It’s my favorite post of the year! Friends, today is the Sherwin-Williams 2023 Color of the Year announcement! Meet Redend Point SW 9081.

Redend Point is like capturing the soul of Southern Utah in a paint color. When I found out what the color was, I was like, this is familiar! It’s so similar to the natural color of the adobe in the Merc!

It’s a warm blush beige that feels like it’s been baked by the sun. Depending on the lighting, it will pull more brown or pink. It actually photographs a little more beige than it looks in real life.

This room was Dylan’s Small World bedroom, but with Ivie moving out and Dyl moving into her space (and not being a child anymore) we decided to turn this room into a guest room. We took down all of the Small World wall treatment, patched the holes and added simple box molding. It’s the same wall treatment that we did in my old office.

My favorite way to use a color like this is all over. Ceiling, walls, molding, baseboards, all of it. It’s such a classic way to make a statement and really celebrate the color! Elevating the design with molding makes it feel intentional and traditional as opposed to basic. I love the way the room turned out!

I will say that I had a little bit of a hard time finding a color to pair it with. Sherwin-Williams has some great pairing suggestions here. Mandi White, Tricorn Black SW 6258 (which I used on the doors), and natural linens are all easy answers, but I LOVE color and wanted something else. I found this great rust colored velvet chair on clearance for $130 and it was perfect!! It complements the red undertones of Redend Point in such a great way.

Redend Point is a color that can appear more beige or more blush depending on the light, so before you fully commit to the color, I highly recommend getting a sample. Thankfully, Redend Point is one of the colors that Sherwin-Williams offers in peel & stick samples! No mess, no dry time, no sample pots of paint, just peel it off and stick it to your wall! And they’re repositionable, so you can see how it looks and feels in different spots of your house at different times of the day! Peel & stick samples are available in 275 of Sherwin-Williams top selling colors and 50 Emerald® Designer Edition colors! You can get them here and they ship for free!

What do you think?! Are you a fan of the 2023 Sherwin-Williams Color of the Year?!

The post Sherwin-Williams 2023 Color of the Year is…. appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Do you ever wish you could just live in a greenhouse? When we were renovating the Merc, that was the goal. To let it as much light as humanly possible while preserving the original cedar planked roof. 

When we started I knew that VELUX skylights were going to be a big part of the renovation (I have a lot of plants to keep happy!) but I didn’t know how significantly they would become one of the key design elements in the entire space. 

The skylights transformed what would have been a 25’ dark ceiling abyss into something that not only draws your eyes up and outward but illuminates the character of the original roof, and fills the entire building with life-giving light. Transformative doesn’t even begin to describe the impact that our VELUX skylights have on the Merc. 

We installed 23 skylights in all (told you the goal was a greenhouse!) One of my favorite moments during the renovation was walking in after they had cut the holes for them. It was so bright!! We have a mix of VELUX No Leak Solar Powered Fresh Air Skylights and VELUX No Leak Fixed Skylights, some with shades, some without! So I feel super qualified to speak on all of them!

Skylight Placement

Determining the placement of our skylights was a little tricky. The biggest design hurdle was figuring out placement in the exposed trusses and rafters. After a lot of back and forth, I ultimately decided that getting the vibe I wanted, we would need to install them a little unconventionally. This is one of the biggest Merc Perks we worked around. Of course the rafters weren’t centered on the main trusses. 

Or on the windows. 

Or on the room. 

Because 100 years ago when they built the Merc, why would they need to be!? 

Ultimately instead of conventionally installing the skylights vertically inside the rafters, we decided to flip the banks of 3 horizontally and install them over the top of the rafters. This fixed ⅔ of our design dilemmas. They were centered between the large trusses and centered on the windows. And truthfully, I love the added character and dimension that the perpendicular rafters below the skylights bring into the design. Each bank casts a different shadow and has its own quirky little pattern!

Lighting Up the Entire Space

Light balance is something that was really important to me when designing the placement. This part of the Merc is so expansive, I really wanted everything to feel balanced and symmetrical. Because the majority of the space is open without defined walls, even illumination was the goal to make it feel united. The glass walls on the loft make the space feel like it’s part of the larger room. So having VELUX skylights there was important to visually balance the natural light. 

Plant Heaven

With all of my plants, you can imagine just how important natural light is. Installing skylights means that I can spread my plants throughout the space. The most critcal bank of skylights in the main living area is the one directly above the living wall. Without it I would need to have a very intense artificial light system to give the plants adequate light to grow. Another huge bonus is that the plants grow upward. You might be thinking, uhhh of course they do? But plants don’t necessarily grow upward, they grow toward light. Without the bank of skylights shining down directly on the entirety of the wall, all of the plants would be reaching toward the window and the wall wouldn’t be visually balanced. So cool right!?

