By Kristie Lewis

Many homeowners, regardless of whether or not they elect to build a new living space or buy a preexisting one, enjoy living a DIY lifestyle that minimizes their reliance on other people and helps them save money in the long run. Unsurprisingly, the internet has attracted a broad and diverse network of home repair, improvement, and decorating enthusiasts who enjoy sharing projects and convenient resources to help one another in their endeavors. The following websites offer up some excellent tools and resources on everything from personal finances to improvement projects and even craft patterns for home décor in order to inspire and educate homeowners interested in doing as much as they can for themselves. Calculators/Personal Finance 1. Mortgage Calculators : Bankrate offers a staggering variety of mortgage calculators for everything from basic financing to how much remodeling will set a bank account back – and anything in between. 2. Credit Card Calculators : Work through almost every aspect of credit card-related finances with these 10 specialized calculators hosted by Bankrate. 3. Auto Calculators : Cars eat up a healthy amount of one’s personal finances, and with these detailed, informative calculators it is possible to gain a clearer picture of what their purchase and upkeep will cost. 4. Checking & Savings Calculators : All of these useful savings calculators help keep homeowners keep better track of their expenditures and see where their money is or should be going. 5. Retirement Calculators : Homeowners looking forward to retirement would do well to explore all of the related calculators Bankrate has to offer – many of which concern 401 (kplans and Roth IRAs. 6.  CDs & Investment Calculators : Another Bankrate venture, these calculators make useful tools for homeowners hoping to invest some of their money in order to pay for college, home additions, a car, or other needs. 7.  BobVila.com Estimators & Calculators : Homeowners hoping to remodel or add on to their houses would do well to explore Bob Vila’s calculator offerings centered on estimates. 8. IRS.gov Forms and Publications : DIY-oriented homeowners with no need for accountants must stop by the official online presence of the IRS for information on the necessary forms and procedures for filing tax returns. Home Building/Improvement 9. ePlans.com : This one-stop shop for home building allows visitors to search for blueprints and plans for thousands of different living spaces as well as additions, modifications, and a cost to build estimator for $29.95. 10. The Home Renovator : Home improvement expert Bob Vila provides a suite of estimators for drywall, paint, ceramic tile, batt insulation, and acoustical ceiling tile. 11. Deck Designer : Run this program to create 3D renderings of custom-designed decks along with a helpful materials guide and tips for installing and constructing one. 12. Paint Designer : No matter if the job at hand is to be done indoors or out, the Paint Designer tool helps homeowners pick appropriate colors and paints for their needs and wants. 13. Home Plans : Browse or search for blueprints for whole houses or specific rooms courtesy of Bob Vila and Donald A. Gardner Architects. 14. The Blueprints : With over 38,000 images illustrating how almost anything and everything works, homeowners can look for ideas and inspiration for building a home from scratch or adding on a room, floor, deck, pool, or spa. 15. floor planner : Available in 2D and 3D formats, floor planner stands as one of the most respected, widely used tools for rendering home and room designs – no matter if the purpose is residential or commercial. 16. Google SketchUp : One of the best online CAD programs available, Google SketchUp allows users to build models using real coordinates and even upload them to Google Earth. Perfect for designing a house or checking to see what an extra room or new deck would look like. 17. small blue printer : This comprehensive blueprint program involves creating 3D plans for houses and other structures, also providing a walkthrough feature so viewers can see every angle of their creature. 18. Floor Planner : Another excellent, well-respected resource, Floor Planner starts off with a choice between starting the virtual building process with templates or customizing from the bottom up. 19. 3D Home Architect : Homeowners who do not mind paying $39.99 may want to check out the available download of 3D Home Architect, which also includes landscaping, cabinet, and roofing features, and much more. 20. Downloadable Graph Paper and Measurement Tools : Anyone hoping to build a home but prefer their drafting using the traditional method may find these downloadable graph papers – one of which is fully customizable – extremely helpful. 21. The House Designers : Almost everything a DIY-oriented homeowner or builder could possibly want is available right here, with free and paid plans available to browse and search. 22. diy network : The experts associated with the diy network provide their tips, tricks, advice, and detailed how-to instructions on keeping a home safe, clean, efficient, and aesthetic. 23.DIY Home Improvement Guides : Instructions, walkthroughs, and how-tos on any and all methods of home and improvement comprise the entirety of this fantastic resource for anyone preferring not to call a contractor or repairman. 