37 DIY Projects That Cost Less Than $100 to Create
Updated: Feb. 14, 2023When you do projects yourself, improving your home costs a lot less than you might think!
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Masterpiece Cutting Board
This cutting board dazzles the eye, but making it is easy: Just cut strips of wood and glue them together. I used walnut and maple scraps cut at increments of 1/8-in., but the variations are endless. I made four versions of this design and got smarter with each. April Wilkerson. Click here for some helpful building tips.
This cutting board oil is a perfect finish for this project.
Small Candle Holder
Candles impart a warm, inviting glow to any room. This candle holder accepts three standard tea lights, and is a perfect project for someone interested in honing their notch cutting skills.
Click here for our favorite tea light candles from Amazon.
Window Cornices
Want to give a dreary room a dramatic facelift? Adding window or door cornices will bring freshness and style to any room decor. They’ll hide ugly drapery rods and add a touch of custom-made detailing that makes an ordinary window or patio door look like something special. The top of the cornice can even serve as a display shelf for art or collectibles. Cornices are surprisingly easy to build, even the elegant ones you see in home magazines.
Learn how to clean windows like a professional right here.
Replace a Water Heater Thermocouple
A hot water heater that doesn’t heat might just need a new thermocouple. Learn how to replace this inexpensive part and keep your hot water heater working for years to come.
Learn how to extend the life of your water heater here.
Fix and Revive Trim
Renew the lustrous appearance of stained and varnished woodwork without the messy stripping process. We show you how if you click here.
Click here for some must know trim shortcuts.
Pot and Pan Pullout
Pots and pans are difficult to organize; if you stack them up, it’s a hassle getting to the bottom ones. If you spread them out, they take up tons of valuable cabinet space. This pot and pan pullout makes your pans easy to access and organize and—depending on your cookware—may even give you a place to stash your lids. It only takes a couple of hours, a couple of boards and a couple of drawer slides.
Click here for some more kitchen storage projects.
Fix Stubborn Bifold Closet Doors
Tired of bifold doors that don’t work right? Learn how to adjust a door that’s always sticking, trim a door that binds, repair a broken corner, and tighten annoying handles that keep coming loose.
Once you fix your doors, install this beautiful closet storage system.
Clean Leather Furniture Stains with Natural Products
These natural leather cleaning tips will make old furniture look new. The best part is you probably already have everything you need in the cupboard.
Wall-Mounted Wine Rack
This super-simple wall-mounted wine rack is customizable and really easy to build. You can get it done in an afternoon!
Click here for another great wine rack project.
Kitchen Cabinet Organizers
Cookie sheets, cutting boards, cooling racks, serving trays, pizza peels…Most of us have a disorderly pile of large, flat cookware—and the thing we need is always at the bottom of the stack. This simple system of dividers brings order to the chaos. It requires minimal skills and materials and goes together fast, which allows you to spend more time cooking and less time searching and sorting.
Click here for some more kitchen storage projects.
Get Rid of Mildew and Mold
How mold and mildew get a foothold in your home, how to clean and get rid of it and how to prevent its return. Eliminate moisture sources; water and mold go hand in hand. Click here to find the secrets!
Learn about some mold and mildew myths by clicking here.
The Best Way to Remove Wallpaper
Removing wallpaper before painting is a tough job, but it doesn’t have to be terrible. Learn how to make it go quicker and easier and how to make sure you end up with walls that are smooth and clean.
Check out some wallpaper backsplash ideas here.
Changing a Car Serpentine Belt
Automatic belt tensioners, standard in most cars now, make changing a serpentine belt a simple DIY repair. Follow the clear photos and step-by-step instructions and you’ll be done in 15 minutes.
Check out some AWFUL car tips you shouldn’t even consider by clicking here.
Use Epoxy on Wood for Repairs
Epoxy is the perfect material to make permanent repairs of rotting window sills, door jambs and exterior molding that are difficult to remove and expensive to replace. Epoxy is easy to handle too. You mix it like cookie dough, mold it like modeling clay and, when it hardens, you carve and sand it just like wood. It sticks like crazy and is formulated to flex and move with the wood, so it won’t crack and fall out like some wood fillers. Find out the whole process here.
Learn more about epoxy resin here.
Weather Strip a Door
Stop energy-wasting air leaks around entry doors by installing a weatherstripping kit with a foam flange or vinyl bulb. Use a door sweep to seal the bottom of the door. See the whole process here.
Garden Archway
You can make this metal garden arch trellis from just $25 of steel rebar. And you won’t have to weld a thing. We’ll show you how to bend the arches and attach the decorative circles with wire. When you’re done, cover it with climbing plants for an attractive addition to your garden.
Build this amazing brick pathway to accompany your new archway.
Stacking Totes
Perfect for a kid’s room or entryway, these stacking totes will hide a lot of clutter but still keep items easily accessible. Follow the video tutorial, how-to instructions and tech art below to build one (or 10!) of these simple storage containers.
Change Wiper Blades in 3 Steps
Stop annoying streaks and chatter from worn wiper blades. Make your car safer. Replace them in minutes in these three steps.
Check out how to fix your car when it doesn’t start here.
