Houzz buys advice community GardenWeb, its first acquisition

Houzz now has 35 million monthly users, and 800,000 active home professionals on the site

(Updated with comment from Houzz)

I have no eye for design. At least I don't think I do. Honestly, I haven't ever had to try since I keep my place pretty simple and I'm kind of scared of what the results might be if I tried to do more.

Onde I'm sure I will have to have more than a bed, a TV and a desk, and when that happens I know I will need a professional. So I will have to turn to Houzz, the online platform for home remodeling and design. It's the place to both get ideas, and to find the right people to help do the job. 

Now the company is celebrating a milestone, having announced its first ever acquisition on Tuesday. Houzz bought gardening and home advice site GardenWeb from NBCUniversal. No financial terms of the deal were disclosed.

Founded in 1995, GardenWeb was a community for home and gardening advice on the Internet. The company had 2.8 million discussion threads, over 14 million discussion posts, and nearly 400 discussion topics for home and gardening enthusiasts, all of which Houzz will now have access to.

The acquisition will add to Houzz's own forums, through which it says that millions of people use to participate in discussions every month. That includes advice for on home renovation and design projects.

"GardenWeb is a vibrant community in its own right and we have been working to create the best experience on the web for both communities," a Houzz spokesperson told VatorNews.

"Prior to the acquisition, Houzz already had the largest residential renovation and design community online. The acquisition of GardenWeb solidifies our position as the largest home community on the web by far with over 35 million monthly unique users and over 800,000 active home professionals."

Founded in 2009, the Palo Alto-based Houzz connects homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals. The company says it now has over 35 million unique monthly visitors,  90 percent of whom are homeowners, and 800,000 active home professionals.

GardenWeb seems to be currently living as a separate brand under the Houzz umbrella. Its homepage now lists it as a Houzz property, with links to Houzz's company information.

In a separate post, Houzz said that it would preserve GardenWeb forums and would respect the privacy of GardenWeb users.

"The GardenWeb and Houzz communities have a lot in common with regard to our shared passion for our homes and gardens and the overwhelmingly positive experience we try to provide our members," it wrote. "You may even belong to both GardenWeb and Houzz already!"

In addition, Houzz has informed me that one GardenWeb team member has joined Houzz.

Houzz has raised $213.6 million in funding, including having raised a $165 million funding round in October of last year, and is said to be valued at over $2 billion. Investors have included DST Global Solutions, GGV Capital, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, New Enterprise Associates, Comcast Ventures and David Sacks,

(Image source: houzz.com)