24.Instructables Home : Information and how-tos on everything from solar panels to home décor to shelving and furniture hacks can be found right here on Instructables Home. 25.DoItYourself.com : Read through this comprehensive website’s generous selection of how-to guides on home building, improvement projects, repairs, additions, and many more useful activities. 26.About.com: Home Repair : About.com hosts hundreds of extremely useful, intelligent guides on a broad spectrum of topics, and their Home Repair section is not an exception. 27.HomeTips : Browse HomeTips’ incredible archives for free illustrated guides on repairs for and improvements upon kitchens, bathrooms, interiors, exteriors, siding, and every other aspect of life in a house. 28.Home Additions Plus : Homeowners interested in remodeling will appreciate the free tips, tricks, and instructions on anything and everything they need to know about adding to their living spaces. 29.HandymanTeacher.com : This detailed resource provides excellent how-tos on an extremely wide variety of home improvement and repair projects that saves homeowners money on hiring a professional. 30.Home & Family Network : Home & Family Network acts as a fantastic resource for anyone looking for help or inspiration when it comes to executing their own improvement, repair, or design projects. 31.Energy Star : Anyone interested in building or remodeling a home to fit within green initiatives that save energy and money may want to explore all the different options and tips available through the U.S. government’s Energy Star program. 32.Plan3D : Plan3D requires a monthly subscription of $2.95, but the money grants access to an amazing resource that provides users with a customized walkthrough of every interior and exterior element of a home. 33.Fetch-A-Sketch : Explore lush ready-made sketches of home additions such as pools, spas, outdoor kitchens, patios, front and back landscapes for ideas and inspiration. 34.Design 2010 : Design 2010 hosts the free Home Design Software as well as its $17 upgrade in addition to a number of informative articles on repair and improvement projects. Landscape & Gardening 35.Landscaping Design Deluxe : If the $29.99 price tag is not an issue, a download of Landscaping Design Deluxe allows users to create their own ideal gardens and see how they will come to look years down the line. 36.Garden Planner : Garden Planner offers a free trial of its landscaping software, but asks for a $19.95 charge for the full version. It features a simple drag-and-drop interface that allows users to customize their ideal front and back yards. 37.Plan-a-garden : With over 150 different varieties of shrubs, trees, and flowers to choose from, homeowners can plan the colors and designs they want for their gardens online before making a trip to the local nursery. 38.DIY Gardener : One of the ultimate online guides for anyone hoping to work on their own garden, this site hosts an extensive listing of projects and articles to guide beginners and help inspire veterans. 39.Design Your Garden : The BBC provides a slew of design plans for users to create their own virtual greenspaces full of flowers, vegetables, fruits, trees, and shrubs that suit their aesthetic, climate, and financial needs. 40.Aggie Horticulture : Texas A&M’s AgriLife Extension Service provides the DIY gardener with generous resources on picking the proper plants and keeping them free of the creepy crawlies that may potentially damage or kill them. 41.GardenPlans.com : Free garden plans come ready to download through this useful tool, which provides ideas and inspiration for front, back and side yards as well as tips, wood projects, and handy articles. 42.Online Landscape Design Course : Enroll in a completely free e-mail-based course in landscaping and garden design through About.com, with the first of three classes titled “Landscaping — A Yard at a Time.” 43.University of Minnesota Extension : Learn everything there is to know about designing and maintaining a garden through this incredibly valuable tool, which pays special attention to issues of sustainability. 44.Dave’s Garden : Considered one of the best resources and communities for DIY gardeners, browse the extensive collection of tools to learn about and share experiences with design and maintenance of landscaping. 45.National Gardening Association: How-To Projects : Receive an extensive education in designing and caring for a garden that meets every possible need or want through this fantastic series of how-to guides. 46.GardenAdvice.co.uk : No matter the country, enrolling in Garden Advice’s free online program provides a quick, concise education on creating and maintaining the greenspace immediately outside the home. 47.garden design online : This fun and informative blog offers up some great, well-rounded content for anyone hoping to get into DIY gardening – including book reviews for literature to check out during the next library run. 48.plangarden.com : Gardeners with an affinity for vegetables as opposed to ornamentals appreciate the intensive tools available through plangarden, which allows use of their software free for 45 days. 49.signaturelandscapes.com : Homeowners willing to attempt an online consultation may want to check out this website, where award-winning landscape architect David Childers offers free meetings with potential clients before moving on to for-profit services. 