Top 25 DIY Blogs Worth Reading
Last year we published our huge list of ‘100 interior design blogs you MUST read’, proving that the interior design blogosphere is a big place. But as big as that list was, there are still many excellent blogs that we didn’t have room to mention. We also wanted to focus on a DIY angle with this new post, highlighting blogs that have great DIY skills and creativity with unique projects that you won’t find anywhere else. These are not the places to go if you just want a quick and practical overview of how to fit bathroom taps, but if you are a bit more ambitious then they are for you! Which is not to say you won't find the odd project relating to bath taps !
1. Sawdust Girl
Sawdust Girl is a superb first addition to our list as you can pretty much finish your trip through the DIY blogosphere before it’s even begun (don’t though, as there are plenty of excellent blogs to check out on this blog). It’s absolutely rammed to the rafters with DIY ideas with easy to follow instructions. There are also brilliant free to download plans that show you how to make different types of tables and storage containers.
There’s something here for everyone, and because the instructions are so clear, anyone can make them too!
Where to start: All the DIY Projects can be found through this page.
2. Homey oh my!
Homey oh my! Is a home lifestyle blog by Amy, a resident of LA, California. She pays particular attention to the little details that add that original creative spark to your rooms. As such, you get tutorials for things like DIY Geometric Candle Holders and Gold Goblet Planters. Particular attention is paid to projects that help you organise your home. It helps that all the photographs are beautifully shot too.
3. Vintage Revivals
Vintage is hot right now, especially if you ask my cousin as she’s really into vintage clothing at the moment. When it comes to interior DIY though, Vintage Revivals has you covered. There are some stunning designs created and showcased by Mandi on her blog, who is all about ‘Fearless DIY’. That means you get a lot of out there and extremely creative designs that will really make your home stand out from the crowd.
4. Chris Loves Julia
A Lot of home improvement blogs follow the lives of the authors family as they create their dream homes bit by bit. It’s a pleasure to follow along with both the families and homes development, and Chris Loves Julia is no exception. Following the Marcum family, we get to see how they made a ‘fixer upper’ look fantastic and how they continue to do the same with their current home.
There’s plenty of tips and tricks you can take on board here, and while we may be British, a lot of the information on this blog proves that this sort of stuff applies universally.
Where to begin: Take a look at what they did with their first home.
5. Old Town Home
I live in a new build home and sometimes I’m a bit disappointed as a home that’s only a few years old isn’t exactly overflowing with character. Old homes tend to have sturdier builds too, hence why they’ve managed to stick around for so long. It’s great to see these homes being given a modern lick of paint and remaining comfortable, family homes. Old Town Home charts the renovation of an 1800s Victorian in Old Town Alexandria, Virgina. It’s impressive to see how far they’ve come since they began the job in 2003.
So Old Town Homes is a great blog for those who are planning or currently in the process of renovating an older homer, with plenty of tutorials to get you on the path to creating a home you can be proud of. Projects include woodworking, salvaging, painting tips and more.
Where to begin: ‘The Projects & Tutorials’ page is overflowing with great advice.
6. The Ugly Duckling House
I somehow forgot to include The Ugly Duckling House on my 100 Interior Design Blogs round-up. But I’ve fixed that now by including it here! We’ve been following it here at Plumbworld for quite a while now, as Sarah’s post are always entertaining to read and very informative. The amount of work Sarah has put into the Atlanta, Georgia home she bought back in 2010 is impressive to see, and it looks like you’re stepping into the pages of a glossy interiors magazine.
Sarah has shared her extensive DIY knowledge as she learns it herself, so you can follow her progress as she develops her skills to ultimately incredible effect. The best blogs are all about sharing what the author has learned, which is why DIY blogs are so helpful.
Where to begin: The ‘Project Gallery’ is as good of a place as any.
7. House*Tweaking
‘Because home doesn’t happen overnight’
We couldn’t agree with that more, as renovating a home to create the living space you’ve always been dreaming of isn’t an easy job. However, in renovating her first two homes, House*Tweaking author Dana realised that having a big house isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. They downsized and now they seem happier than ever!
Along the road to realising this, Dana has shared her and her husband Steve’s extensive knowledge on interior design and DIY projects, interspersed with posts about family life.
Where to begin: Feel bad about your home by seeing how spectacular the interiors of Dana’s looks.
8. DIY Diva
Kit definitely loves her power tools, and she definitely knows how to use them too. She’s single-handedly renovating an old farm house with a small farm attached, and if that’s not a lot of work she also regularly updates an extensive and incredibly helpful blog.