Skylights in the Primary Bedroom

Our primary bedroom has the same exposed roof that the main living area of the Merc has, but because it’s the bedroom, I wanted less sunlight to make it more comfortable for sleeping. We installed two No Leak Solar Powered Fresh Air Skylights with room darkening shades in this space and love them! The room darkening shades work so well, they make the room nice and dark for sleeping. Perfect for afternoon naps!

Skylights in the Office Loft

The design of the office, with its glass walls and white paint makes this space feel like such a fun modern juxtaposition from the original adobe walls. This space is my sanctuary. I love working out of it everyday and the natural light that fills it makes my heart so happy. Because of the light that comes in from the skylights, I have plants spread throughout the entire room. Its where all of my most demanding guys hang out and can get the most love. Unlike the room darkening shades that we installed in the bedroom, I used VELUX light filtering shades. They are remote controlled and when they are closed they have the best filtered light, and soften hard shadows. It’s a dream for when I am shooting product shots! 

How are the Temperatures!?

Hands down the most common question we get about our skylights is how they perform in the heat of Southern Utah. In the summer our temps regularly are over 100 degrees. After living with them for a full year, I have so much information to share! First, let me put any and all concerns to rest. All of the VELUX skylights we installed have dual paned, lowE3 glass that is extremely energy efficient. These are not just pieces of glass in the roof, they are designed to protect interior temperatures. Adding shades helps boost the skylights’ energy performance by controlling the amount of sunlight that comes through.  In the main living area where we don’t have shades the spot of direct light is a little warmer than the rest of the room. The puppies love it and follow it along the floor all day long. Even with the wild outside heat, we have never had an issue cooling the space. Want proof? Buckle in because I’m about to blow your mind. From May 2020-May 2021 our utility bill average was $217.62 for the 2000 sq ft of Phase 1. From May 2021-May 2022 the average was $268.15 for the entire 4200 sq ft space after the completed renovation. The bill only went up $50 (!!??!) FIFTY DOLLARS.  If that’s not a testament to the efficiency of our skylights and windows, I don’t know what is!

In short, we have LOVED our VELUX skylights. The quality, smart technology, beauty, efficiency and style have surpassed even my wildest dreams. If you are considering them, do it, 1000x over!! It transforms a home into a light filled sanctuary in ways you couldn’t get any other way, unless you move into an actual greenhouse!

The post Living with Skylights in the Merc appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Do you ever get itchy to do a project? Like you’re just living your merry life and an idea pops into your head and just sits there stirring things up until you finally do it?! 

For the last little while I’ve wanted to repaint our front doors (all 3 of them!) with a new fun color. I love the original color Jasper, but life is too short to not try new fun things!

And it felt like the perfect time with the wrapping up of Phase 2 of the renovation. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when during a heavy rainstorm water was pouring through one of the horizontal panels on the door!

After a little bit of a paint color fiasco (the color I was originally wanted looked very different outside than what I was expecting) I narrowed it down and was ready to paint! 

If I can make a project even a little more approachable, that is always my goal, so for this door painting project I decided to use the most simple effective tools to get the job done. A paint brush and my Handy Paint Pail.

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when they are using a brush is they don’t know how to control the amount of paint that is actually on it. There are 2 key issues that people don’t realize make all the difference in the world. 

1. Having a flat hard surface to wipe your brush on
2. Stopping the brush from resting inside the paint.

Handy Paint Pails so easily fix both of those issues!

The outer edge of a Handy Paint Pail has a hard 90 degree angle on it to easily scrape off your brush. When I’m painting, I always dip my brush in the paint and then scrape off one side. I’ve found that is the perfect amount to get started!

The magnetic cup holds your paint brush out of the paint, and helps ensure that the ferrule (the metal part that connects the handle to the bristles) stays clean. In turn that means less dripping, cleaner hands, and a better finish.

All of Handy’s products have disposable liners that make clean up a breeze! (Because let’s be honest, who after a whole painting project wants to spend time cleaning up!? I never do (Court always does that part! lol) 

Everything is designed to make your painting project easier, from the disposable liners, to the way the handles can be adjusted for your grip, they are an absolute necessity!! I super love the mossy green paint color that they ended up (Sherwin-Williams Palm Leaf)

You can find Handy Products at most paint retailers (like Sherwin-Williams or Home Depot) or on Amazon!