50.The Landscape Design Site : Another extensive resource, anyone aspiring to create and pay attention to the upkeep of their own gardens would do well to peruse the archives of this informative website for how-tos, walkthroughs, reference guides, and more. 51.myidealgarden.com : myidealgarden.com does offer a crash course in anything and everything related to landscaping, though interested participants do not need to dish out any cash in order to learn what they have to teach. 52.“5 DIY Gardening Projects” at Sustainablog : Learn about how the green movement can factor into creating a gratifying, sustainable garden with these informative projects to improve upon a greenspace. Pools/Spas 53.Design a Pool : Choose from several themes or build from the ground up with this handy tool that allows users to design a pool that meets their needs and wants. 54.Design My Pool : Another application that helps participants create their own pool, this one takes the added measure of submitting proposals to local contractors – if so desired, of course. 55.About.com: Swimming : About.com provides some fantastic articles and advice on designing and building a pool as a DIY project instead of hiring a professional. 56.Swimming Pool Magazine : Much of Swimming Pool Magazine’s content involves finding the right contractor, but their articles on what to think about when having a pool or spa installed ring true for any route a homeowner may take. 57. Spa Design : Homeowners looking to install a spa or hot tub instead of or in addition to a pool may want to fire up this design tool offered through Bullfrog. 58. Hot Tub Guide : Build a hot tub that suits the needs and wants of home and user alike in addition to learning about what all is available for consumers. Interior Design/Home Décor 59.Arrange-a-Room : Better Homes & Gardens hosts an interior design tool that allows users to decorate any room of the house in a way that works with existing elements or starts completely from scratch. 60.Design-A-Room : With a simple interface and minimal graphics, Design-A-Room provides users a quick idea of furniture placement without the hassle of picking out a specific design just yet. 61.Design A Room : Unlike the other application by the same name, the Design A Room offered through Armstrong goes into painstaking detail involving not only furniture types, but paint, flooring, and wall schemes as well. 62.SeeMyDesign.com : One of the most respected room design programs online, SeeMyDesign.com offers up both 2D and 3D depictions of interior decoration and layouts for users to customize and explore. 63.PlanningWiz : Experiment with floor and furniture layouts and other elements of home building with the free demo version of PlanningWiz – or shell out the money for a full copy. 64.Icovia® Space Planner : Users hoping to design their own interiors ought to look through prefabricated ideas or start completely from scratch, moving elements around as they see fit. 65.HGTV: Indoor Spaces : Get inspired with HGTV’s amazing articles, videos, tips, tricks, and how-tos for great DIY interior design projects. 66.Color Palette Generator : Upload a favorite image and receive a comprehensive inventory of all the colors involved as a quick means of figuring out a great color scheme. 67.DesignWorkshop Lite : Available as either a free download or an extended package for $9.95, Design Workshop Lite works best as a method for creating unique interiors in spite of allowing for a number of different DIY home projects. 68. About.com: Interior Design : Everything a homeowner needs to know about creating beautiful interior spaces with personality and creativity can be found through About.com’s extremely useful and comprehensive guides and how-to instructions. 69. E-Z Decorator : This Adex Award-winning software comes at a considerable cost, but homeowners unconcerned with expenditures may want to explore the thoroughly detailed interior design features. 70. Design Your Dorm : Homeowners who must contend with small spaces may want to take a cue from the college crowd and learn how to maximize comfort and efficiency inside an otherwise cramped area. 71. mydeco : Experiment with mood boards, 3D room planners, and color schemes alongside mydeco’s extensive archive of excellent articles and ideas. 72. Sweet Home 3D : Sweet Home 3D also offers a 2D interface as well, and both versions of this excellent online resource allow users to try out different furniture and decorative arrangements. 73.MyVirtualHome : Completely free if not used for commercial purposes, MyVirtualHome helps users render their desired exterior and interior designs using game rather than CAD technology. 74.IKEA Planner Tools : Homeowners interested in IKEA furnishings may want to see what options are available using their handy kitchen, bathroom, and office planning tools. 75. Blender : Blender is a free, open-source tool for 3D renderings – perfect for creating extremely detailed interior design work. 76.sampleboardonline : Acting as a liaison between consumers and businesses, sampleboardonline allows participants to create their ideal interiors and find corresponding products that fit their aesthetic desires. Crafts 77.  