The act or process of improving something, especially a dwelling or its furnishings. Home improvement is a vast topic, one that encompasses anything from small DIY projects to extensive renovations and remodels.
The OED’s earliest evidence for home impr is from 1701: “a work upon the house, or a place of abode; especially, but not necessarily, such works as a painting or coating, plastering, trimming, and painting; the construction, repair, or replacement of driveways, sidewalks, swimming pools, fences, unattached structures, garages and basements, porches, kitchens, bathrooms, chimneys, fireplaces, air conditioning and heating equipment, water heaters, furnaces, electrical wiring or systems.”
Most of us are familiar with the hit NBC sitcom Home Improvement starring Tim Allen as Randy Taylor, the middle child in a family with two older daughters and a teenage son. The show ended after eight seasons, with the series finale airing on December 8, 1998 (the final episode featured a short video clip from the Tool Time theme song, an early 1960s-style instrumental rock tune sung by Jonathan Taylor Thomas). Allen, Karn, and Sander reunited for a TV special in 2003 called Tim Allen Presents: A User’s Guide to Home Improvement, which included favorite clips, insider tips, personal reflections and a question and answer session with the audience.