of course, you have to take action. I want you to think about a multi-month plan of attack loaded with specific tasks and deadlines. Depending on the nature of the change the tasks will be different.
If there are problems with the new boss, this might include learing how to initiate tough conversations. Or if you're our of work, you might be spending a lot of time becoming laser focused on networking. This all might sound pretty easy in the abstract, but believe me, easy becomes very difficult when you're stressed out and dealing with the unexpected. That's why it's so inspiring to witness someone deal with change and adversity effectively.
What Is The Resolution Of The Eye?
The new iPhone camera is 8-megapixels. Meanwhile, Canon is reportedly testing a new DSLRwith 75-megapixels. But how many megapixels is the human eye? That is, how many megapixels would an image the size of your field of vision need to be to look normal?
Well, as Vsauce explains in its latest video, the better question is actually: What is the resolution of the human eye?
It's a complicated question, one that must take into account the peculiar anatomy of the eye which is different than the less peculiar engineering of a digital camera. As such, it's worth watching all ten minutes of the video, explaining not only how we see but also how well. Spoiler: the human eye is 576 megapixels—but really only about 7 megapixels matter.
Minneapolis, MN Townhouses
Here are a couple color options for a townhouse in Minneapolis, MN. The association commissioned me to help them study colors prior to a commitment.
The Art & Science Of Creativity
The Art & Science Of Creativity
I’m really excited to announce that my newest online video course, The Art And Science Of Creativity is now live on Udemy.
How many times have you heard that certain people are just “born creative,” and certain people “aren’t.” It’s not true. Creativity is a process with clearly defined steps that you can learn and apply towards ANY project. Using techniques taken from brain science to rocket science, you’ll learn that everyone, including you, is born creative. If you think of yourself as creative already, this course will make you more efficient and productive with your creativity. If you think of yourself as one of the “not creative” people, this class will show you that you ARE creative, and how to bring that creativity to fruition.
The course teaches a creative process: from coming up with an initial idea, unpacking and expanding upon it, to shaping and refining it, the seven key principles of creativity – principles that apply whether you are working by yourself or as part of a team, the common roadblocks to creativity, and the remedies to get you through these roadblocks if and when they occur, so you can move forward on your project.
And in the course we talk about the brain science of the unconscious, how it applies to creativity, and how to give your brain the right data it needs to figure out the problem or next course of action, even when you are not consciously working on it.
Here’s the opening lesson:
Go to the Udemy page for more information, to register for the course, or preview more videos.
We are offering a special price ($89, more than 50% off) if you register by March 3, 2014 and use the coupon code: VIPEntry
Instead of teaching this one by myself, I’ve got a co-instructor, Sam Spitzer. Sam is a rocket scientist, inventor, and composer. He’s very creative! I think you will enjoy learning from the two of us together.
Color Theory In Architectural Renderings
Colors are important in any field that involves communication and visual cues. Many architects forget that their field is not one that deals strictly in math and science, and that there really is a major artistic element to their industry. In architectural renderings, the colors that are used to illustrate concepts can go a long way when it comes to helping clients see your vision for their building.
Color Theory
If you think back to several movies, you may have noticed that cinematic renderings of different scenes used different lighting to subtly suggest a mood to the audience. For example, cool lighting is often associated with high tech scenes, danger, or industrial settings. Certain forms of cool lighting may also denote buildings that are exceptionally clean. On the other hand, warm lighting has a tendency of suggesting a homey, warm, welcoming, and comfortable place.
Think about some of the more popular architectural renderings you’ve seen that deal with a major company’s exterior façade. They make the building look even better than it normally would by putting it in front of a crisp blue sky, with lush green foliage around it. Buildings that have a darker exterior tend to look more modern in renderings, while lighter colored buildings tend to be considered more traditional and are often associated with home architecture. Interior renderings using bright lighting subtly convey loads of open spaces.