Like Kit says, DIY might partly be about the fun of figuring out things on your own, but it’s also fun to read about other people tackling this path. As such, there are plenty of how to’s and projects that you can get your teeth stuck into. But it’s also fun just simply reading about life on a farm.
Where to begin: Take a look at the ‘Projects, plans & how to’ page.
9. Charles and Hudson
Turning a house into a home is exactly what Charles and Hudson want to teach you. Founded by Timothy Dahl, this web magazine is full to the brim of projects that you can easily start yourself today.
DIY tips include ‘how to build a sawhorse table’ and ‘a dream work bench’ with clear and simple to understand instructions. There’s also great coverage of smart home topics.
Where to begin: The ‘Build or Buy’ category is full of goodness.
10. Pretty Handy Girl
Brittany, the author of Pretty Handy Girl, definitely lives up to the moniker she has chosen for her blog. Brittany wants anyone to be able to repair, upgrade and “become a true do-it-yourselfer” and there’s plenty here to easily help you do that. She’s been helping with renovations since her childhood, so you’re definitely getting a lifetime of knowledge here.
Examples of categories include ‘how to build it’, ‘be your own electrician’ and ‘don’t hire a plumber’. It’s DIY at its best!
Where to begin: Since we’re a bathroom website, we’ll point you to the ‘don’t hire a plumber’ category.
11. Dans Le Lakehouse
Dans le Lakehouse is the blog of Tanya, who lives in an awesome home on Lake Superior. As a result, the blogs name has changed from ‘Townhouse’ to ‘Lakehouse’, but you can still look back at the home she left. Homes like Tanya’s always make me jealous of the location, as my home in the middle of an old industrial northern England town can’t exactly compare.
Tanya has a brilliant collection of DIY projects, many of which use wood to create some impressive little pieces. Highlights include ‘Solid Wood Hex Coasters’ and chair and table makeovers.
Where to begin: The aforementioned ‘project gallery’ is the perfect start.
12. Bowerpower
The ‘blog about nothing and everything’ certainly has a wealth of content, and it’s even more awesome because author Katie describes herself as the “Jedi-knight of this blog”. Brilliant! Then you realise that the self-appointed title when Katie doesn’t only update the blog and renovate her home, she also has to look after four little boys with her husband Jeremy.
Projects are divided into categories like ‘art and craft projects’, ‘bathroom projects’ (obviously our favourite), general ‘home improvement and DIY projects’ and more. It will certainly suck up your day if you start reading it now.
Where to begin: The ‘Project Catalog’ is available here.
13. The House of Smiths
The blog of the smith family (who would have guessed?) The House of Smiths was established to chart the family’s progress on a home remodel. With three girls to look after, blog author Shelley is three big reasons to ensure their house is awesome to grow up in.
Along the way they’ve found fun ways to upgrade and decorate their home on a budget, plus a healthy amount of DIY projects, crafts, organisation tips and much more. It’s great inspiration for anyone juggling a house renovation and looking after a family at the same time.
14. Simply the Nest
Manchester, UK based blogger Alice has been renovating a fantastic Victorian house and charting its progress through Simply the Nest (we love the name). It’s been around since 1875, which gives it boat loads of character and lots of living space for Alice, her husband and two children. Amazingly, they manage to still continue with the renovation and update the blog, as well as looking after young children. But Alice says they don’t sit down until 10 pm six nights a week to manage all this.
Aside from the usual deep dive into DIY projects, there're some great posts on furniture upcycling for those who are looking to reuse old things.
Where to begin: Take a look at their current home.
15. The DIY Dreamer
Another full-time mum and DIY expert is Christine, who runs The DIY Dreamer. Christine creates a lot of the feature projects with the help of her family, which is a fun way of getting everyone involved in a creative project and is definitely something you should try too.
There’s tutorials on DIY/crafts, cooking, sewing, jewellery and more. It’s a great blog for help with homemaking.
Where to begin: We started with the DIY section.
16. One Project Closer
While we’re hesitant to class this one as a blog, One Project Closer is such an incredible resource that we just had to include it here. If you’re struggling to get through home renovations and don’t know where to go next, this website will expertly guide you through each project with detailed step-by-step guides that will help melt that frustration away.
There are so many guides available here that you could easily spend all day browsing the site. Just make sure you make time to actually complete those projects!
Where to begin: The how-to guides are the place to be.
17. DIY Inspired
DIY Inspired is all about the art of repurposing. Why throw something away when you can turn it into something brilliant that you can admire as part of your home décor? Dinah will help you accomplish this, with clever tips on how to make something you may as thought of as trash into gold.
