In this chapter we discuss the wide range of challenges in user-generated Internet of Things applications, as being worked on among the large consortium of the DiY Smart Experiences (DiYSE) project (DiYSE, ITEA2 08005). The chapter starts with a discussion on the context of "DiY" as a phenomenon to be leveraged, and eco-awareness as an example application area. The main body of the chapter is devoted to the technical outline of the DiYSE architecture, starting at the lower Internet of Things layers of sensors, actuators and middleware, over the role of semantics in device and service interoperability, up to requirements for the service framework and the application creation process. Furthermore, the chapter adds considerations concerning tangible interaction in the smart space, assumed in Di- YSE both for the context of experiencing as well as shaping the user experience. With the chapter, we thus take a holistic view, sampling the range from lowerlayer technical implications of enabling DiY creation in the Internet of Things, up to the human-level aspects of creative communities as well as tangible interaction