My husband would like me to stop reading DIY blogs for this very reason!!!

I would love to be able to put my own creative spin on something sad and neglected and make it beautiful again. But the things in my home don't really need that kind of love, not at the moment. I don't have anything that I could transform.

Reading about beautiful DIYs makes me twitchy. It makes me want my own, non-apartment home to nurture and make magically mine. Recently, after feeling fed up with our apartment and its sameness, my husband and I rearranged our living room. Now it feels wonderfully like a whole new space. That's the closest I get to starting an unnecessary DIY.

Not at the moment. I just finished DIYing my boyfriend's entire house and find myself seeeeeeriously procrastinating on the re-DIY of the master bedroom (which didn't turn out well the first time I DIYed it and needs to be redone).

Ain't that the truth. What I find the hardest though, is when people share their "budget-friendly" projects with gorgeous results, and then they reveal the actual numbers, and I realize that such a makeover is still not compatible with MY budget. That's gotta be the hardest part about homeownership... the stuff you can't make happen, either due to cost, or the level of skill involved in doing it yourself (everyone else seems to have a talented uncle with lots of free time...).

Ditto lisamfb.

My home is a DIYer's dream come true in that there are so many projects that *need* to be done. Unfortunately, reading DIY blogs causes me to flip from one project to the next without ever *finishing* anything!

I usually love a good "before" and "after". But, thing is, with sooooo many being posted, after a while it just makes me feel inferior. Sounds like I need therapy. ;)

Yes ... I love reading design blogs but I find that my to do of DIY items keeps growing and I feel like my house is never quite good enough ... its a double edged sword I guess!

My life has always been DIY. So when I see the before and afters or view HT's, it inspires me, even though they may not quite be my cup of tea - I still get great ideas that I can translate into my own style. I don't start viewing my home with a "hypercritical eye" (because I love my home) nor do I start anything "unnecessary" (waste of time & money). The DIY envy I DO HAVE is I wish I knew more about carpentry and furniture making.

I'm in the middle of about 3 of them, and still plotting new ones, should I seek professional help?

You are not alone. It's worse when you have a clean slate to work with because _everything_ becomes a project.

In the words of my personal DIY hero Tim Allen, "Hell I've got tools to fix tools. Go on b@itch, break something!"

the first 30 to 40 sec.
http://standupcomediansshows.com/comedians/tim-allen/tim-allen-men-are-pigs-part-3/

I envy the skills and talent these DIYers have. I'm not just incompetent at anything DIY, I'm actually dangerous. I don't attempt anything myself anymore. Too many disasters.

I agree with Susan in Austin...I feel my life has always been a DIY...and by that I mean that I feel like I've always been the lover of "diamonds in the rough"...loved taking old, sad, neglected things, polishing them up and making them lovely again. I have a past liberally checkered with strays (bloodied puppies thrown in dumpsters, half drowned cats, emaciated horses missing most of their hair from skin fungus, and the occasional other fish or small furry) and various wildlife rescues and rehabs (in particular do not mention "baby skunk" or "Canadian goose" to my mother), I populate gardens almost entirely with revived "kill cart" plants...you know those 10 for a $1 or the normally $30 perennial that's now $3 deals at some home centers (luv ya Lowe's!!! Home Dep mulches all their "un-sellable" stuff and won't sell at a lower price...booooo), and positively drool over old, sad, wasting away houses with FABULOUS architectural details that are just BEGGING for a little lovin'. Even though I can't sew (yet), my mom and nana made or altered almost all of our clothes (due to lack of funds for the new stuff) that were used in my early childhood, and my nana and her sisters were ruling queens of flea markets.

SO, in my case, I know the craziness comes from those places inside and from my past...and even when I was a kid I loved "nesting". Some people don't give a hoot what their environment is - but I was not born one of those people!! :)

But I think a lot of people are attracted to the creativeness of DIY...it's a way to express yourself without doing "art", per se...and I think more of the population is less creative as a whole in their off time. I know I read an article about kids who don't "play" as much as we did when we were kids...and that humans evolved from "playing"...i.e., creating silly games or whatever...whereas a lot of entertainment is created by someone else and then offered and available because we have the money to spend on it as a society.

