Home Improvement Projects You Can (and Should) Do Yourself

Quick, Easy, and Affordable Projects to Tackle as a Homeowner

Making changes inside or outside your home can seem intimidating. Often these projects require a great deal of planning and skill, and even small mistakes along the way can lead to a much greater financial setback than anticipated. Due to such risks, there are certain projects that are better left to the professionals, or at least to those individuals with years of DIY experience under their belts. On the other hand, there are many projects that are much easier to complete than they look. For that reason, not to mention how impressed your guests will be, consider the following projects that are well worth tackling on your own.

-Outdoor Fire Pits-

Whether you love to entertain or just enjoy unwinding out in the backyard after a long day, having a small fire pit can really add ambience to your outdoor space. Building them takes a bit of hard work and perhaps some heavy lifting, but the cost will be quite low and the final product will be well worth the effort. It’s usually easy to find the materials needed to build a fire pit on Craigslist or even by asking around, as it’s more than likely that someone needs to get rid of patio bricks, rocks from landscaping, or other items that are well-suited to being formed into a fire pit.

-Platform Decks-

Speaking of spending time in the backyard, another great outdoor addition is a small or medium-sized platform deck. A platform deck can be a perfect place to grill or place tables and chairs outside, without having the added worry of being on a sloped or uneven lawn. Also, having the deck just several inches from the ground eliminates the need for a railing or small staircase. Many hardware stores and websites offer platform decks made from either wood or composite materials that essentially come as kits, but if you feel comfortable and would like an added carpentry challenge, using reclaimed lumber in the construction of your deck is a great eco-friendly option.

-Stylish Shelving-

If you find that your walls feel a bit bare or you just need another place to put your books besides having them strewn across the coffee table, putting in new shelves is a quick fix that also happens to be one of the easiest tasks to complete on your own. One nice option for saving as much space as possible is installing floating shelves mounted to the wall, as this type of shelving would not require anything around it or a base on the floor. Of course, there are as many choices and styles of shelves as there are styles of home, so it should not be hard to find something that matches both your taste and budget.

-Light Fixtures-

Although they aren’t necessarily the first thing people notice when they walk into a room, light fixtures do play a role in determining the aesthetic feel of whatever space they occupy. Yet many homeowners are content to keep the same plain-looking light fixtures in their homes for years, even if they often make improvements in other areas of the house. As with other small DIY projects, making new light fixtures can be fast, low-cost, and not at all difficult. For instance, you can easily make a hanging light fixture from artificial capiz shells for under twenty dollars. Or, to spruce up your back patio, try putting string Christmas lights into the decorative wicker balls that are usually used for table centerpieces. Again, the options are nearly endless, so don’t be afraid to get creative.