Hot Glue, High Hopes, And Questionable Judgment: 50 DIY Experiments That Went Somewhere

Home improvement DIYer Michelle Castro tells Bored Panda that she started getting into DIY projects when her family finally moved into their own home.

"I've always loved doing projects, loved HGTV, but we had been renting for a long time, and it just didn't make any sense to improve someone else's property. In 2022, we were able to purchase our home," she shares.

"We started with one project—ripping out a fireplace...and then about a month later, we had a fire in our garage! This was just the push I needed to finally be able to live out my HGTV dreams. We took this opportunity to demo our kitchen, update bathrooms, fix things that needed to be done, and so on. It's still a work in progress...isn't that how it always goes?" she jokingly asks.

What Michelle enjoys most about DIYing is bringing her ideas to life.

"Whether it's wallpapering a bathroom, painting the living room, adding simple trim around the room, or building a fireplace from the ground up—seeing that I did that is pretty rewarding.

I also love the challenge each project presents—sometimes I can figure it out as I go, other times, I need to reach out and ask for advice from someone more experienced," she shares.

Her favorite DIY project that she was able to do with her own hands is their fireplace, which you can check out in this video.

"Our house was built in the 90s and had a fireplace right in the middle of the room - so dumb and really cut off the space. One of the first projects we did was to remove that. However, I love a fireplace, and we had never had a real mantel. So I decided I was going to build one with an electric insert. I drew it out, did my measurements, bought my supplies, and executed it. I have such pride when I look at it."

Lastly, we couldn't let Michelle go without asking for some advice for those who'd like to get into DIYing.

"START and don't be afraid to get it wrong the first few (or 20) times, haha! It's not going to be perfect, but there are so many resources out there—whether it's Pinterest, IG, or wherever—so many blogs giving very detailed instructions. Start small, get some wins under your belt, and then have fun!"

Michelle's Instagram account is also full of ideas on how you can improve your space and start DIYing. Just to get a feel of what you can find in her account, we'll name a few awesome DIY projects she has done, like turning an old pallet into home decor, making a record player cabinet from scratch, and DIYing blinds!

But if that's not enough for you, you can also check out plenty of our previous DIYs here and here!

And remember what Michelle said: if you want to get into DIY, don't be afraid to start and fail more than a few times.