Don’t Feel Bad if You Don’t DIY

Do you linger over images of amazing DIY projects and think “I could never do that.” This happens to me daily. I follow lots of design blogs that are husband and wife teams. I’m always drooling over their huge transformations. But here’s the thing, the husbands in these blogs are SUPER handy. The wives are the idea/design part of the team and the husbands are the ones using the circular saw.

I’m not saying women can’t be handy, there are some super awesome women DIYers. It isn’t always cheaper to DIY everything, so don’t beat yourself up if the thought of doing it yourself is stalling you. There are some things that aren’t worth trying to DIY because your time is worth something. My husband is always saying this, so I’ll say it again. Your Time Is Worth Something.

With online shopping, it’s possible to find amazing inexpensive things for your home that you don’t have to make. If you want to decorate a home you love without a designer on a budget, you can do it without DIY.

Things to DIY

Paint furniture – If you want to change the color of a piece of furniture that isn’t an expensive antique it’s OK to try your hand at painting. I’ve dabbled in furniture painting and it is time consuming.

I only recommend doing this if you can live with imperfection. If you can be satisfied that the furniture doesn’t look like it was painted by an expert it’s a fun, quick project. Here are two pieces I painted and they aren’t perfect but most people can’t tell I painted them.

Hang Pictures and Curtains – You might think this is a joke but it’s not. Styling your house requires a lot of trial and error with art and drape. It’s not always easy to hang them by yourself. I like to DIY with help. One person can hold up the painting and the other can mark the spot.

Framing Art and Photos- Framing can be really expensive, often more than the art itself. I don’t make my own frames, but I buy frames where I choose the mat and the frame and I put the art in. This saves a ton and the art still looks custom framed.

My favorite site for this is not framebridge, they do the most advertising, but they aren’t the cheapest. I love Frame It Easy. It’s the same idea and you can upload your art, but always less expensive. I used Frame It Easy to frame everything on my gallery wall.

Things Not to DIY

Building Any Kind of Furniture – Building furniture requires more than just a hammer and some screws. I’ve longed to copy one of the IKEA hacks where they build in bookshelves. If you have to cut wood and build it into the wall, a DIY project moves into new territory. These things are not for the beginner, and not for me.

Electrical Things – When it comes to electricity, you can really hurt yourself if you do something wrong. This is one area where it make sense to use a pro. I have haired many handmen who are more than happy to replace a light fixture or do small electrical projects for not a lot of money.

Curtains – I don’t have a sewing machine and with Etsy I’m not planning on buying one. If there are some basic curtains you want it is possible to iron in hem tape, but by the time you b uy the fabric, it isn’t that much more to buy them already made on Etsy.

Pillows – You can get custom pillows on Etsy for under $20 if there is a certain fabric you want. There are also tons of great choices at places like Target and Pier 1. You will spend almost the same if you buy the fabric and the pillow/insert.

Art – I’ve seen many people making their own paintings or word art but why? These things are incredibly cheap and I’m not an artist.

The Bottom Line About DIY

The bottom line is you don’t have to go without something because you can’t make it yourself. There are lots of inexpensive sources out there where you can either buy the things you want or pay someone else to build or install them.

You don’t have to be good at DIY to decorate your house on your own, that’s why God created the handyman. Here are my tips for finding a good handyman.

DIY this not that

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