Brilliant DIY Fixes For The Most Common Household Eyesores

Whether they're from a fragile attic floor or years of structural damage, cracks in the ceiling can get concerning after a while. If the cracks are more unsightly than dangerous, then you can totally cover them up yourself. Simply tape over the pesky crevices with mesh, plaster over the area, smooth it out, and paint. No one will ever know the difference!

Ugly router got you down? If all those cables and wires are making your living room a mess, try carving out an old book and tucking them away! A vintage book (or, better yet, a book that simply looks vintage) is much more pleasing to the eye than a wild nest of wires. And it's inexpensive, too!

Cinderblocks may be useful, but they're definitely not a cute accent piece (unless you're going for a more industrial vibe in your home). For a quick way to spruce up an outdoor space, tuck some peekaboo plants in your cinderblocks to take them from "no" to "woah!" See? Now cinderblocks can be useful and adorable.

No matter how beautiful your garden is, it could all be ruined by an ill-placed propane tank. Well, worry no more! You can block it with a pleasant-looking white fence or a "privacy" screen made out of plants. Just be careful — you don't want to make the tank totally inaccessible, and you also don't want to completely enclose the tank, which could be very dangerous.

Everyone's got laundry, but no one likes looking at it. Forget your growing mountains of laundry by tucking your hampers away in some large drawers that say, "I can do this later!" Not only is it a cute way to store your laundry baskets, but that chair in your room — you know, the one that's usually covered with a pile of dirty clothes? — will finally be free.

Nothing ruins a clean wall like an ill-placed light switch. For a fun way to draw focus away from it, make the switch the part of a gallery wall! You can find a simple light switch cover and then surround it with cool photos and wall art. This way, it's the wall art that captures the eye, not the light! That'll definitely switch things up.

We often forget about one of the most common fixtures in our houses — outlets. By easily swapping an outdated cover for a slicker, more modern one, you're on your way to transforming the entire room. Once the outlet cover is updated, then you can get to work replacing other subtle fixtures, like sconces and light switch covers. It's a small change that can make a big difference!

Drab light fixtures ruining your decor? Grab an old hanging planter and attach it to your ceiling fixture. Some people like to snake in some LED light bulbs to turn the planter into a real light fixture; others simply allow the planter to speak for itself. Either way, it'll give the room a dash of that cozy country charm!

If you think a garage can't be both functional and adorable, think again! With a little chalkboard paint, you can revitalize the space while creating a useful spot for messages. Plus, you'll officially become the "fun" house where drawing on the walls is not only allowed, but encouraged. How does it feel to be the cool parent?!

Chalkboard paint can be useful outside of the garage, too. Try covering the refrigerator with chalkboard paint and watch your child's imagination go wild! It's a great way to write messages, to-do lists, grocery lists, recipes... You can also kiss those annoyingly unsticky sticky notes goodbye, which is definitely a plus.

If chalkboard paint isn't your thing, why not throw some wallpaper on there? Find a wallpaper (or any decorative contact paper) that complements your kitchen's style. If you want to draw attention away from an unsightly table or outdated countertop, then choosing a bright, colorful wallpaper could be a good idea! Simply stick the paper on and watch your kitchen go from "drab" to "fab!"

If the patterned wallpaper look isn't your thing, you can upgrade your fridge with a modern stainless steel look instead. After all, nothing says "I've made it" quite like stainless steel appliances! Just grab some metallic contact paper and apply it over your old piece's surface. The shiny new surface can transform a dull fridge into one that looks brand new.

Old kitchen cabinets looking stale? Freshen them up by adding some fabric accents! Simply remove the cabinet doors, measure out the fabric, and get to stapling. It's a great way to give your kitchen a bold pop of color. Using an eye-catching patterned fabric could even make your cabinets the new centerpiece of your kitchen.

All box springs are ugly, there's no doubt about it. Thankfully, there's an easy way to turn your ugly mattress holder into a creative accent. Grab your favorite fabric and a staple gun, and you can upholster the box spring in no time. You can choose a subtle color that helps the box spring fade into the background, or you can embrace it and add in a fun pop of color.

