Houzz app AR feature - View in my Room 3D

Works and highlights I did for Houzz app AR feature.
At Houzz, I worked on the project "View in My Room 3D," an augmented reality tool within the Houzz app. Houzz is a leading platform for home remodeling and design, boasting over 40 million monthly users and 2.3 million professionals. This feature enables users to virtually place products in their rooms with true-to-life scale, significantly boosting engagement. Users of this tool are 11 times more likely to make a purchase compared to those who don't use it.

At Houzz, I identified a recurring issue: our 3D renders of leather furniture lacked realism, with inaccurate color and grain that negatively affected the user experience. Proactively addressing this, I spearheaded the development of a dedicated leather material library — a reusable collection of high-fidelity leather textures and shader presets built to match real-world samples.

Over the course of one month, I personally developed and fine-tuned this library in our production pipeline, ensuring compatibility across our rendering systems and optimizing it for consistent, high-quality results. I also led team-wide knowledge sharing, delivering a focused training session to onboard fellow artists.

Outcome: The improvement was immediate and measurable — our renders achieved a visible leap in realism, significantly reducing user complaints and enhancing overall visual quality. Additionally, the library streamlined the art team’s workflow, eliminating redundant material adjustments and boosting production efficiency. This initiative not only elevated the aesthetic standard of our product but also strengthened team productivity and morale.