You have just purchased your first home after living in an apartment for years. You are excited to call this place your own and not have to worry about sharing walls with the neighbors or having residents who move their furniture every week right above your head. With your new house, there is a blank canvas of creativity that you can now guide toward your vision of a comfortable and beautiful home.
Even if you have been living in your house for years, there is always room for improvement or another project that you could tackle. More and more homeowners are taking on the challenges of DIY projects to design their indoor and outdoor spaces to suit their specific tastes.
Sometimes, it can be difficult to know where to start. Maybe the home you moved into is a fixer-upper and will have ongoing renovations that are needed. Or, the house is already a finished product but you want to add some features to personalize the space. Whatever the potential is for making changes to your home, here are some DIY ideas to get you started.
Create an Outdoor Living Space
Nothing beats fresh air and sunshine on a beautiful day, so why would you limit the living spaces to the interior of your house? An outdoor living space fosters connection within the family, and with guests, and can dramatically improve property value. It is also a visible feature that increases curb appeal.
You can create a stone patio with some beautiful woodwork for a pergola to form a somewhat enclosed space. Patio furniture can be purchased, (or built), relatively cheap. There are plenty of features that can enhance the outdoor experience, such as a brick-fire oven, a fire pit, and homemade planters to liven up the area.
Invest in Caring for Your Yard
If you have never had a yard to call your own, it can be very exciting to finally have this blank canvas to design for yourself and your family. Maybe you want to open up the backyard a little more by removing some bushes or undergrowth. If there is a space for a garden, you can start to plant some perennials and annuals to add more color to the outdoor space. To foster a healthy growing environment for your garden, you can search nearby for high-quality mulch that will spruce up the look and protect your plants effectively from weeds. You could even aerate your lawn to make the soil more absorbent and in a better condition for growing healthy grass.
There are multiple ways to enhance your yard by putting the work in yourself, all of which can level up the aesthetics and provide a better environment for time spent outside.
Make Small Repairs Around the House
Whether you are trying to prepare your home for selling or just want to create the best environment possible for you and your family, making repairs around the home is a great DIY project to undertake. Sometimes, when you move into a new home, you will discover some things that are broken or not working properly that the inspection may have overlooked. These repairs could be insignificant at the time and won’t affect the way you experience the home in a negative way.
But maintenance or aesthetic issues that are left unattended could worsen and end up being costly down the road. When you are searching for a project to do, think back to small repairs that the inspection listed as possibilities, or things that have come up recently that you have the skills necessary to fix. Maybe there is some damage to parts of the deck that could be replaced or refurbished. Or there is an old toilet with functionality that is in question but you could get some new parts to take care of it. Just be sure to not tackle a repair that you are not qualified to fix. Most people cannot replace plumbing or wiring on their own, so do not be afraid to outsource your repairs.
Paint Efficiently
One of the first things many homeowners do when they purchase a house is to make some color changes. Maybe you don’t want to invest a lot of time into overhauling the entire interior with new paint. However, a little paint can go a long way. Consider painting an accent wall in the living room or family room. Or you could paint the trim and baseboard around the house with the same color to unify the interior with a small change. Think about which type of painting project can achieve the desired effect without having to change the look of every room in the house.
DIY Projects are Great for Mental Health
Did you know that home improvement can boost your mental health? For many who experience burnout from repetitious rhythms in life, a fulfilling home project could do wonders for your mood. It gives you goals to accomplish and an end product to be proud of, something that may not be available in other aspects of life.
If you are feeling restless with the look and functionality of your home or you want to personalize the new house, try out some of these DIY ideas to put your personal stamp on the space.