To fill in those pesky gaps between your washing machine and dryer — a.k.a. "the land of lost socks" — simply craft a laundry table. Just measure the area from one end of the washer to the other end of the dryer. Then, cut up the wood or cardboard paper. In no time, you'll have a sturdy surface on which to separate and fold clothes in the comfort of your laundry room.

Backsplash looking a little beat up? Don't break the bank on new tiles! Just grab a can of your favorite paint and give it a fresh coat to instantly brighten up your kitchen. Those ancient earth tones plastered across your kitchen can be easily remedied with a coat of fresh white paint (or any color you'd like). This works especially well on tiled and brick backsplashes.

Hygiene products are crucial to our daily lives, but that doesn't mean they're so cute to look at. Who wants to be welcomed by a cluttered sink or medicine cabinet whenever they go into the bathroom? Ditch the ugly containers by placing the products in new glass bottles or even wooden jars. It'll look nicer and will even save up some precious counter space.

Basements can be a great place to relax, but they're not always the most welcoming room in the house. Give your basement the pop of color it deserves by painting over those old columns with a coat of your favorite shade. Covering the columns with cute fabric, patterned contact paper, and even a string of yellow lights could help transform the basement into a cozy paradise.

Printers are bulky, which means they're hard to tuck away in a cabinet. For a simpler solution, cut a hole in a decorative box to create a practical-yet-pleasing hiding place. Devices like printers and routers are necessary, but they aren't very attractive; covering them up with a cute decorative box is a pretty cheap solution — emphasis on "pretty" and "cheap."

If you've got a septic vent in your yard, you're probably tired of looking at it. No one wants a rusty pipe poking up out of their garden, right? Well, the solution to this dilemma is simple: grab a birdbath and plop it right in front of that vent. That way, you're blocking it from view without making it completely inaccessible to the plumber. Say "goodbye turds, hello birds!"

To clear up space without throwing away the things you hold dear, make your own picture shelf. This is best for people familiar with woodwork — and for those with a free weekend to complete it — but once the shelves are done, your room will be picture-perfect.

To really bring your kitchen to life, throw in a backdrop by the stovetop. Either peel & stick tiles, removable wallpaper, picture frames, or paint will do the trick — whatever tickles your fancy to make it fancy...or whatever style you're going for.

Some of us are lucky to have furniture that lasts ages, but the downside is having your home's style stuck in the past. If a piece of wooden furniture isn't broken, though, just revamp it with milk paint! This DIY-er used the natural paint to give a new finish to her chair.

The struggle with small spaces is deciding what to cut out to save space. You want that comfy couch, but also need a table for drinks and food! Why not have both? Make your own wooden couch sleeve and you can have your cake and eat it too... literally.

If you're into bohemian designs, this is one DIY project you might want to look into. Using just a simple stencil you can transform a drab nightstand into a floral masterpiece! You can probably find interesting stencils in any craft store. Although the painting requires some finesse, the final product is well worth the time and energy it takes to create.

Lighting is an essential part of the look and feel of every home, but making a change can be expensive. If you're experienced and confident in handling wiring directly, or know someone who is, you can easily create your own pendant light. Reuse or buy simple, inexpensive materials such as old wire baskets, vintage lanterns, iron sculptures, and so on.

Cleaning and polishing up your bathroom tiles is a must, but take it a step further and do a whole paint job! If you really want to be creative (and only a little crazy), add a unique design to the tiles. There are stencils made precisely for that kind of project!

It's known in the world of interior design that mirrors are magic. They can create the illusion of more space and can add flair to any room... which could explain why they're often so darn expensive! Luckily, all you need is a good coat of spray paint to turn any cheap mirror into the gem of your home.

Over time, showerheads clog with calcium deposits and mold... we don't even want to think about what's washing into our hair when we shower with a grimy showerhead! To kiss these nightmares goodbye, tie a plastic bag filled with white vinegar to the head, leave the bag on overnight, and wake up to a fresh, clean shower head.

