Top 10 DIY Home Projects

Your home is your castle, and what better way to outfit the palace than with some do-it-yourself ingenuity. We've featured dozens of DIY projects over the years, and today it's time to shine the spotlight on the most clever, useful, and fun. You've already seen our top 10 DIY office projects, so today it's time to check out some of the best creations modders, repurposers, and makers have rigged up at home.

10. Mailing Tube Wine Rack

When you want to spend your cash on good vino instead of the rack that will hold it, just stack up a set of mailing tubes and go. This project is dead simple, and stowed away under a shelf (as pictured), and optionally painted a color of your choice, it looks good, too. (original post)

9. CD Stack Lamp

What better way to put that dusty stack of free AOL CDs to good use than to turn it into a mod lamp? This project requires some elbow grease and the result is probably best fit for a family room, basement, or game room. (original post)

8. Wall-mounted Magnetic Knife Block

Instead of letting that big ol' knife block take up kitchen counter space, make one to mount on the wall. Take a block of wood, carve out slots in the back and glue in some strong magnets. Then, mount your creation to the wall to keep your knives accessible and out of the way. Hit the video to see this sucker in action; it's stickier than you think. (original post)

7. Auto-on Watch Holder Pantry Light

Stop fumbling around in that darkened cupboard or closet—rig up an instant on fridge-like lighting system with a plastic wristwatch holder and some ingenuity. Connect a reverse switch to rope lights inside the door and mount the switch inside a Timex watch holder. When the door closes, the switch opens and the light goes off. When you open the door? The lights snap on automatically. Here's my Flickr photo set of this in action (with a diagram!).

6. Hands-free Toilet Flusher

Keep your hands off the toilet handle with this foot pedal flusher, rigged up using paper towel rolls, shoe polish, and a wire hanger. This one would probably work best in a frat house. (original post)

5. Wall Outlet Safe

Stow your small valuables where no thief would think to look—inside what looks like a wall outlet. Hit the video to see how it's done and how it works (original post). For more secret hiding places, see also the secret hollow book.

4. Secret Bookshelf Door

Every kid's dream is to discover a secret door magically open when you pull a book off the shelf, and dedicated DIYer Simon Shea made that dream come true. This is a really cool project, but it obviously takes quite a bit of commitment. (original post)

3. Automated Garden Watering Drip System

Never worry about forgetting to water your lawn or garden again. Green thumb and DIYer Matt Haughey describes how to build your very own automated drip system to keep the plants hydrated even when you're on vacation. (See more of Matt's backyard adventures in his feature on how to build your own deck.)

2. Homebrew $30 Air Conditioner

When the heat gets to be too much and central air isn't an option, build yourself a DIY AC for thirty bucks. Put together by college students suffering through summer school in an air conditioner-less dorm, this project ain't pretty, but it sure is nifty. Instead of wasting water by letting it run off the contraption, here's a closed circuit version. (original post)

1. Remote Control Deadbolt

Unlock your garage or toolshed's deadbolt via remote control, as shown in the video above. This project doesn't rate high on the easy scale, but definitely gets points for clever AND useful. (original post)

What are your favorite DIY home projects? What did we miss? What have you rigged up at home? Let us know in the comments. For more do-it-yourselfness, check out our top 10 DIY office projects.