Of course, repurposing is also a great way to accomplish your DIY goals on the cheap. But looking at everything Dinah produces, it certainly doesn’t look cheap! The results are always very professional.repurposing is also a great way to accomplish your DIY goals on the cheap. But looking at everything Dinah produces, it certainly doesn’t look cheap! The results are always very professional.
Where to begin: We love the ‘trash to treasure’ section.
18. Upcycle That
Another repurposing/upcycling blog, Upcycle That has countless tutorials to help you create creative, beautiful and innovative pieces out of something you may have thrown away. Loads of things can have a second life, and authors Jacques Karsten and Judy Rom are proving that with every single post.
Great examples include a ‘DIY bathroom cabinet’, a ‘vertical pallet planter’ and stunning ‘cassette tape art’.
Where to begin: Take a look at the bathroom furniture section.
19. Mountain Modern Life
We’re incredibly jealous of where Katie and Eric get to live, but we can at least appreciate their creativity and expert tips through their blog, Mountain Modern Life. They’re a fan of all things rustic, re-imagined and upcycled. They want to inspire you to “create the environment you’ve always wanted’ so you can be happy in the place you live.
Incredible projects include the current renovation of an RV, ‘barnwood style kitchen sideboards’ and even little projects such as a ‘DIY rustic tea light candle holder’.
Where to begin: Start with the DIY Projects page.
20. Upcyclist
Continuing with our current upcycling theme is Upcyclist, and this one is based in the UK too. This is a brilliant resource to find out what’s going on in the world of upcycling, so you’ll find posts on art being created from reused objects, or fantastic furniture made of upcycled aeroplane parts.
This blog clearly shows that there are some incredible people working with upcycling, confirming that you can get creative with pretty much anything. It’s definitely one to follow if you have even the slightest interest in upcycling.
Where to begin: Here’s some furniture made from aeroplane parts.
21. Remade in Britain
Another British entry to this list, Remade in Britain is the blog of an “upcycling, eco-friendly, salvage and vintage marketplace” where you can find some real gems. One of the companies aims is to reduce the amount of waste going to a landfill by repurposing things, which is something we should all get behind.
The team are well known for upcycling a room from a skip, which gave some impressive results. Elsewhere on the blog, it showcases the projects they make on a daily basis. Examples include a ‘vinyl record stack light’, plenty of repurposed tables and chairs and even upcycled aeroplane furniture.
Where to begin: We loved these ’10 easy ideas for upcycling records’.
22. Create Again
More upcycling? In our book, you can never have enough! Heather started Create Again when she gave up her job to look after her children. She’s passionate about saving, fixing, creating and, of course, upcycling, and wants to share this passion with the rest of the world. Everything that Heather does shows that you can still be frugal when you’re being creative.
Great examples of the kind of tutorials on offer are ‘nautical inspired furniture’, a ‘bohemian flower inspired stool’ and turning a ‘dresser into a media console’. If you’ve ever wanted to try upcycling, this blog will give you a big hand.
Where to begin: The create section includes the aforementioned examples.
23. My Salvaged Treasures
Betsy is “a lover of all things vintage and unique” and wants to share her “junking adventures” through her blog, My Salvaged Treasures. As with the last few featured blogs, this is all about repurposing and upcycling to create one-of-a-kind pieces to give you some inspiration to create your own.
Examples include ’12 ways to display pictures using old junk’, building a Christmas tree with ‘junky lamp parts’ and jewellery creations.
Where to begin: See Betsy’s ‘repurposed junk’ projects here.
24. The DIY Playbook
Modelled after the playbook of American football, The DIY Playbook is full of DIY ideas, decorating tips, crafts and more. Many of the DIY projects are little things that still manage to gleam with creativity. They’re the brainchildren of two best friends, Bridget and Casey, who always write in a refreshingly engaging style.
One of our favourite examples is the ‘easy DIY bathtub tray’, because who doesn’t want an excuse to spend more time in the bath?
Where to begin: That bathtub tray!
25. Young House Love
Last but by no means least is Young House Love. We chose this one because of John and Sherry's familiar fun in renovating their two homes and their show home. You can see their projects, go on a tour of their house and even listen to their DIY themed podcast.
They offer help with lot of interior furnishings too so happy reading!
Where to begin: Start at their homepage to find the posts mentioned above.
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If you found this post useful, you may also be interested in - DIY Home Improvements - Copper & Gold Design Inspiration - Grey Bathroom Inspiration.
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