A few home improvement projects finish with satisfaction. Many others leave behind a shelf that isn’t straight, a paint job that looks off, or a difficulty that grows far beyond what was expected at the beginning.
A roundup of the funniest, strangest, and most spectacular home improvement fails has been put together by Bored Panda. The collection brings together ambitious DIY attempts that missed the mark and renovations that took an unexpected turn. These projects show that even a simple idea can become a very memorable adventure.
A Dad’s Remodeling, Turned Into Art
A dad’s remodeling work was so rough that his child turned it into a work of art. One entry shows a tile that is clearly not an “exact” replacement. Another entry captures a wife who took “painting yourself into a corner” a step further.
The gallery also includes:
- A neighbor using the longest possible drill
- A family that discovered the stairs had been removed without warning
- A brother-in-law repairing his awning
- A sink attached to the toilet, forming what the caption calls a perfect slide
- Ducks walking across finished concrete
- A Roomba finding a tiny piece of sheetrock during renovations
The IKEA Effect
The collection of projects is fun to look through, yet there is a psychological reason for why we keep returning to these kinds of building exercises. The “IKEA effect” sheds light on why we place such high value on things we make with our own hands, even when those creations carry obvious flaws.
An article from CNBC draws on Daniel Mochon, who teaches at Tulane University’s business school, to shed light on our tendency to prize what we have made. His research helps explain why we place a higher value on things we have created ourselves.
The basic concept is straightforward: our sense of connection to what we create grows stronger because of the work we put into it, even when the result isn’t perfect. A table you built yourself, though slightly off-kilter, can feel like a real accomplishment to you, while another person might just see a table with a wobble. That feeling of closeness stems from your knowledge of how much time and effort went into making it.
Saving Money and Staying Calm
Another big advantage is saving money. Rather than paying hundreds for a new purchase, a small amount of imagination can transform an old or cheap item into something entirely different.
The book Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love offers a host of low-cost suggestions. Among them is a method for upgrading a mirror: start with a plain borderless sheet mirror or a cheap thrift-store find, then build a simple wooden frame using hardware-store molding. Another idea involves dressing up plain roller shades by fastening patterned fabric with fabric glue, resulting in a much more customized look at a fraction of the designer cost.
DIY isn’t just good for your budget. It’s good for your head too — handling materials, spending an afternoon painting a cabinet, sanding a shelf, putting together furniture, or fixing up an old chair can actually be rather soothing.
Herbert Benson, a Harvard expert who studies the mind and body, has explained how repeated actions can bring about what he calls the “relaxation response,” a state of calm for both body and mind that’s often linked to meditation. Concentrating on a single, hands-on job gives your brain a rest from all the other demands it faces. For a little while, your main worry may simply be whether that screw really belongs where you’re putting it.
A Mood Boost
Some studies point to creative pursuits as a way to lift one’s spirits. One 2016 investigation in Occupational Therapy International showed that people who took part in creative activities said their mood and sense of happiness improved.
Fixing a wobbly chair, hanging a shelf you have been putting off, or turning an old piece of furniture into something you actually like all give you a clear goal and a visible result. That is why DIY projects can offer a similar sense of satisfaction. The small wins add up to a surprisingly big difference in how you feel.
A Sense of Control
Another mental advantage comes from fixing or building things on your own: a feeling of being in charge. Life often feels disorderly, and there are many things we cannot manage. Yet when something within your house stops working, you can frequently reach for a screwdriver, take it apart, work out what went wrong, and set it right again.
Fixing something minor on your own gives you a sense of power, since you used your own hands to solve a problem. It serves as a plain reminder that, within this small part of your existence, you possess the skill to make things functional once more.
Lockdown Captions
The gallery includes a lockdown renovation caption.
A caption observes how simple lockdown renovations appear on Instagram. The “Wcgw” entry, which stands in for a query about potential trouble, poses the doubt that shadows every grand scheme.
One person’s admission stands out: they confess to using too much spray foam insulation to fill a hole on the other side of the wall. The spray foam entry is the specific part of the story where this happens.
A single individual wrapped up fitting a fresh dishwasher, then posted an additional image of something else entirely. A separate household received a new home and had to figure out where the stairwell’s light switch was placed.
The Flooring Entry
A friend shared an image of a house she looked at today, and that image has been added to the gallery alongside a picture of its flooring. Together, these two entries complete the collection of home improvement moments that did not go according to plan.
Scroll down, Pandas, and take a look at which of these projects caught your eye, “Well…at least they tried.”.
Source: boredpanda.com
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