The post Repainting the Front Doors at the Merc appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

One of my go to places for plants is Home Depot. They can have KILLER varieties at great prices! It’s all about knowing what to look for. Here’s my essential checklist to buying plants from Home Depot!

1: Go frequently!

My first tip is to go frequently! Ask one of the Home Depot garden staff what day of the week restocks happen. It usually is the same day every week! Thursdays are the special day in my store!! And honestly, every time we go to Home Depot, I take a quick peek in the houseplant section. While I may not be consistent with anything else in my life, I will check the garden center like clockwork!

2. Picking the best plant

Some of my favorite plants are from Home Depot! The GIANT Monstera  with leaves the size of UFO’s? Home Depot! In fact, my oldest plant is a Staghorn Fern that I found at HD! True story! You can order them online and they’ll ship right to your house!

With so much variety, and often a lot of the same ones (especially on shipment day) how do you find the best plant? I always look for 2 things. Healthy mature leaves, and new leaves unfurling. Healthy mature leaves show the plant has a good established root system. New unfurling leaves mean that the plant isn’t stressed. If it’s putting out new growth, it’s got a happy outlook on the world! Some leaves can have damage from being shipped, that’s normal, if you have the opportunity, just weed through the ones available and pick the one that speaks to your heart! These green Maranta Prayer plants are so beautiful, and when they are super happy they get tiny white flowers!

3. Shopping the right section

Do you know why a Fiddle Leaf Fig can live outside it’s entire life, but one that has lived inside that is moved outside can sunburn like a fleshy human? It’s because it’s leaves are adjusted differently to the conditions! Sometimes you’ll see plants that are in the outdoor section that could easily be houseplants as well. Think Birds of Paradise, Cacti, Succulents, etc. It seems like you should just be able to grab one of those and put it in your house, right?! Wrong. Plants that have leaves that are hardened off and adjusted to outdoor conditions will be super mad in your house where they are getting significantly less light. If you’re on the hunt for houseplants, stick to the houseplant section!

4. Checking the roots

I always check the roots of a plant before I buy it, but I only check the roots on a plant that I am committed to. Meaning, I will pick my fave, and then check the roots on it. To do this GENTLY hold the plant at it’s base and turn it upside down to pull it out of the planter. Healthy roots are light-colored and firm.

5. Appearance: What’s a big deal, and what’s not a big deal

Sometimes you’ll see plants that have large water spots or white haze on the leaves. While it may not be the most attractive thing right out of the gate, water spots can be easily cleaned off with Neem oil. And often the white haze on larger leaves is a pest deterrent that will just wipe right off!

Did you know that you can also buy online and pick up in store!? Even plants!! Homedepot.com has loads of plants that are both in store and ready to ship!! And you can shop on the Home Depot app using image search! Its so fun to find a picture of a plant online and upload it to see if the plant is available at Home Depot!

Moral of the story? Head to your local Home Depot and score some new plant babies!!

The post The Essential Checklist to Buying Plants from Home Depot appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

It’s my favorite project of the year!! Sherwin-Williams 2022 Color of the Year!! If you’ve been following along on Instagram Stories, you know I tried to keep it simple this year with minimal(ish) wall treatments, and really let the color be the star with monotone ceiling, walls, baseboard, molding, and doors. In trying to keep things relatively simple, we ended up with a HUGE statement that I LOVE!!

Sherwin-Williams 2022 Color of the Year is Evergreen Fog SW 9130. It’s a dusty gray green that is kind of the perfect mid-tone green. It’s not dark (like the 2021 color) or light (like the 2018 color), it’s just enough that walking into a room completely covered in it feels cozy.

The magic of this color though is that it it’s a chameleon color of green meets gray with a hint of blue.   

This room used to be my office, but with the completion of the second half of our reno, my office moved to the loft and this room was just sitting empty, full of supplies for Happy Happy Houseplant. Because it’s just off my entryway, it just made the whole space seem cluttery and I was excited to get things cleaned up!

This is what it looked like before everything was moved out.

This is what it looked like when I started the makeover.

LOL, big difference!

The walls previously were painted my favorite custom white and while they were bright and fresh, I am digging how sophisticated this monotone room is!

I used a matte finish to create this look. I swear by this finish and use it everywhere! Did you know that using a lower sheen like matte makes your walls seem less textured? It’s true!

The way the molding makes shadow details in the blanket of color is a dream, my favorite spot is looking at the door. Like, just look at that detail!! This was a really simple project that you can see the tutorial for here!

