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10 One-Day DIY Projects to Transform Your Home on a Budget

one day DIY projects

Sometimes you just want to create something but you’re more in a one-day DIY mood than a days-long, rip-your-house-apart mood.

From giant chalkboards to entryway benches, we’ve compiled this list of our favorite quick projects which should get you started in transforming your living space with easy-to-follow instructions and minimal materials.


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DIY Yard Yahtzee dice set

We’re games people. And if you are, too, a yard dice set is a perfect simple gift idea that’ll level up your BBQs and park visits. You need minimal materials, tools, DIY expertise or time to knock out this project. This is also probably my favorite of our one-day DIY projects.


DIY scalloped bookshelves

These scalloped bookshelves are so quick and easy to make, and they’re really budget-friendly! They only take a couple of hours, including painting. They’re great in kids rooms or play rooms and add a surprising amount of storage for such shallow ledges.

 

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Giant DIY chalkboard

We’ve put up DIY chalkboards in two of our previous kitchens and love how homey they make it feel. This could be a great addition to a teenager’s bedroom, an office space, a playroom, etc. or really any room with an awkward wall like ours.

 

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DIY entryway shoe tray

This entryway shoe tray was one of our first projects back in 2019-ish (which means it’s super beginner friendly!) It’d be perfect for a beginner wanting to test out skills like staining wood, cutting with a miter saw and tiling, without the worry of messing something up that’s attached to your house.


one day DIY projects

Easy DIY window trim

This window trim only required one day, used minimal materials and tools, and made the window itself look bigger and more high-end, even though we actually didn’t touch it at all.

 

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gallery wall

Hanging a gallery wall

Gallery walls have always drawn me in. However, the actual hanging of this perfect grid gallery wall had us very intimidated. Being that I don’t really have the eye for alternating shapes and heights, I knew the clean lines of the nine-frame rectangular layout would be perfect, but if even one was off, it would be really obvious. Luckily for me (and my drywall), I’ve since learned a trick to hanging a perfectly straight gallery wall that’s saved me so much time.

This is a great starting point one-day DIY projects if you don’t feel comfortable yet using saws.


Wrapped porch columns

As with most DIYs, one day I just went outside and started unscrewing the railings to see if they’d come off and when they did, we kept going and built out these cute Craftsman style DIY wrapped porch columns. They make much more of a statement than the old railings did and gave it a fresh, clean look we loved.


one day DIY projects

Refinish outdoor furniture

We lived with this faded patio set for more than a year with its greyed-out wood grain, old stained cushions but cute design. We knew had potential if we put any effort into learning how to refinish outdoor furniture. It was so easy and surprisingly cheaper than I would’ve expected considering what a difference it made, coming in at about $25 in supplies.

 

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one day DIY projects

Entryway bench

This entryway bench is another great project for beginner DIYers. All it takes is one day, and you might even have enough scrap wood to build it.


Armchair to nursery rocker conversion

When we were putting together the nursery before our first child was born, people were always telling us how we needed a rocking chair. It was another one of those things we just avoided addressing until we absolutely had to because they’re expensive and we already owned an armchair. This nursery rocker conversion was the perfect solution to keep what we had but upcycle it with a one-day DIY!


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