While the past decade has seen the rise of maker culture - from crafting to hacking - DIY retailers seem to have been left out. And yet, despite a shaky housing market, the desire to improve one’s home has never been stronger. So what’s behind this mismatch, and how can brands transform into buzzing hives for a new generation of DIYers?

With more than ¥1 million in monthly sales, DIY-tool.com is catering to the rapid uptake of DIY in Japan. Shifting attitudes towards the home have enabled people to see how DIY can be both useful and enjoyable. But in a society that fetishises the new, what’s the appeal of fixing up the old?

Interior design has an exclusive ring to it. It conjures up images of high-end designers sourcing the priciest of homeware products. Laurel & Wolf intends to change that perception with crowdsourced, collaborative and affordable designers. But could it really make interior design available to everyone?

Three in four Australian homeowners plan to decorate their digs in the next two years, and 41% plan to build an addition or renovate. Tapping into this national obsession, Houzz is a community of home renovators and professionals that's disrupting Australia's $30 billion DIY market.