The do-it-yourself (DIY) market is booming, fueled by a growing interest in personalized, cost-conscious creativity. By 2026, the global DIY retail market is projected to reach $1.2 trillion, up from $838.4 billion in 2021. Millennials and Gen Z are driving much of this growth, with their digital savvy and desire for self-expression.
Social media has become the go-to source for DIY inspiration and education, with influencers leading the charge. These personalities have built massive followings by sharing their unique DIY projects, hacks, and tutorials across platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest.
A 2019 Farnsworth study found that 67% of millennials would rather do home repairs themselves than hire a professional, compared to 40% of baby boomers. Meanwhile, Gen Z watches an average of 4.2 DIY videos per week, with 61% saying they watch to learn new skills.
As a result, top DIY influencers are racking up millions of views and followers, landing lucrative brand partnerships, and even launching their own product lines. They‘re also inspiring a new generation of makers to pick up their tools and tap into their creativity.
So who are these DIY trailblazers? Here are 10 of the most creative and influential DIY accounts to follow and learn from in 2024:
1. Angela Rose Home (1.4M Instagram followers, 885K YouTube subscribers)
Angela Rose is a mom of five and self-taught DIYer on a mission to make home everyone‘s happy place. With her contractor husband, she shares budget-friendly projects for every skill level, from simple crafts to full room renovations. Her warm, relatable style has made her a go-to for achievable home inspiration.
One of Angela‘s most popular projects was a $400 kids‘ playhouse makeover that racked up 5.4 million views on YouTube. Her audience also loves following her "100 Days of Projects" challenge, where she completes a home upgrade each day. This series consistently gets over 1 million views per compilation video.
Angela‘s success has brought partnerships with major brands like The Home Depot, Minwax, and Etsy. She also sells project plans and a home decor line with QVC.
"Our goal is to take the intimidation factor out of DIY," Angela says. "We want to empower people to personalize their homes without big budgets or expertise."
2. Crafty Lumberjacks (229K Instagram followers, 42.6K YouTube subscribers)
Crafty Lumberjacks is the brainchild of Dennis Setteducati and Andrew Boza, life partners and self-proclaimed "gay lumberjacks with a love for all things creative." With their playful, humor-filled videos, they aim to make crafting accessible and fun for everyone.
Their most popular content leans into trendy, pop culture-inspired makes, from tie dye and paper flowers to DIY drag queen outfits. A recent Squid Game cookie cutter project racked up 52.1K likes on Instagram – 10 times their average engagement rate.
The Crafty Lumberjacks have partnered with brands like Disney, Yelp, and Etsy, and recently released a book, Project Kid Crafts.
"Being a ‘maker‘ isn‘t about being perfect or mastering a skill," Dennis says. "It‘s a form of self-expression that anyone can do. Our goal is to spread that message and help people reconnect with their creativity."
3. Darbin Orvar (308K YouTube subscribers)
Linn Orvar, the Swedish DIYer behind Darbin Orvar, brings a modern Scandinavian flair to woodworking and home improvement. With a background in fine art and carpentry, she creates stylish build videos for furniture and decor using basic power tools.
Linn‘s content stands out for its artful videography and soothing narration. Her most popular videos make trendy pieces like a live edge table and leather sling chair look surprisingly doable, racking up over 1.1 million views each.
As Linn‘s channel has grown, she‘s partnered with brands like Ryobi and Blick Art Materials. She also sells templates for some of her builds, catering to the 43% of her audience that‘s female (compared to just 14% for the average woodworking channel).
4. IKEA Hackers (229K Instagram followers)
IKEA Hackers is the OG online community for clever customizations and repurposing of IKEA products. It was started in 2006 by "Jules," a Malaysian web designer, and has since featured over 6000 hacks from contributors worldwide.
With the rising popularity of IKEA hacking – there are over 1.6 million Instagram posts with the hashtag #ikeahack – this account has become the go-to resource for inspiration. Top hacks range from simple shelf upgrades to impressive furniture transformations, like a 12-drawer Tarva dresser.
While this account features user-generated content rather than a single influencer, its creative curation has made it a huge traffic driver. The site attracts 2 million visitors per month, with 47% of its audience aged 25-34. It‘s also spawned two books and countless hack roundups by other publishers.
5. Lily Ardor (1.8M TikTok followers, 82.2K Instagram followers)
Sustainable fashion is having a moment, and Lily Ardor is at the forefront with her stylish DIY clothing. A self-taught seamstress, Lily creates viral "thrift flip" videos showing how she transforms secondhand garments into on-trend looks.
Her "Get Ready With Me" TikTok series, where she models her upcycled outfits, averages 30,000-50,000 views per video. Some of her most popular posts get much more, like a men‘s shirt to bustier top tutorial with 7.5 million views.
Lily also shares sewing tips and pattern making tutorials to help others create clothes that fit their unique style and body. Her audience is 94% female and highly engaged, with an average of 1500 comments per video on TikTok (3x the benchmark for her following size).
"Fashion should be accessible, inclusive, and fun," Lily says. "My goal is to show people how empowering it is to make your own clothes and define your own style – without breaking the bank or harming the environment."