If you’ve been here for a while, you might remember this leather couch that I bought off Craigslist and had reupholstered. When we pulled it out of the storage unit Court said, “I didn’t know this couch was so cool!” Haha made me feel glad that I saved it for so many years!

After I started decorating it, I needed some plant life in the far-right corner. It unfortunately doesn’t get great lighting, and anything I put there wouldn’t thrive, so a wall of propagations is perfect because they don’t need/want intense lighting.

We just ripped down some 2×4’s and use a hole saw to drill holes into it for the test tubes. Previously I’ve always mixed my propagation cuttings in the same tubes, but this color + monotone style gives off a different vibe, like it needed to be organized (maybe if I painted everything in my life Evergreen Fog I would be more on top of stuff!?) so I took cuttings from almost every one of my plants and each plant has its own tube. That way when people come over, I can give them cuttings specific to their favorite plant!

If you are itching to try Evergreen Fog, it’s one of the colors that Sherwin-Williams offers as a Peel and Stick sample! No mess, no dry time, no sample pots of paint, just peel it off and stick it to your wall! And they’re reposition-able, so you can see how it looks and feels in different spots of your house at different times of the day! Peel and Stick samples are available in 75 top selling colors and 50 Emerald Designer Edition colors! You can get them here and they ship for free!

The light was a quick DIY. I had ordered supplies to make a light for this room years ago, and just hadn’t gotten around to it. When I pulled them out, I had no idea what the original design was, and made up a new configuration! It turned out so great!

So tell me, do you love it!? I think they nailed it!

The post Sherwin-Williams 2022 Color of the Year is…… appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

When we started the renovation on the Merc in 2018 we did a quick plumbing layout for the primary suite bathroom that wouldn’t happen until years later when we started phase 2 of the reno. By that time, I’d changed my mind about the layout completely and the plumbing had to be dug up and reworked. One bonus of that was that we nixed the tub, and that left us with a waterline that could be used for something else. We decided to put a stacked washer and dryer in the closet. 

We’ve had a Samsung washer and dryer from The Home Depot since we moved into the Merc 4 years ago, and have loved it. When it was time to pick out a new set, we were team Samsung all the way! It’s crazy that in just 4 short years the technology can get even better, especially if you use the Smart Things app.

It’s been a long time since we’ve had a stacked washer and dryer (remember our laundry room reno on our first house?) and one of the things I remember being annoyed with was the height of the control panel. It made it impossible for the kids to start their own loads in the dryer. Samsung’s new multi-control panel means that when your washer and dryer are stacked you can control the dryer from the washer panel. No step stool needed!

I also love how easy the Smart Things app is to use. I can start and stop my washer and dryer from my phone, and create a custom laundry recipe based on what I’m washing that is send directly to the appliances! 

My favorite new duo is their Jet 70 cordless stick vaccum and Cleaning Station (look at Gilly in that pic!) We have adobe dirt galore + hair from the pups + normal life mess and most of the floor surfaces in the Merc are hard. Finding a stick vac has been an ongoing adventure that I finally feel like I’ve conquered. The suction on the Jet 70 is awesome and it works really well picking up small leaves, pet hair, dirt, and crumbs. I use it on our hard surface floors and low pile rugs (it’s a little too light weight to get stuff out of the thick shaggy rugs) 

When it’s time to clean out the bin, the Cleaning Station is where the magic happens. You just place the bin in the Cleaning Station and it opens and removes all of the treasures that your vacuum picked up. It then stores it until it’s time to change bags (similar to changing a vacuum bag). All of the dust, debris, and allergens that are picked up stay in the Cleaning Station and arent released into the air! 

You can find all of these innovative Samsung appliances at The Home Depot! 

Samsung Smart Dial Washer

Samsung Smart Dial Dryer

Samsung Jet 70 cordless stick vaccum

Samsung Clean Station

The post Healthy Home Updates at the Merc!! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Tiling is one of the most doable DIY projects there is, and I’ve tackled my fair share. This post is full of my tips and tricks, and the lessons I’ve learned along the way!

Tiling Tip #1 Get all of your supplies on your first trip to The Home Depot.

There is nothing worse than running out of adhesive, or being faced with the decision to wipe up the grout with your good towels, or let it dry before it’s cleaned off.

The supplies you will ALWAYS need when tiling are:

Tile (this is the one I used for this project!)

Adhesive (we’ll talk about which one in just a minute!)

3/16″ V-Notch Trowel

Spacers (*depending on the type of tile!)

Grout

Grout Float

Microfiber Towels

Tile Saw and/or Tile Cutter 

Permanent Marker or Wax Pencil

Tape Measure

Level (I always have a larger one and a small one handy!)

