mydeco.com launches US site to revolutionize the way US consumers design and shop for their homes

Online, April 29, 2010 (Newswire.com) - mydeco.com, the UK's biggest home interest website, launches a new US online version, creating a home design destination that is unique in the US market. http://us.mydeco.com/ brings together the web's most powerful search engine for furniture, advanced 3D visualization tools and a community platform has changed the way consumers find and buy home furnishings in the UK, and seeks to provide the same opportunities to consumers in the US.

mydeco.com has developed sophisticated search technology specific to furniture and home wares to provide an experience that is 'better than Google' for finding the right item for your home. The site brings together over 7 million products from over 1,200 US retailers - from big box stores to niche retail outlets across the country.
In addition to a comprehensive shopping experience, mydeco offers a layer of value-added tools and features which it believes empower the consumer to make the right purchase decision. The site provides inspiration in the form of thousands of room designs and two free, web based tools which aim to empower ordinary shoppers to design their homes like decorating professionals. The moodboard tool enables consumers to create a virtual moodboard online, collecting together products to create a 'look' which can be used as a shopping list. The 3D Room Planning tool enables consumers to upload a floor plan or create their room to scale, and try out different colour schemes in photo-realistic 3D using thousands of real products. Both tools have been enthusiastically received in the UK, where over 110,000 users have registered and over 175,000 room designs have been created.

The ethos behind mydeco.com is to make it easier for consumers to design their homes, and find and buy the products to make their designs reality. The site brings social shopping online in an industry where consumers most need inspiration, advice and support. It also aims to provide a community where home shoppers can connect with friends, like-minded strangers and design experts.

CEO Nicole Vanderbilt is enthusiastic about the site's ability to revolutionize the furniture industry online, commenting 'Consumers are confident about shopping online for fashion but we understand that home is harder. You've always been able to try on a dress before buying it, but visualizing how that new couch is going to look in your own living room is more difficult. We aim to change that, and make it easier for people to find and buy great things for their home with complete confidence.'

mydeco was founded in the UK by Brent Hoberman in 2007. Hoberman launched the site in February 2008 having sold his prior venture, lastminute.com to Travelocity making it the first European website to sell for over a billion dollars. Just as lastminute.com changed the face of the travel industry so mydeco hopes to change the furniture industry online. Less than three years since launch, mydeco UK now employs 35 people and has a founding design board that includes Philippe Starck, Sir Terence Conran, Marc Newsom, Kelly Hoppen, Kirstie Allsopp, and Tara Bernerd.

In 2009, Nicole Vanderbilt joined the mydeco team as CEO having been at both Google and Bebo in the years prior. Vanderbilt has spearheaded the US launch assembling a US Design Board that includes Jonathan Adler, Mayer Rus, and Brad Ford. Further design board members will be named and released in the coming weeks. The UK site receives approximately 1 million visitors per month.