FreePatterns.com : For the dedicated DIY homeowner, free patterns for an eclectic variety of decorative crafts offer up some largely inexpensive projects that beautify any living space. 78. AllCrafts.net : Peruse free patterns for DIY home décor and gifts with AllCrafts.net, which incorporates a number of different functional arts – including sewing, knitting, crocheting, and much more. 79. All Free Crafts : With over 1,200 completely free patterns and project ideas available, anyone hoping to sew, knit, crochet, needlepoint, quilt, paint, embellish, or embroider their own home accessories will likely find something of interest to their aesthetic sensibilities. 80. I Love to Craft : Anyone with an affinity for DIY craft projects ought to browse I Love to Craft’s extensive library of patterns – many of which are suitable for incorporating into an interior design scheme. 81. PATTERNPAGE : Participants must pay for some patterns, but this massive repository of craft how-tos offers up a generous amount of free ones as well. 82. Craftown : Craftown hosts hundreds of complimentary patterns for gift, hobby, and – of course – interior design purposes. 83. Ruby Glen : One of the largest free DIY archives for craft and home improvement plans and patters on the internet, Ruby Glen provides a number of ideas and inspirations to suit almost every style. 84. FreePatternSite.com : This handy resource compiles links to free patterns from all over the internet, allowing visitors to pick and choose where they would like to visit based on what is available. 85. CraftAndFabricLinks : Homeowners with an itch to craft their own decorations and accessories may want to explore both the lessons and the free patterns available on this extremely useful site. 86. Craftbits.com : Projects and patterns of all types and for all skill levels abound on this valuable tool for anyone hoping to create an aesthetic home with their own hands. 87. Craftfinder.com : Clothing, knitting, crocheting, and other craft patterns comprise the bulk of this excellent resource’s content, providing some great ideas for DIY home décor. 88. Purple Kitty : Anyone seeking patterns for home accessories will appreciate the vast array of holiday-related decorations for knitting, crocheting, sewing, and other craft enthusiasts available through Purple Kitty. 89. Country Corner Crafts : Country Corner Crafts provides the DIY woodworker with a number of free patterns for projects that add a classic (and classytouch to any home. Informed Consumerism 90. ConsumerReports.org : Keeping informed of the latest recalls and issues related to consumer goods makes for one of the best ways a DIY-oriented homeowner can ensure the best possible safety and efficiency in all projects. 91. The Consumerist : One of the most thorough consumer awareness and advocacy websites available, The Consumerist helps its visitors make the best possible choices when it comes to the products they need for the home – and beyond. 92. Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection : The FTC weighs in on the latest news and updates in consumer-related issues, especially those involving recalls and potential health problems. 93. Better Business Bureau : DIY homeowners ought to check their suppliers against the Better Business Bureau’s extensive database to ensure that they patronize establishments who will neither rip them off nor sell them inadequate products. 94. Consumer World : Browse Consumer World’s extensive archives of reviews and deals for information a wide variety of products and services provided by a consumer advocacy lawyer. 95. Kelley Blue Book : Any homeowner hoping to sell or buy a new or used car without the intervention of a dealer ought to review the Kelley Blue Book to ensure the best deals possible. 96. ConsumerSearch.com : Read thousands of reviews and overviews from fellow consumers to help make the most informed decisions possible when it comes to building, maintaining, and filling a home. 97. U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission : Stay up-to-date with recall and other related information with the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, which discusses products beyond decorating and building home as well. 98. Department of Consumer Protection : Another government website – this time offered through the State of Connecticut – any American can benefit from the information they proffer on recalls and other potential safety issues. 99. FDIC: Consumer Protection : The Federal Deposit Insurance Commission offers consumers a bevy of research that helps them make responsible choices when it comes to taking care of their finances and making choices that affect their spending. 100. Consumer Guides and Protection : Official home of the American government, the Consumer Guides and Protection portion of their web presence provides indispensible information on how to make intelligent, informed decisions when it comes to buying the supplies needed to build, decorate, or maintain a home. From personal financing to intelligent consumerism, DIY home improvement encompasses far more elements than the actual projects themselves. With these fantastic tools and resources, the aspiring independent homeowner has plenty to reference when it comes to making informed decisions about keeping their homes as safe, efficient, and beautiful as possible.