Whether you're using a damp paper towel or a duster, cleaning the ceiling fan usually ends up spreading dust in the air or onto your head. Try this: Wipe it with a pillowcase instead. Simply glide each blade in, lightly grab, and swipe. Voila! Now the dust is inside the pillowcase and not in the air or in your hair. Phew!

If you’re struggling to think of ways to make your garden chairs more snug, here’s a simple tip. To start with, get your hands on some colorful outdoor-friendly materials. Then, grab a few spare pillows and cushions from the house. After that, use the former to create a new batch of covers, before placing the results on the seats. They’ll look great!

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of rain. It gives your grass a good watering! But too much can spell trouble, causing damage that’ll ultimately cost you money. To swerve that problem, pick a spot and make a ditch. “Fill [it] with perennial plants,” backyard specialist Pol Bishop told The Delite. “Rainwater will flow toward that part of the garden and nurture the plants.”

Horticultural spray is an absolute must if you want to protect your flowerbeds from pesky bugs. You don’t have to splash the cash for a bottle at the store, though — you could mix a batch yourself. It’s pretty easy: just add a tablespoon of plain dish soap to a cup of vegetable oil. Then, drop a helping in with some water and you’ll be good to go!

Garden fire pits are awesome features to have, as they add real style to the yard. Plus, they’re not as pricey as you might think, especially if you create one from scratch. Gravel and paving stones are fairly cheap to buy, and they’re perfect for the pit’s foundation, mounting the latter at an angle to line the walls of the hole. Overall, it’s a job that should only take a couple of days.

“What’s a living fence?” we hear you ask. Well, it’s a pretty cool decoration that’ll instantly transform your garden. All you need to do is plant a bushy shrub or tree in an available space. Then, while it’s growing, “train” the sapling to branch out into a jaw-dropping design. It’ll look incredible. And it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to create!

Before the colder months roll in, garden expert Phil Dwyer suggests that you should trim your grass a bit more severely than usual. Why’s that then? Well, it’ll stop the lawn from becoming tangled when it eventually grows again. Dwyer told The Delite, “For that final mowing, go even a little bit lower.” Give it a try in the fall, folks.

One gardening expert advised that if you’re growing your own fruit and vegetables in your backyard, one of the most effective methods of warding off unwanted diners was introducing natural predators. Birds eat a wide variety of pests like caterpillars, slugs, and aphids, so taking the trouble to attract them to your garden by providing seed and a bath for our feathered friends will pay off in spades.

Instead of spending money on numerous chairs in the backyard, here’s an alternative idea. Why not invest in furniture that can essentially act as a “two-in-one”? For instance, an L-shaped bench can be both a seat and a place to lie down for a couple of people at the same time. This tip will be particularly useful for those with smaller gardens.

Reluctant to spend big on a new garden bench? Well, this hack could be right up your alley. Yes, you can build your own seating space for a relatively small outlay. Just pick up some inexpensive concrete slabs from a specialist store, before “dry-stacking” them into the shape of a bench. After that, stick a cushiony cover on top and you’ll be done!

If you’re looking for a cheaper way to combat the annoying weeds in your garden, newspapers could be the answer. No joke, folks. As gardening expert Pol Bishop told The Delite, “Cover the newspapers with dirt, mulch, and grass clippings to keep them in place. With time, the newspapers will smother the weeds beneath them.”

Outdoor curtains: few items can make your patio feel more stylish! But you don’t need to buy these drapes at the shops: create your own with fabrics that are already in the house. Bedsheets are perfect here, so grab a needle and get threading. The results might just blow everyone away.

The price of shop-bought pesticides can drain your gardening budget pretty quickly. So, to save a bit of cash, bear this in mind: apparently, Coca-Cola is just as effective. Thanks to the fizzy drink’s sweet taste, ants will be drawn to it. Then, they’ll tuck into any bug larvae around your flowers, protecting them as a result.

