A Case For Doing It Yourself

I've learned that my penchant for DIYs is not especially common or normal. And I definitely get it--painting furniture, making things from scratch, shopping for supplies at the hardware store, it all takes time and effort and energy. I myself love to DIY because it fuels my creative juices and stimulates my brain and brings me joy but I understand that isn't the case for most people.

Under certain circumstances, though, I do think there's a pretty good case to be made for the DIY route regardless of interest level. Let me use my recent project as an example.

Our bathroom was in desperate need of a place to store shower supplies. I have mentioned before that clawfoot tubs, while charming, do present some technical challenges. I've been mulling over different options for the past few months and finally decided we needed a wall shelf on the curved end of the tub (as opposed to the shower head end).

I looked at a few shelves online and was shocked at how expensive some of them were! First point for DIY--it's almost always easier on your wallet. I also didn't want to settle for a style I didn't love. I had a vision for this shelf (that fit in with the rustic ski town spa style our bathroom reminds me of) and I was finding that what was in my mind didn't exist out in the real world. (Surely this happens to you too, right?) Doing It Yourself is wonderful because you can choose the colors, textures, materials--every inch of the design is purely your call.

And a final reason for why a DIY made sense for this project (even for someone who dislikes DIYs): it was so painless. Certain projects do take a little skill, or special tools, or might be frustrating, but this one truly was as easy as putting up curtains or hanging a piece of art. I did add an extra step by spray painting the aluminum brackets a copper color, but other than that all I did was drill them into the wall and rest this beautiful piece of floor tile on top (similar to my plant stand, where the marble is heavy enough to sit on the pipes without any actual adhesion). The tile also had to be cut to size but my trusty friends at Lowe's did that for me for free.

So that's my case for Doing It Yourself. When a purchase is prohibitively expensive. When what you have your heart set on just isn't out there. When making is as easy (or almost as easy) as buying. And maybe, just maybe, you'll discover you even have a little fun. I can just about guarantee that your pride in the final product will make it all worthwhile.