Refinish Wheels
If you go through the trouble of detailing your aging car, sooner or later the rusty wheels are going to bug you. Here’s how to refinish the wheels so they look new again.
Click here for another car wheel trick.
Speaker Stands
Speakers come in various sizes and shapes, so the height of your speaker stands is dependent on your unique speakers. For this project, we give you the dimensions suited for the speakers shown in the photo, but you can alter the design to fit your individual needs. See the whole process here.
Click here for all of Family Handyman‘s woodworking projects.
Hexagon Shelves
Hexagon or honeycomb shelves have become very popular in the DIY world recently. The reason for this is that they are interestingly designed, different from the norm and incredibly easy to build. You can push out six of these in an afternoon and not break a sweat!Â
Try some more traditional shelving ideas here.
Replace Bad Spark Plug Wires
Worn spark plug wires and boots can start to leak voltage to nearby engine parts, causing arcing and creating performance problems. Find out how to replace them before that happens.
Check out our spark plug buying guide here.
Collapsible Dog Ramp
We all love our dogs to be at our side, but when they age and can no longer jump up to a bed or other places they once could, it can break an owner’s heart. Or your pup may simply be too small to access those places throughout its life. This bedside dog ramp is a sturdy, reliable project that you can build in an afternoon.
See some more indoor woodworking projects right here.
Magnetic Knife Strip
Build this simple and beautiful magnetic knife strip in an afternoon with some scrap materials and incredibly strong magnets.
See some more cheap kitchen add-ons here.
Adirondack Chair and Love Seat
This Adirondack chair and matching love seat are designed for outdoor comfort. They’re designed for easy assembly, so that a novice can build them. And you can build them from inexpensive, durable wood that, once stained, looks beautiful.
Want a folding version? Try this one.
Clean Showerheads
We’ll show you an easy way to clean your clogged showerhead and get it operating like new again. Mineral build up can plug up the spray holes. Here’s a simple way to restore the flow.
Clean you bathroom faster with these tricks and tips.
Double Decker Garage Storage Shelves
Floor space in most garages is hard to come by so the best place to find storage space for garage shelves is overhead. You can make your own DIY shelves for the garage easily go double-decker for twice the storage capacity. See the full plans for this ingenious storage system here.
See all of Family Handyman‘s garage storage projects here.
Repair a Bathroom Fan
Fix your bath fan without replacing the entire unit and improve air flow with a first class vent system. You can replace a dead motor without tearing out the ceiling and replacing the whole thing. You can also improve venting and prevent roof rot by running the vent through the roof, and not leave it in the attic as was done by many contractors. Both improvements are easy. This article shows you how.
Install Bathroom Grab Bars
Make your bathroom safer and more versatile by adding grab bars. In your bathtub or shower, grab bars provide extra security for that first slippery step. We’ll show you the best way to install them.
Clean you bathroom faster with these tricks and tips.
Contemporary Key Hanger
Build this clever key hanger in an hour with two strips of contrasting wood. Each set of keys has its own small fob which nests in between the spacers. Opposing bevels in the spacers and fobs keep your keys from falling on the floor. You don’t need much material, and it’s going to hang on your wall, so splurge on some attractive wood and get building! Click here for the full article.
Knock out these must-do projects in just a couple of days.
Lawn Tractor Maintenance
Follow these pro tips for faster and better lawn tractor maintenance and tubeless tire repair. Good maintenance will prevent expensive repairs in the future. Check out the whole article here.
Check our lawn and garden tricks and tips right here.
Replace Dashboard Lights
Replace dashboard lights by removing the trim panel and instrument cluster. It sounds intimidating, but it’s simpler than you might think with an online factory manual. Click here to see how.
Click here for tips on how to return your car’s interior to it’s original glory.
Folding Stool
All practicality aside, this stool is as irresistible as a wooden puzzle. You’ll love the way the stool unfolds—the two halves of the seat glide together as the legs slide apart below. In order for the stool to work smoothly, you’ll have to be precise when you shape the parts and drill the dowel holes. Find the full plans here.
Add Shelves Above Kitchen Cabinets
Create an attractive display shelf for the empty space above your kitchen cabinets. This project requires only basic carpentry skills, and you can build it in a day. Click here to see how.
Click here for some more kitchen storage projects.
Portable Laptop Computer Stand
Laptop computers are unmatched for portability, but they’re lacking in ergonomics. A good laptop stand helps, but they can be pricey and cumbersome, which detracts from portability. Instead, you can make your own stand that collapses down to a very portable size— and for a fraction of the cost!
Learn how to destroy a computer’s hard drive here.
Hairpin Leg Coffee Table
Build this stylish hairpin leg coffee table in just a few hours. Follow along with the video tutorial and step-by-step photos to see how.
See some more indoor woodworking projects right here.
Lockable Storage Cabinet
There are a lot of dangerous tools and products around the home that kids can get into, especially in your workshop and garage. This lockable cabinet gives you a safe place to store chemicals, paint, pest control products, sharp tools and other potentially dangerous objects. It’s also one of the top woodworking projects. The cabinet could be painted or stained and used in the house as an extra pantry, cleaning supplies closet or hobby center. See the full plans here.
Click here for some great, heavy-duty garage storage projects.
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