Flathead Screwdriver

Homer Bucket

Tiling Tip #2 Figuring Out How Much Tile You’ll Need

One of the most frustrating things to happen when you are tiling is running out, mid project. Or even worse, running out when you have 3 pieces left. (I still have a single piece of tile missing in our main bathroom because I ran out!)

Measure the sq/footage that you’ll need by measuring the height and width of where the tile will be. Then plug those numbers into Home Depot’s handy tile calculator! You simply select your tile size and it will tell you exactly how many you need to fill the space! I always add 5-10% more for pieces that need to be cut or scrapped!

Tiling Tip #3 Start In The Middle

If you google, you’ll get mixed reviews on this one, but it is one of my non negotiables! I always always always start my first few rows of tile in the center of the wall. Here’s why.

The last thing that I want to have happen is have my tile be off centered (pay especially close attention if your tile is patterned!!) Have you ever seen a space that has a full tile on one side of the wall, and a pencil thin one on the other? It’s not a good look, and one of the biggest mistakes that rookies make.

There are 2 ways to figure out how to perfectly center your tile. 

1. Math. Taking the width of each tile + each grout line between each tile and divide it by the total width of the wall. It will likely be down to a fraction of an inch and IMHO has a lot of room for error.
2.  Start tiling in the center of the wall! Mark the exact halfway point on the wall and start there, either by centering a tile on it, or putting the grout line on it. Then work your way out. If you found the dead center of the wall, your cut for each end piece should be the same! Do this for the first few rows, then once you know what your cut should be (because you’ve measured and repeated it a couple of times, mass cut the tiles to fit!

Tiling Tip #4 Pay Attention to Your Corners!

When you are doing a brick or step pattern, the way the corners meet is super important! See in the picture below how each corner has a large and small tile, but they alternate rows? It would be super weird if each line instead of having small-big or big-small had big-big or small-small.

Tiling Tip #5 Regularly Wash Your Tools

Things get super gunked up when you are doing a tiling project, and keeping things manageable, also means regularly stopping to wash off the tools! For your sanity, do not skip this part. I always try to, because I’m usually in a hurry and taking 2 minutes just feels impossible. But it makes a huge difference on your sanity, and can help you have a better finish.

Tiling Tip #6 Prep Is Key

No one wants a crooked tile job, and there is nothing that will make you feel like the whole thing was a giant waste of time like ending up with tile that isnt level.

Don’t assume that your floor, or counter is level. Chances are that it’s not (especially your floor!!) This is where ledger boards come into play. A ledger board is a temporary support that helps you set a level tile line. You can set it into place with screws, or nails (I usually use a finish nailer) and then that is the jumping off point for the tile. It fixes any wonkiness that naturally happens in a home and will give you a perfectly level tile line!!

Tiling Tip #7 Premixed Products are THE BEST!!

I am all for saving money where you can, but using premixed adhesive and grout are a LIFE CHANGER. 

Acrylpro is my go to for all things tile. It works great over sheetrock, and is approved for intermittent water exposure (like on shower walls!) And the best part is that its easy to clean up (if you get smears, drops, or are a general mess maker like me!)

For grout I am a diehard for Fusion Pro! One of the biggest things that DIY tilers struggle with is mixing the grout to just the right consistency. The grout can’t be too runny, too thick or not mixed well. All of these things can have dire impact on the ease of your job as well as the durability long term.

Fusion Pro is a single component product, which means that it comes pre-mixed (you dont even have to stir it!) It doesnt need to be sealed, and it has Microban in it to prohibit the growth of bacteria, mold, and mildew! And it comes in a range of colors.

If you are new to tiling, The Home Depot has a GREAT How To guides on their site! Quite literally everything that is DIYable, has a guide! Specifically for tile, you can learn everything from how to install wall tile, to how to install a tile floor! They even have a how to cut tile video!  I am all about learning as you go, but it’s pretty smart to start with at least a base level knowledge, and I can’t think of a better place than the Home Depot for that!

You can watch this entire $150 bathroom makeover come together in this highlight reel!

The post My Best Tiling Tips and Tricks appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

This post is sponsored by Sherwin-Williams®

Do you know what the first thing on every makeover checklist is? Paint! 

It is the biggest impact/smallest investment you can make when you are overhauling a space and has the ability to absolutely transform it! Case in point, my nephew Gordon’s bedroom. With a quick trip to Sherwin-Williams for 2 gallons of paint and just a few hours, we completely changed the look of the entire room!