Architects who want to sell their designs would be wise to take a look at the color filters that they use in their renderings. Studying up on color theory, as well as the psychological impact that certain colors may have in people, is a smart way to improve the way that people see your designs. It’s also worth noting that good shadowing and color contrast can help highlight interesting contours in building architecture.
Building architecture should be highlighted by the right lighting - not overshadowed. Great color theory suggests that architectural renderings should not be monotonous or overly complex in terms of color harmonies. Ideally, the colors should stimulate instead of take away from the overall look of a rendering.
As an architectural illustrator, I do take into account the colors that I use on all of my renderings, and not only the lighting that I cast my renderings in. With the right coloring, viewers get the best possible idea of how the building will look, but also how people will feel in the building. As an architectural illustrator, I feel like it’s important to make sure that people get as good a view of their future building as possible. And, if you think about it, the colors that an architect chooses for their building is also a pretty big part of the overall layout, too.
Utilizing the Visual Arts
Seeing is Believing
In some cases, believing is seeing. However, there are other cases where, if you can’t see it with your own eyes, you aren't buying, believing, or even acknowledging it. It’s one thing to imagine a building, person, or place, but we all know that what we imagine seldom turns out to be the reality. With Bobby Parker’s architectural illustrations, you won’t have to worry about using your imagination or hoping that something will turn out the way you pictured it. Bobby Parker is a Minnesota based architectural illustrator who specializes in creating photo-real renderings of buildings. His illustrations make you feel as if you’re actually staring directly into a real-life kitchen or at a luxurious house in the woods, or even a child’s playground in the charming front yard of a suburban home. Parker is well skilled in the visual arts, and his renderings have helped architecture and design businesses to give their clients exactly what they want. When people can see, rather than just picture themselves how something is going to look, it gives them a sense of trust and excitement. How does Parker accomplish this? It all comes down to composition and the visual arts.
Golden Ratio Fibonacci Sequence
What Does Composition Mean?
In the visual arts, composition refers to the arrangement of visual elements in a painting, photo, graphic, or a sculpture. Technically, it refers to the organization of the various elements that go into an artwork, according to the standard principles of art. Under the dictionary definition, you’ll find that composition means “putting together”. It’s like a puzzle piece being arranged in just the right way to relay the bigger picture. Composition is the key in art work because it is what allows the brain to decipher and understand what it is looking at. Some artists use composition to differently by rearranging the visual elements to look confusing and abstract. However in architectural renderings, proper use of composition can make the difference between an active project and a scrapped plan idea.
How is Composition Used?
In Parker’s architectural renderings, composition is used incredibly effectively. Parker’s renderings are advertised as “photo-real” which means they are not only drawn to look highly realistic, they are also drawn with real time and space in mind. To be photo-real, these renderings must have depth, volume, light, shadow, lines, texture, and a professional execution. The sharper the image, the better a potential client can visualize what their future home, business, office, kitchen, bathroom, or whatever will look like.
Hand Drawing
Why Use Hand Drawings?
In today’s digital age, a computer or some sort of software may be enough to achieve the photo-real look businesses are after. Parker’s craftsmanship, however, gives his renderings a human element that a computer cannot capture. Though technology is most definitely used to create these renderings, beginning with old fashioned pencil and paper is the best way to start a rendering. It all comes down to layers, and the correct composition can birth a stunning visual art piece that will resonate with various clients.
Composition in the visual arts is extremely important. Placement, arrangement, skill, and detail are all elements of composition that can really bring an artwork, or in this case, a “photo-real” architectural rendering, to life. Check out Bobby Parker’s work for more information.
Sampling for Arch Vis renders in Vray 2.4
“This is a run through of how I approach sampling in vray 2.4 starting with the anti-aliasing and working my way through the different aspects of a scene methodically, to try and get predictable and clean results.”
Make Your Autodesk® Revit® Drawings and Presentations Look Great!