Anyway, I've come to the realization that I don't HAVE to hold onto everything forever...constantly changing, constantly evolving. And I genuinely LIKE making something more beautiful and sending it back out into the world to be loved again (there is a reason I am in the fostering dogs thing)...so when I want to start a new project I "give back" by selling or giving away stuff to make room for the new and other people can enjoy the old. Plus I live in a university area of Philadelphia that is CONSTANTLY changing population, so every other week I see something potentially FABULOUS that somebody threw out and I cry "WHY?!?!" So I'm lucky that a lot of my DIY's are trashpicks and can be recycled often. You would be AMAZED at what people throw away around here...

Sounds probably a little crazy, I know, and if I wasn't on pain meds for a minor dental surgery maybe I wouldn't be QUITE so loopy ;)~

I will say that I keep an "inspiration file", both on the computer and in a file folder where I tear out things I love and can refer back. THat way I don't feel like I have to do the new things RIGHT NOW because I can check back with it later and see if I still love it and want to do it. Then I periodically purge the file...plus I keep my friends and fam in projects that I can help with too ;)~

Anyway, I'm sure everybody has diff personal reasons for why they can overload on DIY stuff... ;)

WOW!!!! Sorry for the uber-long post...no wonder these come with a warning...

Anyway to Susan: My dad did carpentry and furniture making on the side for a long time...he's now graduation to steel/metal stuff for his "play". He never had training as a carpenter or went to school or anything...just read books and asked questions when he could and whatnot.

But I will say it's all in the tools and practice...if you don't have the tools all the time you can't practice or redo if you mess up the first few times like when you're having to rent them and are under the gun to get them back.

But if you are really interested there's tons of resources out there. It's like anything else really...once you have a solid knowledge base of the the fundamental principles, and the right tools, the sky's the limit. The better the tool, the cleaner the job, at least when it comes to making things "furniture pretty".

Oh, and my dad also used to help with "demolition" so he could see how things were put together...he said it's the best way to do so :)

Cheers!

CarmenJF, I'm the same way. I've rescued much more than my share of furry and feathered animals and I shop for perennials in September. It's no surprise that when I look for objects to put in my home, I gravitate toward things "with potential" that may be a little battered. The result is that you end up with a comfy home that looks like no other! It's so rewarding, that's what starts the addiction!

Oh yes, definitely some envy here. I'm far too disorganized to get stuff done. I have yards of cool fabric that hasn't been put to use and several pieces of vintage furniture that would look fab refinished. I also second what the person above said about budget. It would be cool to reupholster something but all the fabric I like is 40 bucks a yard! I may as well buy a brand new piece of furniture becaue the cost of supplies and the energy and skill required is enormous.

I'm a hard-wired editor/tweaker. But also a procrastinator with limited endurance and time. Not a good combination. As a result, I live in a house that deserves better than what I can do, can't afford what I want to do, and dream of what could be. Sigh. Why don't they have serious classes for these skills? Especially in this economy! Well, maybe they exist some places. But not here. 1-2 hrs demos at Home Depot ain't gonna get it!

A little electrical, a little plumbing, a bit of workworking, etc. Minimum: enough to know what not to try, but ideally to get enough skills to be able to do some stuff.

I agree Fairydogmother...the good feeling is a high :)

I find fabric pretty cheap...there's quite a few good wholesale places around here and Delaware that sell "irregular" stuff...slightly different color than other batch, or some areas that look a little weird...but depending on the project can use around those areas. Plus I always try to hit the clearance racks first and foremost. This past weekend I got 2 West Elm drape panels that were usually $60 a piece, but were on clearance for $9!!!!!!!!!!!! Soooooo excited...I don't need drapes but the fabric is just what I need for new dining chairs/banquette cushions.

Anyway, have you tried checking around for wholesale places...? There's good places online, but I'm leery of buying fabric online...it's good to see in person, I think.

I don't sew, but my mom does (my last great frontier...learned how to cook, garden, do minor-to-moderate house renovation stuff...this is last on the domestic list) and we were just talking at work about how it's a lost art.

I think skills come with learning from those that know and practice - almost nothing is easy the first 10 times you do it. Even just a class in basic design principles is a start. They see all these great things but don't know the basic fundamentals of color and design and scale (which, is a LEARNED skill like reading or writing). If you went to a design class and took the final without having taken the class and done your homework, building on concept after concept...probably most wouldn't do so hot.