Here’s the before:

And here’s where we ended up just a few hours later!

I wish I could take credit for the color palette, but these wall colors are part of Sherwin-Williams new Living WellTM collection. They’ve expertly grouped some of their most calming shades into 11 different palettes to inspire you to relax and breathe more stillness into your space.

Each palette has a distinct vibe and color current. The Balance palette that I chose from embraces woodland vibes and has a lot of soft greens and warm neutrals. I used Lemongrass SW 7732 and Dover White SW 6385. I’ve been itching to do another project with a soft dusty green, ever since I used Ruskin Room Green on the bookcases in my office! I chose the Balance palette because the shades are very organic, tranquil and soft, and they paired well with the wood tones of Gordon’s furniture. I wanted to make sure his space was really calm but still had a fun pop of color.

My other favorite Living Well palette is Unplug, it’s centered around warm desert vibes and has some of the dusty desert colors that I see living in Southern Utah! If you tend to lean into cooler blues, check out Focus. 

Hand in hand with the Living Well palettes are two new SuperPaint® products available exclusively at Sherwin-Williams. 

They took their best-selling SuperPaint (one of my faves!) and added 2 different types of technology to create two new products that not only make a room beautiful, but help bring a sense of well-being home. For Gordon’s room, I used SuperPaint with Air Purifying Technology. It’s a zero VOC formula that contributes to better indoor air quality by helping reduce the VOCs in your home from sources like carpet, cabinets and fabrics. It also helps rooms stay fresher, longer, with odor eliminating technology that breaks down unwanted household odors.*

Almost anything that is manufactured, from paint to plywood, blankets to carpet, contains VOCs. VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compound. It is at its most basic form, chemicals that a product off-gasses into the environment. Specifically related to paint, VOC ratings are different based on the intended use of the products (floor coating vs. wall paint vs. furniture paint). If you look at the strictest regulations it needs to come in at under 50 grams per liter (for comparison, 10 years ago most water-based paint came it at around 200 grams per liter). Less than 50 is considered Low VOC compared to 200 g/L VOC, which is fantastic. 

The most concentrated amount of VOCs are released when you are working with the product, i.e., when your paint is still wet. As the product dries, the VOCs evaporate into the atmosphere. Once dried (and after your house has been aired out) the amount of VOC emissions can be greatly reduced. The huge push for Low and No VOC paint has been not so much for the safety of the product for humans (though that is an added bonus), but because of the environmental gases that it creates in the atmosphere once it’s escaped your home.

This paint was awesome to work with. It has great coverage, and knowing it has zero VOCs and actively eliminates odors makes me feel so great about using it in Gordon’s room! After crazy year that was 2020, we all deserve a space that makes us feel good and the Living Well collection helps you do just that.

The other new paint is called SuperPaint® with Sanitizing Technology. It is an EPA registered paint that kills 99.9% of certain bacteria and continues to kill up to 90% of these bacteria for up to four years.** It’s perfect for high traffic areas like hallways, kitchens, and bathrooms! Check it out for your next project!

Gordon’s room was inspired by my Grandpa of all people, he was the absolute best and where I get my DIY grit. He loved the outdoors, airplanes, and native American culture, so that was the jumping off point for the room, style-wise. This is his hat that he wore every day!

I love how the colors work together and also play off of the natural tones of the wood and décor. The space is now a really calming, tranquil environment for Gordon, while still being fun. Creating this simple color blocked wall pattern is so easy! Start by painting one of the colors (in this case we chose the lower color!).

We started by setting a simple laser line around the room about 1/3 of the way up the wall. 

Here’s a tip: set your line so that you have a visual cushion around the furniture. You don’t want it to be the exact height as the dresser. In this case I found a spot that was just taller than the dresser and just shorter than the headboard!

With the laser line up, I placed painters’ tape all around the room (you can do this over the doors like I did here!)

The trick to getting a perfect paint line is to back bleed the wall color (check out this IG highlight reel to see it in action!).

With the tape up, we painted the second color on the wall and when the second coat was still slightly tacky, pulled the painters tape off. Tada! Perfect paint lines!!

Because it’s a kid’s room, I punched things up a big with pops of red and orange in the art and decor. It’s such a fun balance with the mellow neutrals on the walls!

Check out the whole Living Well collection here and pick it up at your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store!

*The length of time SuperPaint with Air Purifying Technology actively reduces odors and formaldehyde depends on the concentration, the frequency of exposure and the amount of painted surface area.

