How to Categorize Products for Houzz

Understanding Houzz Product Categorization

Houzz has established itself as the leading platform for home renovation and design, connecting over 65 million monthly users with home professionals and products that bring their design visions to life. Founded in 2009, Houzz uniquely combines inspirational content, professional services, and a curated marketplace where homeowners discover and purchase products directly inspired by design photos. Proper product categorization within the Houzz ecosystem is essential for reaching this highly engaged audience of design-conscious consumers actively planning home projects and seeking specific aesthetic outcomes.

The Houzz marketplace operates with a taxonomy structure specifically designed to bridge design inspiration and product discovery. Unlike traditional home goods retailers that organize purely by functional categories, Houzz taxonomy accounts for design styles (modern, traditional, farmhouse, industrial), room contexts (living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom), and the renovation journey stages that define how homeowners shop on the platform. Products appear alongside millions of professionally designed room photos, making accurate categorization essential for surfacing items when users explore specific design aesthetics or renovation projects.

When listing products on Houzz, category selection determines where items appear across multiple discovery touchpoints that define the platform's unique shopping experience. Houzz users frequently discover products through photo browsing, where they can shop items similar to those featured in professional designs. Products also appear in traditional category browse, search results, and curated collections organized by style, trend, and room type. A misclassified item may fail to appear when users explore relevant style categories or search for products matching their design inspiration, missing valuable high-intent purchase opportunities.

The Houzz audience represents particularly valuable customers for home product sellers. Platform users are actively engaged in renovation and design projects, with significantly higher average order values than general home retail. These customers research extensively, often saving products to ideabooks for future purchase, and demonstrate strong purchase intent when items align with their design vision. Reaching these motivated buyers through accurate categorization creates meaningful commercial opportunities for furniture manufacturers, lighting brands, decor suppliers, and home renovation product companies.

Manual categorization of home products for Houzz presents unique challenges that differ from traditional retail. Products must be classified not only by function but also by style attributes that determine placement in design-driven browse paths. A dining table might fit multiple style categories (mid-century modern, Scandinavian, industrial) and multiple room contexts. Our AI-powered categorization system understands these design-forward classification requirements, ensuring products reach homeowners through every relevant style, room, and functional category pathway that Houzz's design-focused taxonomy provides.

Houzz Home Design Taxonomy System

The Houzz taxonomy represents a carefully designed classification system that bridges functional home product categories with the design-forward discovery experience that defines the platform. Unlike traditional home retailers, Houzz categories emphasize style attributes, room contexts, and renovation categories that reflect how design-conscious homeowners shop for their spaces. Understanding this system is essential for sellers seeking optimal product visibility among Houzz's engaged audience of homeowners and design professionals.

The taxonomy structure organizes products into major departments that mirror renovation project types and home spaces: Furniture encompasses seating, tables, storage, and beds across all room contexts; Lighting includes chandeliers, pendants, sconces, and lamps; Kitchen covers cabinetry, fixtures, appliances, and accessories; Bath includes vanities, fixtures, and bathroom furnishings; Outdoor spans patio furniture, garden decor, and exterior elements; and Decor encompasses wall art, rugs, pillows, and decorative accessories. Each department branches into product type subcategories and style classifications.

Houzz's taxonomy also incorporates style-based classification that enables cross-category discovery aligned with design aesthetics. Products can be tagged with style attributes like Modern, Contemporary, Traditional, Transitional, Farmhouse, Industrial, Coastal, Scandinavian, and Bohemian. These style classifications enable homeowners to browse all products matching their preferred aesthetic regardless of product type, discovering coordinated items across furniture, lighting, and decor that share design DNA. Accurate style classification is essential for visibility in these high-intent browse experiences.

Core Houzz Categories

Houzz continuously evolves its taxonomy to reflect emerging design trends, new product categories, and shifting homeowner preferences. The platform regularly introduces curated collections for trending styles, seasonal themes, and featured designer collaborations. Our AI models receive continuous training on Houzz taxonomy updates, ensuring your products maintain optimal categorization as the home design landscape evolves and new aesthetic movements emerge in interior design.

API Integration Guide

Integrating our Houzz categorization API into your product data workflow enables automated classification that improves catalog quality and design-driven discoverability. The API accepts detailed home product information including materials, dimensions, and style attributes, returning comprehensive categorization results optimized for Houzz's design-focused discovery algorithms.

import requests

def categorize_for_houzz(product_description, api_key):
    """
    Categorize a home product for Houzz design marketplace
    """
    base_url = "https://www.productcategorization.com/api/ecommerce/ecommerce_category6_get.php"
    params = {
        "query": product_description,
        "api_key": api_key,
        "data_type": "houzz"
    }
    response = requests.get(base_url, params=params)
    return response.json()

# Example usage for home furnishings
result = categorize_for_houzz(
    "Mid-Century Modern Walnut Dining Table 72 inch Solid Wood",
    "your_api_key_here"
)
print(f"Category: {result['category']}")
print(f"Style: {result.get('style', 'N/A')}")

async function categorizeForHouzz(productDescription, apiKey) {
    const baseUrl = 'https://www.productcategorization.com/api/ecommerce/ecommerce_category6_get.php';
    const params = new URLSearchParams({
        query: productDescription,
        api_key: apiKey,
        data_type: 'houzz'
    });

    const response = await fetch(`${baseUrl}?${params}`);
    return response.json();
}

// Example usage for lighting products
categorizeForHouzz(
    'Industrial Farmhouse Pendant Light Black Metal Cage Kitchen Island',
    'your_api_key'
)
.then(result => console.log('Category:', result.category));

curl -X GET "https://www.productcategorization.com/api/ecommerce/ecommerce_category6_get.php" \
  -d "query=Transitional Bathroom Vanity 48 inch White Marble Top Double Sink" \
  -d "api_key=your_api_key_here" \
  -d "data_type=houzz"