Home improvement is the alteration, modification, addition or repair of any part or all of a dwelling house, or the land and buildings that comprise the dwelling. It also includes the construction, painting or coating, installation or replacement of driveways, sidewalks, swimming pools, unattached structures, porches, patios, garages, fallout shelters and basements. The term is sometimes used to include a wide range of DIY activities, including:

A common reason for renovating homes is to increase the value of the property, especially when planning to sell. However, renovations should take into consideration a homeowner’s own comfort and enjoyment. Otherwise, the end result may be a home that doesn’t feel like a true “home”.

Most homeowners who plan on taking on home improvements in the next two years say they are not doing it to make their homes more appealing to potential buyers, according to the 2021 American Housing Survey. Instead, the most common reasons are to make their homes more comfortable for themselves and their families, and to simply feel more satisfied with their houses.

Popular television shows such as Home Improvement, with Tim Allen as host, made DIY projects seem more accessible to everyday people. The show, which ran from 1996 to 2001, featured a cast that included Richard Karn, Debbe Dunning and a late Earl Hindman (who often did voice-overs for the character Wilson). By the 1990s, cable TV’s popularity of do-it-yourself programs began to blur the distinction between traditionally male-dominated realms of carpentry and the largely female-dominated sphere of interior design and decorating.