Description
This class will show you how to get the most out of the powerful graphic features of Autodesk Revit software and incorporate all of the exiting new features in Revit 2013. You will learn valuable tips and tricks and time-proven visualization techniques to make your drawings look great. You will learn how to enhance non-rendered and rendered views with out-of-the-box advanced graphic techniques, how to improve the trees and plants used in Revit for non-rendered views, how to add photo backgrounds to renderings using a unique overlay approach, how to add a fully controllable gradient color background behind multiple views, as well as tips for improving interior and exterior rendered views. And finally, you will learn how to use old-world hand drafting techniques to add visual clarity and make your construction documents communicate and look better. Techniques include poche and surface shading patterns, profiling, transparency, and toning to create graphical layering and sheet layout.
Key Learning
- Learn unique out-of-the-box tips and tricks to prepare presentations more quickly and better than ever
- Use time-proven techniques to make your construction documents communicate better and look as beautiful as they are smart
- Explore and take full advantage of powerful basic and advanced graphic tools and capabilities in Revit
- Use a variety of presentation techniques to help develop your own artistic style
Speakers
Primary Speaker : Steven Shell
Steven C. Shell graduated from the University of Arizona in 1982, and has had his own architectural firm in Tucson, Arizona, for over 23 years. Mr. Shell has been using Autodesk Revit Architecture® exclusively for over eight years. He is the co-founder and co-chair of the Southern Arizona Revit users group (SARUG). Mr. Shell is certified by Autodesk in Revit, and chairs monthly SARUG meetings. He has taught Revit at the University of Arizona College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture where he also hosted Revit workshops for the students and faculty. He has presented at Pima College and presented at the Revit Technology Conferences (RTC – USA) where his class was voted one of the top 10 classes. In addition to his Architecture practice and teaching Revit, he was re-appointed to the City of Tucson’s Board of Adjustment, where he previously served as chairperson for 8 years, as well as serving 10 years on the City’s Design Review Board and Sign Code Advisory & Appeals Board.
Best Of Houzz 2014 Award
Bobby Parker Architectural Renderings of Breezy Point Receives
Best Of Houzz 2014 Award
Annual Survey and Analysis of 16 Million Monthly Users
Reveals Top-Rated Building, Remodeling and Design Professionals
Breezy Point, MN, February 4, 2014 – Bobby Parker Architectural Renderings of Breezy Point, MN has been awarded “Best Of Houzz” by Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. The Photo-Real Architectural Rendering Portfolio was chosen by the more than 16 million monthly users that comprise the Houzz community.
The Best Of Houzz award is given in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design. Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2013. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the more than 16 million monthly users on Houzz, known as “Houzzers,” who saved more than 230 million professional images of home interiors and exteriors to their personal ideabooks via the Houzz site, iPad/iPhone app and Android app. Winners will receive a “Best Of Houzz 2014” badge on their profiles, showing the Houzz community their commitment to excellence. These badges help homeowners identify popular and top-rated home professionals in every metro area on Houzz.
“Once you’re done with school, you have to keep learning. Not a forced “study” like in school, but you need to love trying out new things. Technology is moving so fast, sometimes it can be quite overwhelming to keep up.” – Bobby Parker
“Houzz provides homeowners with the most comprehensive view of home building, remodeling and design professionals, empowering them to find and hire the right professional to execute their vision,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of community for Houzz. “We’re delighted to recognize Bobby Parker among our “Best Of” professionals for customer satisfaction as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”
With Houzz, homeowners can identify not only the top-rated professionals like Bobby Parker, but also those whose work matches their own aspirations for their home. Homeowners can also evaluate professionals by contacting them directly on the Houzz platform, asking questions about their work and reviewing their responses to questions from others in the Houzz community.
Follow Bobby Parker Architecural Renderings on Houzz
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About Houzz
Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish - online or from a mobile device. From decorating a room to building a custom home, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community powered by social tools, Houzz is the easiest way for people to get the design inspiration, project advice, product information and professional reviews they need to help turn ideas into reality. For more information, visit www.houzz.com