**SuperPaint with Sanitizing Technology kills 99.9% of Staph (Staphylococcus aureus), E. coli (Escherichia coli), MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), VRE (Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis) and Enterobacter aerogenes on painted surfaces within two hours of exposure, and continues to kill 90% of bacteria for up to four years when the integrity of the surface is maintained.

The post Room Makeover with Sherwin-Williams Living Well appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Leveling and repairing concrete can seem intimidating, but I promise it’s a totally doable DIY! Especially with self leveling concrete products!!

Phase 2 of our renovation has begun! It feels like a dream, I can’t believe it’s actually happening!! If you are new and need a refresher here are the deets in 5 bullet points.

• 4 years ago we bought a 100 yr old Mercantile store to turn into our dream house.
• Phase 1 of the project was most of the bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchen. We completed that and moved in in 2018
• Phase 2 is the best part of the building, it has original adobe brick walls, and a rough sawn cedar roof.
• Phase 2 is our living room, master bedroom, and plant loft.
• It’s FINALLY HAPPENING!!
  

In this post I’m going to share how we repaired and leveled our concrete slab, tips to live by, and a whole lot of encouragement. Leveling concrete is one of the easiest projects that you can tackle. If you can lift a heavy bucket, pull the trigger of a drill, and spill things, YOU CAN DO THIS PROJECT!!

And if you are resourceful like us, you can even have Home Depot deliver all of the heavy bags! Did you know that you can have Home Depot deliver? Not ship, but someone from your actual store? We opted to pay the $79 delivery fee to save ourselves 4 trips back and forth hauling all of the heavy concrete bags. It was SO worth it!! I ordered directly on the Home Depot app and had it delivered 2 days later!!

First things first, do you have the Home Depot app on your phone!? It is such a game changer especially if you need to locate product or build a shopping list (like you will for this project!!) All you have to do is type in what you’re looking for and it will give you an exact location in the store! It’s a dream for those random supplies that could logically be in 3 different locations.

Prep Work

Let me start by assuring you that chances are your concrete is in significantly better condition that ours.

Prepping concrete for repair has just 3 parts

Remove any bond breakers.

Quick tip! You can tell if something is a bond breaker by spraying it with water! If it absorbs into the substrate then you are good! If it sits on the surface it has to go!

These are things like paint and adhesives. A bond breaker does exactly what it sounds like, it makes it so that the repair/leveling can’t bond with the old concrete. If you don’t have any bond breakers, skip to part 2! We were not so lucky. The Merc had 100 years worth of paint, carpet glue, and linoleum adhesive. We ended up grinding the entire floor down to bare concrete. 

Remove any loose/lifted spots. 

What happens if you don’t remove bond breakers? When repair jobs are done and not properly prepped, the new concrete can’t properly bond and it creates a whole world of trouble. We had large sections of patch jobs that had become detached that needed to be cleared out. You can tell where the concrete had failed by walking on it with heels, bouncing a golf ball, or snaking a chain over it and listening for a change in pitch. Pull out that bad stuff! It’s ultra satisfying and comes out very easily.

Sweep + Vacuum + Sweep + Vacuum.

This one is pretty self explanatory right? Get all of the dust and debris out of your life!

Once your prep work is done, it’s time to move on to the actual repairs!

Repairing Concrete

Have you ever repaired concrete? I think a lot of us would answer that with a nope. Most of our DIY prowess is in the paint/build space right? Concrete work isn’t something that comes up a ton and can be super intimidating. If you hear nothing else in this post, hear this. You can absolutely master concrete repair, there is almost no learning curve, especially if you follow these basic steps. 

The product we’re using is Rapid Set Cement All. It’s the best all around mortar and will work for almost any project. It can be feathered to a smooth transition, and to 4″ thick. It’s perfect for patch jobs, crack repair, concrete projects (like countertops or planters!) and is only $20/bag!

Step 1: Wet the substrate.

It’s of critical importance to wet the old concrete before you start putting new concrete down for 2 reasons, if you don’t the old concrete will suck the moisture out of the new and it will dry too fast. And second, Rapid Set Cement All is designed to chase the water into the old concrete creating a strong bond. Watch out for puddling, that is too much water.

Step 2: Mix the Cement All

Cement All is easily mixed to peanut butter consistency. Add water to a 5 gallon bucket first (to prevent dry clumps getting stuck in the corners!) and add Cement All. Mix until you get the right consistency, adding more water, or Cement All as needed.

Step 3: Lay it Down

Using a flat trowel, put some of the Cement All into the hole and smooth it starting from the inside and pulling out.

