Community-curated interior design and décor site nousDECOR has raised $2.1 million in seed funding from several prominent angel investors and social media pioneers.

Backed by this capital, nousDECOR unveiled a redesigned site with an enhanced and contextualized product discovery and shopping experience, as well as an interface for retailers to upload their products onto the site to increase sales and exposure.

nousDECOR Founder Heather Gillette

“Through my career as an entrepreneur and an investor, I’ve seen firsthand the power of social community and curation to disrupt and transform industries and consumer experiences,” said entrepreneur Chris Kelly, who has backed such startups as social networking site Path and online travel company Galavantier. “With nousDECOR, we have the opportunity to bring community and curation to one of the last verticals yet to embrace them—home décor and interior design.”

With the new funding, nousDECOR plans to increase its marketing efforts to drive growth and expansion of its design community, as well as expand its product offering, build smarter tools for price comparisons, and finalize a mobile iOS app.

“Our product library will be unsurpassed as far as selection, variety, and items that you can find only on nousDECOR.com,” said nousDECOR CEO Heather Gillette. “Retailers have already sought us out to sell their unique items, and perhaps launch new product lines, on the site.”

Building a nursery on nousDECOR

In addition, the San Mateo-based startup has introduced a partnership with Dwell Media to feature and integrate products from the Dwell Store—the e-commerce arm of Dwell that launched in November 2013 to provide furnishings and décor for the discerning modernist.

"We believe the future of online interior design lies in the hands of the consumer, and is directed in many ways by social media and online community," said Dwell Media President and CEO Michela O'Connor Abrams. "nousDECOR combines social curation and the power of crowd-sourced inspiration with tools for product discovery and shopping in a fresh and compelling way, which is why they are one of a few companies Dwell has selected to partner with thus far."

Building a living room on nousDECOR

“The professional design community will continue to grow rapidly,” said Gillette. “And as more professionals get involved, more content and examples of gorgeous decor will be included in our already large and exclusive inventory of inspirational images. The end goal is to create an international conversation around decor and establishing a brand recognized as the go-to place for decor ideas, solutions, and a decor-centric community that shares and collaborates.”