Doing things yourself around the home is not a new concept. Humans have been working with their bare hands for years to get the home fixed up and yet, DIY seems to be something that goes in and out of style. There’s a big difference in the satisfaction with doing up your house when you do it yourself versus asking someone else to come in with a paintbrush and do it for you. There was once a time when painting furniture and doing home crafts like sewing curtains were skills that everyone utilized. Mass production of items that were sold in shops can make those basic skills become forgotten items, but when the upholstery needs stitching and the wooden furniture needs an update, the frugal among us see the need to make do and mend rather than throw out and start again.
The biggest reason for a huge shift in interest in DIY again is down to how it makes us feel. The accomplishment that we feel when we manage to finish a task or learn a new skill that allows us to show off something that we’ve made to those around us is huge. Doing it yourself around the home saves you money, which is a big reason that people are getting involved. Costs are going up and the wages are frozen, meaning we have to get way more creative with our home upgrades than ever before. Painting the rooms you want to redecorate, getting new timber garage doors and installing them yourself and even adding things like crown moldings to the living areas can all make you feel good while being done on a budget. The bonus of DIY is that you are going to be able to recycle and reuse when you make your upgrades, effectively doing something amazing for the environment along the way. You also get a chance to put your personal style into your home, rather than buying the styles that have been cultivated by everyone else. The best bit? DIY gives you a chance to learn new skills that you may have never had a chance to learn before. The work that you put into your home is satisfying and is a form of mindfulness, which is so important for your self-esteem. So, in a nutshell, DIY does a lot for you. Exploring the reasons that DIY can make you happy is important to motivate you when you see a job needs doing in the home. DIY is good for the soul, and we’ve explored exactly why.
The personal touch is important for your home. Your home is your castle and you need to enjoy the space that you are living in, while feeling comfortable with your color choices and textures. If you have an eclectic personal style, you’re likely to make your home reflect this. It can be really easy to buy a home and keep everything in a neutral magnolia, but that’s not as fun, is it? You wouldn’t show up to a party in a boring black dress; you’d jazz it up with accessories first. You have to employ the same thinking to your home, so that you can create a style that is all you. Being able to step back and look at your handiwork can make you feel lighter, lifted and stylish. Having fun with hand-painted stencils and doors can really make your home stand out as yours.
The sense of pride that upcycling can give you is something else. Being able to bring home pallets and wood that you have rescued and turning them into something beautiful is exciting. You must remember that feeling of bringing home your school project work and how proud you felt of what you have achieved. That’s the exact same feeling that you get when you complete a project that you set yourself for your home. It’s important to feel proud of yourself and when you are changing your home for the better, that’s how you will feel.
Soothing the senses during a DIY project can help you out more than you think. When you carry a lot of stress in your life, you can find it hard to concentrate and using your senses to decorate your home can make for a calm and more relaxed space. Focusing on how your home looks from an outsider perspective is one thing, but how does your home make you feel? Bringing texture into your home with a lot of layered rugs, curtains and cushions in the living rooms is a great way to invoke the senses and feel good. Making your own candles and following tutorials like this on sewing your own cushion covers can make your home look unique. You can add wind chimes as well as internal sound systems to tickle your hearing.
Brightening the interior of each room can affect your mood in a good way. Being able to look around your home and know that you had a hand in the unique look that you’ve created is incredible. There are so many little projects that you could do for your house, from decorating old jars with twine and using them as candle holders or stationary holders, to using washi tape to make plain photo frames look amazing. The simplest project can make the whole home look colorful and packed with life. Bringing life into your home does the same job as bringing life into your heart; it’s necessary and it makes you feel good.
Upcycling old paper and pretty cards that you receive is a great way to add something different. Do you receive gifts in sparkly paper? How about keeping some of that paper and adding a feature square to the front of your chest of drawers in your bedroom? There’s nothing wrong with reusing the things that you would already have thrown away; it’s the best way to save cash when it comes to putting your stamp on your home with DIY.
Experiencing flow when you are doing DIY can change the way that you feel. You have clear goals and you get so immersed in your tasks that the repetitiveness can make you feel calm and clear-headed. You have a sense of control over your tasks and your involvement in your activity is totally effortless—it just works. This type of zen is so good for the soul that you can feel truly accomplished as you work.
Saving money is the goal of anyone doing up their home, but for someone doing DIY, it’s an essential. A lot of people can do things themselves, but the mistake is for you to assume that you can do absolutely everything yourself. You probably cannot rewire your home, nor could you replace the piping under the shower. Sometimes, bringing in a professional to help with the bigger jobs is necessary, but it’s also something to feel proud of anyway. You are asking for help, and that isn’t always easy to do when you want to do it all on your own. Make a list of the things that you want to do yourself before you get started, and then make a second list of things that someone else could come in and do for you.
Feeling good about coming home is the usual result of working hard on a home project. DIY is going to make you feel validated: like there are things that you can do even if other people believe that you couldn’t. Curb appeal is absolutely essential for the way that you feel about your home, as you want people to turn their heads when they walk past your property. It doesn’t make you vain, but it does mean that you have taken pride in all the work that you have put in. Getting your gardening on and planting beautiful flowers outside should be a part of the way that you get your home looking gorgeous, and it’s yet another thing that you have done for yourself. Feeling good about your home from the moment you see it can be a wonderful addition to your confidence, because you can look at your home and think to yourself, ‘I did that’.
The best thing about DIY is the passion that you could discover along the way. You could find a skill in painting or sewing that you didn’t necessarily have before, meaning you’ve expanded your own horizons and added to your abilities without even trying. Working with your hands connects you to your own history, where your ancestors would have done everything for themselves around the home. Learning skills along the way can keep your brain working and your body motivated to create something beautiful that works for you.
DIY is so much more than just making home changes. It’s for you and for your soul as much as it is for the new curtains hanging on the window. Taking pride in yourself and your abilities is important, and doing it yourself could lead you there.
Mia Guerra
Latest posts by Mia Guerra (see all)
- Five Wedding Details You Shouldn’t Forget While Planning - July 17, 2023
- Essential Considerations When Planning an Extension - July 17, 2023
- Easy Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint and Contribute to a Greener World - July 17, 2023