I also have a pet peeve about those Home Depot classes and the DIY budget shows. Yes, they make FANTASTIC things out of trash, but they have a LIMITLESS supply of tools!!!!! All the cool lamps out of branches and custom made headboard/shelving thing looks like a breeze because the tv peeps have the big guns in the tool business. Plus there is always a TEAM effort (never less than 4-5 minimum)...whereas most DIY projects are usually you and the possibly-quite-probably grumbling SO you've dragged into the process :)

The big money's in the tools. And HD is trying to sell or rent them to you with their classes...it's an excellent business endeavor...take the money away from the contractor for yourself by selling to the customer...and still have contractors available for backup in case said customer gets in a jam or frustrated.

And the big progress is in team effort...some of those "weekend makeovers" have the whole BLOCK pitching in.

Whew...ok...those are my DIY pet peeves!! :)

Oh, and I do agree Fairydogmother...on the personality of DIY stuff...all my friends and fam say my place is "so YOU!" ;)~

Whatever that means!!!...lol

OH....AND they condense HOURS or DAYS into a half hour or hour show!!!!!!!! VERY misleading if you don't think about it...

I find them inspiring.

Sometimes they add to my discontentment with my current place or things because "I know I could make this myself!" instead of buying it... however, the "I" part of that statement isn't actually true. I know it's possible to be made at home, but I don't have the skills (nor the patience to learn the skills).

So generally I just like looking at the pretty pictures.

I am a renter with homeowner-DIY envy, haha. My boyfriend and I are in the process of buying a house right now and I can't wait to get started!!

I'm pretty good about culling the ideas I find, into suitable ideas for my own home, my DIY envy centers around the size of some spaces and that I can't mushroom my 950 sq. ft. house into 1200 or 1500 sq. ft. If I see another luxurious bath with a huge soaking tub and massive amounts of space all around it, well, I think I'd scream. And, yes, I'd still rather stay here than move and be able to fit a canopy bed into the mbr!

I sure do! However, these posts are inspiring-- even though my DIY skills are only just budding. And I'm pretty sure I drive my man crazy with constant talk of how I want to improve our place, too, haha. As renters who don't plan on staying in our apartment that much longer, there's only so much time and effort we want to put into our home, not to mention we have a very, very limited budget. But dreaming is free... :)

I'm taking another bar exam in less than 2 weeks... and all these before/after posts have me planning my post-bar project to redo our guest room/office! It's been my daydream break study sessions.

Heard that, andimcd!

I don't know whose budget they are appealing to, but its never mine! :-( It almost makes it more fun to try and beat the budget and look for more creative ways to reinvent things, though.

Is it just me or do these posts point to a need for a network of classes designed specifically for folks like us? How to build furniture, how to fix plumbing, how to remove old wallpaper, how to build shelves, how to build a raised bed... I mean, I know there's community ed, but I'm picturing something fresher/hipper. Thoughts?

andimcd-
Home Depot and Lowe's hold quickie diy seminars, many on Saturday mornings. You'll learn the basics--meaning the right way to do it---, and it's up to you to morph that into fresher/hipper.

Hello, I am Stepanka and I'm a DIY addict.

It started with a cottage remodeling (done by my parents) when I was 10. I started helping out on site and discovered tools, paint, nails, glue, old furniture ... and it all went downhill from there. Hours and hours spent in a dark musty garage, sanding, cutting, nailing, gluing, painting, sewing, loving.

Let me say this, that's the one addiction I'm happy to have. Keeps me busy and focused on projects. I'm a renter right now, so I focus on painting walls and giving a little love to old furniture/accessories. One day, it'll be a whole house and everything in it. One day, I'll overdose on DIY. :)

Oh, I absolutely get the itch. I redid my mom's guest room and I've been helping her fix up her kitchen. Getting rid of the plain white wall and all the cows made a huge difference! And we finally painted the ugly 80s oak pantry cabinet this weekend. I love the transformation! Now she wants to paint the chairs too!

i suffer from major diy envy, but how do you get it done in a small apt? where would i saw/glue/spread out??