
Antique Restoration & Preservation | Architectural Modeling |
Art | Artisanal Food |
Baking | Beauty |
Beekeeping | Bicycle Repair |
Bricolage | Cake Making & Decorating |
Candle Making | Candy Making |
Carpentry | Ceramics |
Chalk Art | Cleaning Supplies |
Coding | Coffee Roasting & Making |
Collecting & Curation | Computers |
Construction | Cooking |
Cosmetics | Costume Design |
Cottage Industry | Craft Beverages |
Crafts | Creative Reuse |
Crochet | Cultural Items (e.g. festival costumes) |
Custom Shoes | Decluttering |
Digital Media | Dolls & Miniatures |
Downcycling | Drawing |
Dressmaking | Efficiency - More with Less |
Electronics | Embroidery |
Energy Self-Sufficiency | Entertainment Systems / Spaces |
Events (e.g. weddings) | Farming |
Fashion Accessories | Fashion Design |
Filmmaking | Flower Arrangement |
Flower Growing | Food Production |
Food Self-Sufficiency | Furniture Making |
Gardening | Glass Art |
Glassmaking | Graphic Design |
Handicrafts | Holiday Decorations |
Home Decor | Home Improvement |
Home Repair | Illustration |
Immersive Experience | Interior Decorating |
Jewelry Design | Knitting |
Landscaping | Leatherwork |
Leisure Facilities (e.g. BBQ area) | Lighting Design |
Low Technology | Machine Repair |
Makeup | Media Production |
Metalworking | Mixed Media |
Mixology | Mixtapes |
Model Building | Mods |
Music Composition | Music Publishing (e.g. record label) |
Musical Instruments | Nail Art |
Office Design | Origami |
Painting | Passive Design |
Patissier | Petcare & Pet Training |
Pottery | Printing & 3d Printing |
Processes & Practices | Product Customization |
Product Design | Product Modification |
Productivity - Tools | Publishing |
Quilting | Recreational Facilities (e.g. skating rink) |
Robotics | Scientific Research |
Screen Printing | Sculpture |
Security Landscaping | Security Systems |
Sewing | Simple Living / Minimalism |
Sporting Goods (e.g. canoe) | Stationery |
Storage & Organization | Street Fashion |
Sustainable Living | Tactical Urbanism |
Technology Repair & Maintenance | Tool Making |
Toys | Traditional Crafts |
Upcycling | Vehicle Repair |
Visual Design | Wellness (e.g. spa) |
Woodworking |
Creative DIY
Projects that benefit from originality or that act as a type of creative expression that feels rewarding. For example, a street fashion enthusiast who seeks out and assembles vintage clothing in order to express their sense of identity and style.
Home DIY
Projects to improve the home including renovations, maintenance, repair, interior design, decorating and furnishing related efforts. This is such a common type of DIY that it is common to equate DIY with home improvement efforts.
Food DIY
Producing or preparing food that is normally store bought. This can go as far as growing much of your own food. However, it is also DIY to bake or cook anything that is normally or often purchased from a store such as bread, cake or pet food.
Hobby DIY
Producing your own items in order to pursue hobbies and interests. For example, an outdoor enthusiast who produces their own wooden canoes.
Traditional DIY
Continuing traditional production methods that have been handed from generation to generation. This differs from experimental and inventive types of DIY but can also be creative as you may add your own touches to tradition.
Maker Culture
Maker culture is an approach to DIY that makes use of available technology with an emphasis on design, prototyping, experimentation and testing. For example, building a home security system using inexpensive custom electronics and sensors.
Reuse DIY
DIY that is focused on reusing things in order to avoid waste or to create and operate things at low cost. For example, getting permission to salvage architectural elements such as doors from houses or buildings set to be demolished.
Summary
Do-it-yourself is the practice and ethic of producing many of the things you need with your own efforts as opposed to relying on the industrial economy and the work of professionals. This can be motivated by cost savings, personal values or unique requirements. It is also common for people to simply find DIY to be rewarding and engaging. The following are common types of DIY.