15 Brilliant DIY Home Projects You Could Start Right Now

While taking on an ambitious DIY project can be daunting, there's nothing like the feeling of accomplishment that comes with building something with your bare hands. And frankly, if those camera-ready HGTV hosts can do it, what's stopping you?

To make it easier to dip your toe in the water, we scoured thousands of user-submitted DIY projects on Reddit to find 15 worthy of your time, from small-scale kitchen jobs to digging out an in-ground pool and grotto in your backyard.

Hey Bob Vila, eat your heart out.
 

1. Backyard pool and grotto

Skill level: Ty Pennington
As long as you’re willing to part with some serious backyard square footage, this insane pool and grotto setup will most certainly improve your summers. You’ll need to convince a few buddies to help you out, though, since it involves some serious excavation, plumbing, and laying a bunch of boulder-shaped concrete. [See more]

2. Treehouse

Skill level: A Swiss Family
Who says treehouses are just for kids? This lofted rope ladder-accessible masterpiece is basically a studio apartment (sans plumbing) with its own trap door escape. To safely secure the whole thing at such heights safely, you’ll need to drill some seriously long and girthy bolts into the tree, and it's up to you how complicated to get with the interior amenities. Though be warned, just to make it habitable you’re facing at least 3-5 days of work. [See more]

3. Multi-tap kegerator

Skill level: Al Borland
By extending the height of any standard freezer chest, you can create a bar's worth of beer taps in your garage. Once you've lifted the top on a wooden frame and add a few tap heads, fill the basin with your kegs of choice, add a gas manifold for the CO2, and you're sipping pretty in no time. [See more]

4. Truck bed camper

Skill level: MacGyver
Whether you’re a frequent road-tripper or have reason to believe you’ll be evicted sometime soon, building a mini cabin in the bed of your truck is a wise move. The whole process will take you a while and requires some serious expertise (framing, insulating, electrical work...), but just keep reminding yourself how worth it it would be to have a nap pod with you wherever you go. [See more]

5. Backyard man cave cabin

Skill level: Ron Swanson
Screw tool storage, your backyard shed is far better suited to be a wood-paneled paradise for to unplug in after a long day. To achieve the rustic hunting cabin vibes, you’ll need to cover the walls and floors with knotty wood, and find some old stones to assemble that faux fireplace. [See more]

6. Foosball table

Skill level: Tim "The Toolman" Taylor
No need to drop a few hundred bucks on a foos table, because making one yourself is actually fairly simple (and cheap!). All you need is some wood, steel rods, handles, and a set of the counterbalanced players. [See more]

7. Sunken fire pit

Skill level: your mom
Create a more permanent backyard pow-wow setup by digging out a two-foot hole, lining it with stacked and mortared fire bricks and filling it with gravel. Light 'er up and finish it off with an optional mesh top or a grilling grate. [See more]

8. Cherry and concrete dining table

Skill level: Norm Abram
As much a piece of art as it is furnture, this beauty of a table is made by setting two slabs of cherry wood in a concrete form, and mounting it once it sets to a set of legs. [See more]

9. Faux firewood fireplace cover

Skill level: Your little cousin
A classier alternative to staring at the rubble of ashes in your fireplace (and a great way to block out cold drafts), you could finish one of these faux log stack in an afternoon. You’ll need to forage for a few round logs still covered in bark, slice 'em up into 2-inch thick pucks, and stain each on one side. Then, use wood glue to secure them to a fireplace-sized sheet of plywood you’ve painted black. [See more]

10. L-shaped workstation

Skill level: Bob the Builder
It looks straight out of the Restoration Hardware catalog, but this sprawling desk does not have the price tag to match. It's fashioned from a couple of lacquered butcher blocks and a simple steel pipe frame. [See more]

11. Hidden TV

Skill level: Your super
A prominently displayed flatscreen can really ruin the vibe in your otherwise sophisticated living room. There's an easy fix, though. Pick up a piece of art large enough to cover the size of your screen (something you'd be comfortable cutting in half), slice it down the center, and affix each side to a sliding panel bracketed to the wall your TV's mounted to. [See more]

12. Magnetic knife board

Skill level: St. Joseph
Keep your cutlery out of the way and off the counter with this incredibly simple wall-mountable knife rack. Find a nice slab of wood, drill a polka-dot pattern of hole in the back, and fill each one with a strong cylindrical magnet. [See more]

13. Standing desk

Skill level: Boy scout
You could spend thousands on one of the readymade life-saving workstations, or you could create a customized one with character. All you need is a wooden tabletop, some steel pipe, and a set of tools. If you feel like getting fancy, maybe even add some hidden LEDs. [See more]

14. Outdoor pizza oven

Skill level: Papa John
Take your homemade pizza game to the next level with your own backyard brick oven. Create a solid stone platform a few feet off the ground and use a wooden frame to lay an arch of bricks around, leaving a small chimney and inner lip for a grill grate to sit. [See more]

15. Tripod table lamp

Skill level: IKEA furniture assembler
Yet another piece of furniture you could easily spend a fortune on, this mid-century modern-style light fixture is incredibly simple to put together. All you need is basic lamp hardware, a narrow plank of wood long enough to be cut into thirds, and a lampshade. [See more]


Joe McGauley is a senior editor at Supercompressor. He has seen every episode of Home Improvement more than once.