My algorithm serves me IKEA hacks. I keep a robust saved-Instagram file of interior-design inspiration, and I've furnished my one-bedroom condo almost entirely with secondhand finds, Axios' Natalie Daher writes.

• 🧰 The big picture: I'm no expert DIYer, but I know the satisfaction of reshaping a home through projects big and small — the best parts being creativity and learning. With YouTube tutorials and design influencers, homeowners and renters alike are learning to make their spaces their own without hiring a pro, Vox's "Today, Explained" podcast recently reported.

By the numbers: Americans are increasingly remodeling instead of moving. 43% renovated in the last year, and another 33% plan to renovate in the next year, a survey of 4,000 U.S. residents commissioned by Redfin found.

• 65% of recent renovators said they upgraded their current home instead of moving. Gen Z and millennial respondents were most likely to make this choice.

Case in point: D.C. renter Imani Keal has reworked nearly every inch of her rental by hand — paint, peel-and-stick floors, and light fixtures. She advocated for a full kitchen redo after mice moved in behind the wall.

• She's documented it all on Instagram and TikTok, where she has six-figure followings.
• Keal has invested tens of thousands in a place she doesn't own. And she's at peace with it: She lives there now, and she isn't fixated on preserving resale value for some future buyer.

You can do it! Here are a few places to start, from the Vox episode hosted by Jonquilyn Hill — plus some of my own tips:

1. 🪛 Get the essentials: a decent screwdriver, pliers, a drill and a 5-in-1 tool, which can scrape walls, open paint cans and help clean rollers.
2. 👯 Make it social. Invite your friends over to help paint, assemble furniture or hang art.
3. 📺 Don't fear mounting. Once you can hang a TV, curtains will feel easy.
4. 🧰 Ask the experts. I could dedicate a separate essay to my local Ace Hardware. Find the helpers in your community, and look for free workshops to build specific skills.
5. 🚰 Know your shutoffs. Test your water valve and circuit breaker before you need them.
6. 📥 Sign up for inspiration. Substacks like A Tiny Apartment curate home tours, design ideas and one-of-a-kind finds.

⚠️ Between the lines: There's a difference between adding a pegboard to free up pantry space and diving into the guts of your home.

• Structural modifications, plumbing and some electrical work are often best left to the pros.

💫 The bottom line: Your homemaking tendencies can reflect your approach to life.

• As Keal puts it: "I'm going to do everything that I want, everything that is within my means and is possible for me to have a good life."
• If that means spending "a couple of days after five years of enjoying the same apartment taking the wallpaper down," so be it.

Full Vox episode.

Reader Katharine Anderson of Denver sends us this view of Washington Park (known as "Wash Park" to locals).