DIY projects give millennials and Gen Z confidence

Forget a new haircut or your favorite outfit — new research shows that the key to confidence may be building something on your own.

A survey of 2,000 Gen Z and millennial homeowners and renters found that those who have completed home DIY projects said it boosts their confidence, happiness and satisfaction for about seven weeks.

Additionally, most respondents agree that there’s nothing more satisfying than completing a home DIY project on your own (83%).

Even better, nearly nine in 10 (86%) homeowners and renters said completing a home-related DIY project makes them feel accomplished, and that feeling lasts for six weeks afterward.

The survey conducted by Talker Research for Dremel found that some of the most intimidating DIY projects Americans are worried about taking on themselves include installing flooring or carpeting (41%), caulking or sealing a tub (41%) or repairing drywall (38%).

The average respondent has completed eight DIY projects in their current home, with homeowners averaging twice as many completed tasks as renters (10 vs. 5, respectively).

In a walk down memory lane, respondents recalled their first DIY projects: putting up a fresh coat of paint (21%), mounting a TV (13%) and hanging up a picture frame (10%).

For 63% of people, witnessing a friend succeed at a tricky household job gives them faith in their own abilities to give it a go.

On the other hand, their confidence is shaken when coming across projects that feel outside of their skillset — ones that they see on social media completed by interior design professionals (28%) or AI suggestions (27%).

Even if their confidence ebbs and flows, respondents come across home DIY projects they’re inspired by or want to take on themselves once a week, on average.

Over half of respondents (55%) have posts saved for projects they’d like to complete one day but don’t yet feel capable, citing concerns about messing it up (27%) and not having the necessary tools (27%) as barriers holding them back.

Despite their great interest in DIY, one in six respondents don’t own a tool kit, citing cost (18%), having lent them to someone else (16%) or enlisting someone else’s help for their tool needs (13%) as the top reasons why.

"We know that nearly a third of renters hesitate to start DIY projects simply because they don’t have the right tools on hand,” said Eric Siegel, group segment owner of DIY at Dremel. “Our mission is to break down those barriers and show that creativity doesn’t require a garage full of equipment. Multi-functional tools like the Dremel Blueprint Multi-Drill can help seasoned makers and first-time DIYers feel confident enough to bring their ideas to life by simplifying the process and taking away the hassle."

Aside from tool struggles, the average respondent currently has two DIY projects unfinished at home. The most common incomplete project was found to be painting a wall or room (23%), followed by building furniture (19%) or installing flooring or carpeting (17%).

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Additionally, many respondents have been meaning to mount a TV, getting around to fixing broken or unhinged fixtures and adding small decorative details around their home. On average, they’ve been putting these tasks off for four months.

Other projects that have taken up respondents’ mental space for about six months include installing flooring or carpeting, starting a garden or reupholstering furniture.

However, the average respondent would like to finish three DIY projects by the end of the year, with an ambitious one in five aiming for at least five projects.

“While many people are putting off their DIY projects, homeowners tend to be better prepared as 84% own a standard tool kit and 72% own a set of tools,” said Siegel. “Renters, on the other hand, are less likely to have those basic tools but still stand to benefit just as much creatively. Whether it’s saving money on small fixes, adding personal touches to make a space feel more homey or building confidence through hands-on projects, renters can unlock the independence and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with DIY.”

FAVORITE DIY “WINS” OR SUCCESSES

• Kitchen cabinets
• A raised garden bed
• Building a simple bookshelf from scratch
• Turning the inside of a cabinet door into a hidden organizer
• Making this amazing fire pit and pizza oven in the backyard with just concrete stones concrete slabs
• Built a movable ramp for the deck for our dog who had leg surgery
• Building a very large cat tree for my cats to play and sleep on
• I created a small herb garden at home
• I thrifted a wooden table then I turned it into a coffee table
• I built a floating shelf in my living room from reclaimed wood

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 homeowners and renters, evenly split by Gen Z and millennials; the survey was commissioned by Dremel and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Aug. 7 and Aug. 13, 2025.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.