Starting a project can be a daunting task. From budget constraints and skill barriers to time management and the act of actually picking a project to pursue in the first place, it can all seem more than a little overwhelming. In reality, though, starting a project doesn’t need to be such a production. In fact, you can make a simple project at home—by choosing one of many easy home upgrades as your DIY project, you turn an at-home activity into work on the home itself.
This transforms part of your place and either adds value or adds to your personal experience—or maybe even both. From upgrading your door and other exterior elements to adding a touch of style to your interior, here are some ideas to get you started!
Easy DIY Projects for Home
So, what are the easiest DIY home improvements? One thing’s for sure: you won’t be taking out walls or tackling major wiring or plumbing. Usually, when someone refers to easy home improvement projects, they mean projects that change or add small features to already established parts of your home.
That should already address many of the barriers that stop people from taking up projects in the first place—whether it be the cost, complexity or commitment that hinders you from making at-home DIY, these easy projects can help you get over that hurdle and begin to check things off your home to-do list.
Paint or Stain Your Front Door
Entryways are like the physical manifestation of a wave and a handshake put together and attached to the front of your home. As the first thing on display for those who visit the home, the entry greets you, your family members, and your guests, while also providing a statement to anyone looking on from the curb. As the focal point of most entryways, the front door may inform the rest of an entry’s aesthetic based on its color alone. That’s why applying a new coat of paint or a new stain to the exterior door can have a huge impact, changing up the entire look of your home’s primary entry.
A door stain kit, like the one available from Plastpro, should make buying materials and completing the process easy, as most kits will include everything you need to change up the look of your door. Just be sure to follow the instructions, as you’ll be working with chemicals when applying the staining agent. In the case of staining or painting a door, be prepared to allow the door some time to dry. This means being mindful of the day’s weather forecast, locking up pets who may stray outside and scheduling this project on a day when there isn’t much foot traffic around the front door of the home.
Despite the precautions, this project is so common because it’s worth it. In addition to the instant visual change a new stain or paint job provides, the door’s lifespan is increased by some newly added protection from the elements.
Check Your Door’s Weatherstripping
Out of all the proposed projects on this list, this may be the easiest DIY home improvement. It’s easier to complete on a cold day—this allows for easy evidence gathering. To begin, go to your door. Look around your door for light coming through and feel around the frame to see if you notice any cold air entering the home. Finally, rattle the door to see if it budges or any part of the frame shakes. If you notice gaps where your home’s protections against outside air aren’t as air tight as they should be, it’s time to go to work.
For stationary aspects of the frame, caulking is the way to go—and, if the look of the exposed caulk bothers you, it creates another home DIY project! When you’re working close to the actual door, use weatherstripping. Usually, this will have adhesive on one side for easy application. If you notice that the bottom of your door is letting air in, draft guards come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes. Overall, weatherproofing your door is a simple project with a big impact.
Install Door Accessories
If for whatever reason you decide against painting or staining your entry door, there are other easy ways to add some flare or change the presentation of your front façade. Door accessories are easy home upgrades and can have you looking at your door in an entirely different light.
Functionally, strap hinges are a type of hinge that pulls a door closed—think kitchen cabinets or saloon doors. These types of hinges usually aren’t completely obscured and often feature large, ornate straps that stretch across the front of one of these self-closing doors. The straps have become so popular as a decorative feature that homeowners choose to apply hinge straps to doors without strap hinges. This can provide the door with a rustic or classic feel, depending on the aesthetic executed.
Speakeasies are another easy-to-install door accessory option that adds personality without looking hokey or out of place. Named after the Prohibition era establishments that used these mechanisms to peep through doors and screen visitors before allowing them inside, speakeasies are tiny doors on a door that’re often reinforced with visible metal surrounding the perimeter. Speakeasies can either be vanity accessories or installed as usable methods of interacting with visitors. Given the multiple front door security options that modern technology affords homeowners—and the ease of installation of a vanity speakeasy compared to one that swings open—this easy DIY home project is easiest when the speakeasy doesn’t actually work.
Other accessories that could be utilized to change a door’s look include clavos and dentil shelves. Clavos are nails with abnormally large heads used to add detail to doors meant to look rustic, while dentil shelves are protrusions decorated in an ornate fashion that’re mostly found under doorlites—which are another great way to add character to a door. Doorlites are glass sections of a door that can raise the amount of indoor lighting a home gets and allow for a better view of what’s going on outside your doorway. Sidelites are very similar and run alongside the vertical edges of a door.
Add Wall Planking
Do you have a room with walls in need of a refresh? Instead of turning to paint or wallpaper, imagine the space redefined by wall planking.
Planking and paneling are classic ways of bringing elegance and individuality into a home, with the various design and color options available making it a viable stylistic option for a wide range of homeowners. Planking kits are available, making this at-home DIY option as easy as it could possibly be to install, and completing the task will reward you with a space that feels refreshed and renewed.
Scrap Wood Possibilities
No matter what it was before, the right piece of scrap wood can become something new and useful. For example, usable parts of an old door could be cut into shelving for a closet space or wall shelving that can hold up surround sound speakers, family photos or other display-worthy objects. Wood may also be repurposed into coffee or side tables, ottomans, benches and other useful pieces of furniture. Other than paying for the materials to refinish, cut and piece together the wood, the only limits on a project like this are your own imagination—while it comes to simple cuts like straight shelving, skill shouldn’t be too much of a factor.
DIY Home Improvement Projects vs. Home Remodeling
While the projects listed here may technically be small home remodels because they change and renew things about a home, they aren’t remodels in the traditional sense. The term home remodel is mostly used in reference to projects that involve large-scale changes which greatly impact the appearance or functionality of a home. For example, the removal of walls, the replacement of kitchen cabinets and the addition of new rooms are all home improvement projects that could take multiple days or weeks and probably require the assistance of a professional.
DIY home improvement projects are small scale compared to remodels and can be done spontaneously around the house if you’re bored. They can typically be completed in less than a day and mostly result in cosmetic changes to a home. That isn’t to say they aren’t important, though—refreshes on some things around the house can prevent injury or the rise of larger problems later down the road, and loving the look of your home or switching up something that’s become stale can do wonders for your mental health.
Easy Home Upgrades with Plastpro
Plastpro provides plenty of products for use in at-home DIY projects, like kits for wall panels, door accessories and doorlites. If you’d like to go a little further and do a complete door replacement, Plastpro has you covered there, too. Our fiberglass doors are a safer, more energy efficient option when compared to wooden and steel doors. Plus, they can be customized to fit a wide range of frames, colors and styles. That means that they can be used to compliment your existing entryway or serve as the starting point for an entire front porch refresh!
Check out Plastpro’s line of fiberglass doors to begin your door replacement journey or visit our where to buy page to discover the most convenient place to purchase Plastpro’s entire catalog of products.