6. Mr. Kate (1.4M Instagram followers, 4.2M YouTube subscribers)
Mr. Kate is the brainchild of Kate Albrecht and Joey Zehr, a designer and filmmaker duo taking over the DIY world. With their hit YouTube series "OMG We‘re Coming Over," they‘ve popularized a style of room makeover content that‘s high on personality and low on budget.
Their most popular makeovers, like this dorm room on a $300 budget, rack up tens of millions views for their clever DIYs and heartwarming reveals. The Mr. Kate brand has also expanded into home goods, with an Amazon shop and decor line at Target.
Kate and Joey are masters at engaging their audience and building community. They frequently collaborate with other influencers and host in-person events. In 2021, they won YouTube‘s Streamy Award for Best Reality Show, cementing their status as digital tastemakers.
7. Nifty (11.3M Facebook followers)
BuzzFeed‘s Nifty brings the signature BuzzFeed style to DIY content, with short, snappy videos showcasing creative solutions for everyday problems. From kitchen hacks to home decor, their projects are all about making life easier and more fun.
One of Nifty‘s trademarks is testing out "As Seen on TV" style gadgets, putting a viral spin on product reviews. Their most popular video in this genre, 21 Clever Kitchen Gadgets, has a whopping 268 million views on Facebook alone.
While Nifty has expanded to other platforms, Facebook remains its bread and butter. The page has the highest engagement rate of any major DIY brand on the platform, averaging 160,000 likes and 185,000 shares per video – a testament to the shareability of its content.
8. Persia Lou (77K Instagram followers)
On Persia Lou, Alexis Middleton shares cheerful craft projects and DIYs inspired by her love of color, playful patterns, and fonts. Her brand is all about finding happiness through creativity, with projects ranging from crochet to hand lettering to home decor.
A self-taught designer and illustrator, Alexis taps into the popularity of both traditional and trendy crafts in fun, accessible ways. Her most popular projects put a unique spin on of-the-moment makes, like temperature blankets and clay earrings, and get shared widely on Pinterest.
Alexis has partnered with brands like Michaels, Cricut, and Adobe, and sells digital designs in addition to project tutorials. She‘s also part of several influencer collectives, like Tag Agency, that help craft-focused creators grow their businesses and branch out into education and events.
"I truly believe that happiness is homemade," Alexis says in her bio. "Making things with my own hands always brings me joy, and I love sharing that feeling with others through fun DIYs anyone can recreate."
9. Salvaged Living (334K Instagram followers)
Sarah Coffee of Salvaged Living has built a devoted following by showing that one person‘s trash is another‘s treasure. An avid thrifter and antiquer, Sarah specializes in bringing new life to flea market finds and neglected furniture with an eye for farmhouse and cottagecore style.
Sarah‘s most popular posts share dramatic before-and-afters of furniture flips, often using trendy painting techniques like crackle and chalk paint. Projects like this thrifted coffee table makeover regularly get over 10,000 likes and hundreds of comments asking for her secrets.
In addition to her content, Sarah connects with her audience through an engaged Facebook community of 24,000 "Salvage Sisters" who share tips and cheer each other‘s projects. She also sells a DIY furniture paint line, runs thrifting tours, and has a book, The Art of Salvage.
"You can create a home that reflects your personality without breaking the bank when you embrace secondhand and salvaged goods," Sarah says. "My hope is to make the treasure-hunting process a little less intimidating and a lot more fun. There‘s a story behind every piece."
10. XO, MaCenna (4.4M TikTok followers, 542K YouTube subscribers)
MaCenna Cowen, a 72-year-old grandmother, proves that DIY isn‘t just a young person‘s game. She‘s become TikTok‘s favorite "granfluencer" by sharing decades of maker wisdom from her craft studio in sassy Southern style.
MaCenna‘s specialty is repurposing and upcycling projects using items around the house. Her most popular videos show her working with power tools, demonstrating pyrography (wood burning), and making tumblers with epoxy resin – racking up tens of millions of views from fans of all ages.
What sets MaCenna apart is her disarming humor, positivity, and total lack of pretension. Always sporting camo with her signature red manicure, she keeps fans hooked with her infectious laughter and relatable quips. ("The joy of being old is not having to care what people think. Just be yourself and do what you love!")
In just over two years on TikTok, MaCenna has built a cross-generational community of admirers cheering her on. She frequently hosts giveaways and livestreams to connect with fans, and has launched her own decor and apparel lines to keep up with demand.
The DIY Movement is Here to Stay
These 10 creative influencers are just the tip of the DIY iceberg. With interest and investment in the creator economy at an all-time high, the space is evolving rapidly, minting new stars every day. What unites these tastemakers is their ability to invite audiences into their world, spark joy and inspiration, and make DIY feel doable for anyone.
As brands wake up to the power of this market, the opportunities for influencers are growing – from product lines and partnerships to content deals and events. But beyond the business, the real impact of these DIYers is in the ripple effect of creativity and empowerment they share.
By teaching skills, building community, and representing diverse creative voices, they‘re shaping a movement of makers who embrace self-expression and find deep satisfaction in the process, not just the polish. In a world of mass production and automation, that‘s perhaps the most powerful tool of all.