Do you find that more and more animals are causing havoc in your backyard these days? If so, one gardening fan suggested burying plastic forks around your plants, with their prongs poking up out of the soil, as a way of helping to ward off unwanted visitors. The home-grown hack might just help to prevent, for example, cats and other four-legged friends from uprooting your carefully planted flowers, shrubs, fruit, and vegetables.

Garden decorations don’t have to be elaborate. Sometimes, a straightforward arrangement can look just as awesome as a fancy spread, and for a fraction of the cost. So keeping that in mind, you could create something nice with an inexpensive flower collection. Just stick them around an empty shelving unit in the yard. It really is as easy as that.

While it might seem daunting at first, creating a backyard bar is actually quite simple. It won’t dent your finances too badly, either. To pull off the job, pick up a stack of plain stone slabs from the store. Arrange them into makeshift pillars, before sticking some wooden planks on top. And that’s it! The drinks will be flowing in no time.

Soil can get everywhere when you’re working with pots in the garden. Cleaning up the mess can be time-consuming, to say the least! But if you throw a coffee filter into the bottom of the pot before you start to put in the earth, the permeable mesh will keep the soil in the container. 

If you want to preserve the life of your backyard hose, listen up: this incredibly simple tip could save you from having to buy an expensive replacement. On sunny days, keep the piping in a shady area out of the light, because the Sun’s rays will weather your garden hose more quickly.

Looking to add a bit of order to the seating in your garden? Well, this hack could be just the ticket. All you’ve got to do is divide the space up into “zones.” So, one section could be used solely for eating food, while another is dedicated to downtime. It won’t cost you anything either, as you can utilize the chairs you already own.

Compared to perennial flowers, annuals are much cheaper to buy. After all, they don’t grow back the following season once the plant dies in the soil. Don’t let that put you off, though. In addition to their friendly price, annuals can really transform a plain-looking garden — especially the more colorful bulbs. Pick a few up from the nearby gardening store and get creative!

As it turns out, humans aren’t the only ones to feel better after taking an aspirin. According to Robert Johnson, founder of the woodwork firm Sawiner, our flowers get benefits from the painkiller, too. Just drop a tablet in a full watering can and let it disintegrate. He told The Delite, “It works as a repellent for pests and averts rot and diseases for your plants.”

After trimming your lawn, do you clean up the clippings that are left behind? Well, now might be the time to stop that. You see, that grass will actually enrich the lawn once it deteriorates, giving the whole area a boost. Due to that, you won’t have to invest in as much fertilizer, so you’ll be saving money in the long run!

Depending on how much wood you use, slatted fences can take a sizable bite out of your gardening budget. But with a bit of creative thinking, you could significantly slash the outgoings. To do that, just leave bigger gaps between each panel. That way, your wood will go further.

Who doesn’t wince when thinking about hardscaping? It’s pricey, to say the least! But money can be saved if you plan carefully. Yes, when looking for materials, don’t ignore “the stone leftovers” that are often found in specialist shops. There’s a very good chance that you’ll get them for a lower price.

To help potted soil stay moist, Anna Nielsen of Our Good Living Formula advises, “I use diapers. I peel the top layer that goes against the baby’s bottom and put the diaper at the bottom of the plant pot. Just make sure that the absorbent side is facing up and the plastic side is facing down.”

Root rot is no joke. It’s an issue that develops when you overfeed your flowers, and there’s no way to fix it, which means you’ll have to buy replacement plants. Yet the problem can be swerved altogether by placing a kitchen sponge in the pot so it’s under the bulb. Landscaping expert Mike Wilson said the material will absorb excess water and help to keep the soil in better condition generally.

Garden lighting can bring a real ambiance to the space, which is great if you’ve got guests over for the evening. But what lights should you use? Well, consider going for string lights at the store. They’re relatively simple to put up around the yard and won’t leave a giant hole in your budget. What’s not to like?

