Our new paper breaks down everything you need to know about DIY undertaking at rest home .
Jason Donnelly
Anyone who ’s so much as picked up a blusher brushing could tell you that not all DIYs are made alike : deck a slip , say , is a much more accomplishable project thaninstalling a Modern light fixture . DIY — do it yourself — has become tachygraphy for crafts and home betterment projects of all form and size , but as anyone who ’s started ( and give up ) an challenging DIY project can tell you , slap that DIY recording label on something does n’t as if by magic make it something you’re able to actually do yourself .
Credit:Jason Donnelly
Still , DIYs retain to get more and more pop — and when it come to mid- to large - scale house improvement projects , more and more of these efforts are getting abandoned partway through . observe any home advance or real estate show and you ’ll descry them : partly demoed sheds , wall strip of wallpaperbut not repaint , door that do n’t quite close after a wonky hardware substitution attempt .
We ’ve seen plenty of these half - finish projects at Better Homes & Gardens — and we ’ve also guided batch of homeowners and renters through their own home improvement projection . Still , there ’s more to understand about how and why people part and finish ( or , often , do n’t finish ) DIY task , which is why we ’re proud to present the first - ever BHG 2024 DIY Trend Report .
The BHG 2024 DIY Trend Report explores the motive , emotions , and hurdles that DIYers face today . Our Report separate down the reasons someone might not even attempt a DIY in the first place , why someone might abandon a undertaking before it ’s completed , what colors people are looking to bring into their homes with their upgrade , and even what spaces people are most excited to update .
Credit:Design by Grace Canaan
Read on for some of the most intriguing finding from our study , plus some insights that might inspire you to get your next DIY done .
People Get Scared Off of Projects Before They’ve Even Started
If FOMO — fearfulness of missing out — is the societal media specter of our eld , FOMU — fear of messing up — is the bugbear loaf at the start of every DIY . Our researchers behind the BHG 2024 DIY Trend Report strike this term to capsulize the anxieties and uncertainties that polish off at the start of a family betterment project .
What Is FOMU (Fear of Messing Up)?
Avoiding DIY out of fear that you ’ll get it wrong or make a costly or grievous misapprehension .
According to our research , 70 % of people include to hiring a professional to complete a project rather than doing it themselves because they fear messing it up . 25 % of people say they do n’t entrust themselves to do it right , 23 % say they ’re afraid they ’ll make costly mistakes if they do it themselves , and 22 % are worried about the potentially dangerous consequences ( like flooding or an electrical fire ) of them taking on a project themselves .
That does n’t mean masses don’twantto do some of these projects themselves , though : The top projects our respondents say they secretly wish well they could do themselves are restitute an entire elbow room , mounting a TV on the rampart , laying young flooring , and re - tiling the lavatory .
Credit:Design by Grace Canaan
innovation by Grace Canaan
With this fear of messing up so prevalent , it ’s no surprise that people most opt the project they canaffordto mess up , and those that require minimum effort but offer maximum upshot . ( intelligibly , bang for your buck is a key divisor here . ) The home advance chore people would most enjoy doing themselves are :
The flip side of this list is , of course , the labor the great unwashed lief leave to the expert :
While FOMU is certainly a fair reasonableness to skip a DIY ( especially if it ’s a project where messing up could result in costly or dangerous consequence ) , it should n’t keep you away from DIYs entirely . There are pot of incentive behind want to DIY a project instead of hiring a pro , include hold open money , enjoying the feeling of pridefulness and accomplishment that comes with successfully complete a project , and taking on a challenge . People say they feel complete , gallant , and happy after make out a DIY project : rent FOMU scare you away means pretermit out on those welfare .
Almost Everyone Has Regretted Starting a Project
It ’s a much universal experience : You decide you ’re break down to go a project . ( Let ’s say it ’s repaint your bedroom . ) You piece and purchase your rouge and provision . You clear out all your belongings . You prep the space ( don’tmake the misunderstanding of skipping the painters tape ! ) . Youstart painting . Maybe you finish one bulwark , or even two — and then you get tired . It ’s late , your furniture and belongings are in the center of attention of the elbow room or covered in drop cloths , and your project is hardly halfway through . Enter MPRS : Mid - Project RegretSyndrome .
What Is MPRS (Mid-Project Regret Syndrome)?
That feeling when you lose momentum in the midsection of a DIY project .
allot to the BHG 2024 DIY Trend Report , 89 % of people have feel MPRS — and that number climbs to 94 % for millennials and 95 % for Gen Z. 74 % even have undertaking that currently lie abandon after MPRS brought progress to a halt .
Projects take on longer than expected , the DIYer opinion exhausted , and unexpected cost browse up during the project are all top causes of MPRS . Feeling hackneyed , stress , and bored with a projectcan sap motive and mean that the project never gets done
More Findings from the BHG 2024 DIY Trend Report
FOMU and MPRS can both jump a project and even keep it from ever getting complete — but people still have foresightful lists of upcoming projects they ’d care to endeavor to advance their homes .
contribute decor and accents and painting are top of judgement for nearly every room , harmonise to our participant , and smaller changes like swapping hardware or fixtures and upgrading furniture are other ways mass hope to update their spaces . People also have a strong sense of which room they ’d most wish to make changes to : first was the lav , followed by the living room , elemental bedroom , backyard , and kitchen .
update spaces — peculiarly with the right colours — is fundamental to create a positive environment : Our responder said that the # 1 role for color in the home is to make a relaxing and peaceful environment . ( earn certain you pick the rightcalming paint colorscan certainly help with that . ) And while blame a paint color is very immanent and plenty of people are making their menage more colorful , neutrals are still very democratic : 65 % of our survey respondents would rather have a impersonal , minimalisthome than a colorful , maximalist one , and 1 in 4 fend off bright semblance completely . Remember what we enjoin about subjectivity , though ? 1 in 5 say bright colors add excitement to their habitation .
The Methodology
BHG partner with independent inquiry agencyGoodQuesto develop the BHG 2024 DIY Trend Report . This work include findings pulled from an invitation - only forum of 20 people , corroborate against a study of nearly 2,000 DIYers . Study player had to be at least partly responsible for both DIY labor and interior design choices in their home , and they must have completed at least one DIY task within the past 12 months .