It could be argued that bees are the most important insects for maintaining your yard’s long-term health. They do so much for the plants, and it doesn’t take much to draw them in, either. “Bees do get dehydrated sometimes,” landscaping expert Wilson noted to The Delite. “So if you have some dishes of water around, it’s a great way to get these pollinators to visit your garden to hydrate themselves.”

Even though annuals are cheaper than perennials, the latter plants always return when spring begins. That’s something to remember if you want to keep your gardening costs down. After all, it means you won’t have to buy new flowers to take their place each year. Talk about a nice investment. They’re quite beautiful as well, which is an added bonus!

Before you throw away the dregs in your teacup, consider this. When mixed with water, the concoction is perfect for certain types of flowers. “Acid-loving plants include blueberries, potatoes, rose bushes, ferns, and magnolias,” a gardening expert told The Delite. “Tea grounds and tea leaves contain many nutrients and also tannic acid, which improve oxygenation levels and soil quality.” 

When do you water your yard? If you do it towards the end of the day, it’s possible that it could actually cause long-term damage to the flowers, unless you’ve got a sophisticated drip-irrigation system set up. Apparently, leaving plants too damp throughout an entire night can invite disease. Switch to mornings if you can, then!

You’d be surprised how much of a difference a trellis can make to your garden. It’s an unsung feature compared to many other pieces outside the house! Anyway, you don’t have to pay big money to get your hands on them. In fact, trellises and arches are often available at yard sales for excellent prices. 

Warnings don’t come clearer than this. Expert Phil Dwyer told The Delite, “Don’t let tree leaves smother your grass.” Unless they’ve been ripped up, your lawn won’t get any benefits from them in the colder months. So what should you do with the fallen leaves, then? Simple — start mulching. The results can have a hugely positive effect on your soil.

How about this for a cool idea? Grab a helping of ready-mix concrete from your local store and create a few awesome DIY stepping stones. These features will really catch the eye in your garden, and you can opt for any designs you fancy. Plus, this method is considerably cheaper than buying stones outright. It’s a lot more fun, too!

Want to get the most out of your acid-loving flowers? Well, listen closely to this tip. The soil must have acidity to it, otherwise they’ll struggle to last in the garden. So try taking some coffee grounds out of your kitchen cabinet, before mixing them in with the earth around your plants. That should give them a hearty boost.

If you want to spruce up a boring wall in your backyard, pull out a few pieces of spare wood sitting in the garage, and build them into a couple of open-topped boxes. Once that’s done, you can then plant some flowers in them and hang the results on the wall. Just like that, you’ve created a “vertical garden” for very little outlay.

Attention all swimming-pool owners — here’s a hack for you. The creator of Poolonomics.com, Rick Patterson, suggested, “If you find your pool has a lot of film from sunscreen or just looks a little oily, throw a tennis ball in. [Its] fuzz picks up the top layer of oil, and it acts as a focal point for smaller debris.”

Unsurprisingly, patio chairs and tables go through a lot across the year — especially if you don’t bring them inside. As a result of that, the weather can really wear them down. But don’t take that as a sign that you need to invest in replacements. Instead, pop open a paint can and give the pieces a makeover. They’ll be revitalized before you know it.

Thanks to their potassium contents, bananas are a welcome addition to anyone’s diet. Mind you, we’re not the only ones who can benefit from them. Yes, garden soil can also get a huge boost. As it turns out, potassium is found in fertilizers, alongside phosphorus and nitrogen. So, place a few peels around your flowers. It’ll make a big difference!

It can be a bit of a headache trying to find the right plant pots at the store. For one thing, their prices can get exceedingly high, which isn’t great news for your wallet! As an alternative, though, try crafting a few planters at home for a fraction of the cost. Grooved plastic is said to be an excellent material here.

When trimmed grass clings to the blades of a lawn mower, that’s bad news for your garden. The tool won’t work properly, and it can subsequently damage the lawn. Expert Pol Bishop shared a cool trick to stop that from happening. He told The Delite, “[Cooking spray] prevents clumps of grass from sticking to your blades.” Put it on ahead of time and you’ll be set.