Step 4: Feathering the edges

One of the most incredible things about Cement All is the ability to feather it to almost nothing. Let it set enough sothe whole mass doesn’t move, and using a sponge trowel gently pull it out over the top of the old concrete. This is also a great time to smooth out any imperfections and slightly rough up the surface so it has more grip for what will be going on top of it.

Step 5: Water Curing

As the Cement All starts to lighten and cure, keep an eye on it. You want it to cure over a period of time, not instantly. If you notice it turning white within the first 30-45 minutes, spray it lightly with water. You may have to do this a few times! You can tell that it’s starting to cure when you hold your hand just above the surface and feel warmth coming off of it!

That’s it!! Once the Cement All is cured you are ready to move on!!

How to Use Self Leveling Concrete

I would be lying if I said that we haven’t tried self leveling concrete before. We did, and it wasn’t good. When we were repairing the concrete in Phase 1, there was a huge section that had settled and because we were young and naive (and didn’t know that Cement All would have been perfect for repairing it!), we tried using self leveling concrete to repair it. The problem? It was like Land of the Lost underneath the slab. We went through 5+ bags and if it had been repaired correctly it would’ve been about 1. And then we found out about bond breaker prep the hard way. Like after we had put everything down. 

But guess what? When we used Rapid Set Concrete Leveler, we had exactly ZERO issues. It’s clear that the struggle with round one was in the prepping. Follow the steps in the prepping section of this post to get your floors ready for primer!

Step 1: Prime

Instead of wetting the concrete like we did using Cement All, when we’re using Concrete Leveler, there is a special primer that goes down first. Dump it onto the floor and spread it with a soft bristled brush (deck brushes work super well!)

The primer needs to stay wet for at least 20 minutes, so if it starts to dry before that, just put down another layer. Keep it as even as possible and work out any areas that are puddling.

After your 20 minutes have passed, you can let the primer cure. It needs to dry to a non-tacky finish. If it’s still tacky, it needs more time. Dry primer will be a little darker than the concrete, but not look wet.

Step 2: Set Up

Concrete Leveler has a working window of 30 minutes, meaning after 30 minutes you don’t want to mess with it. So when you’re leveling a large space, set up is key!  We had clean buckets of water ready and waiting, bags opened, and a game plan. I would say from experience that this is a 2 person job. It would be really hard to level a space the size of ours on your own.

Step 3: Mix

Concrete Leveler gets 5 quarts of water/50 lb bag. Measure the water into the bucket first and add the dry material semi-slowly (this prevents splashing) while running the drill. Mix it completely!

Step 4: Pour

Starting at the lowest point in the floor, pour out your mixed Concrete Leveler. Each subsequent bucket gets poured around the outer 1/3 of the wet concrete.

You’re basically laying it in concentric circles that overlap.

Repeat until the whole area is filled!

You don’t have to worry about water curing Concrete Leveler the way you do with Cement All, just let it dry! You can walk on it in 5-ish hours, it reaches a full cure in 24!

Concrete Leveler makes everything flooring related easier. Your flooring will look better (and you won’t have to worry about stress cracking!) It’s going to be a huge game changer in the Merc!

Here’s a quick shopping list if you are doing concrete work!

Rapid Set Cement All

Rapid Set Concrete Leveler

Drill

Leveling Primer

Bucket Scoop

Mixing Paddle

Rubber Float

Trowel

Deck Brush

The post Everything You Need to Know About Leveling and Repairing Concrete Floors appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Oh man I sure hope you guys are following Vintage Revivals on Instagram! If not, you are totally missing out! We started Phase 2 of the Merc reno!! If you are new, or need a refresher (it’s been a few years!) let me bring you up to speed.

The Merc is a 100 yr old mercantile store that is our home! It was such a serendipitous find (you can read about it here!)

When we bought the Merc, we had to split the renovation of the building into 2 parts. Phase 1 is more functional small spaces like bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms, etc. It was the original store side of the Merc and looked like this when we bought it.

A patchwork of little additions, and just as many finishes on the walls. Concrete block, lathe and plaster, sheetrock.

You can see all of the posts about Phase 1 here!

Phase 2 is the open living/dining space, and master suite. It was originally built as a garage for Southern Utah produce company and aside from what was the office (now our kitchen) it is a giant open space with original adobe brick walls, and a rough sawn cedar roof.

The plan was to get Phase 1 done, move in and start on Phase 2 right away.

But alas here we are almost 3 years after completing Phase 1 and moving in and finally getting things moving! Which brings me to today’s post. We have a major design element that needs to be decided on and I would love your help!

This is the current exterior elevation that we are going to be talking about!

See the wall with the mural? That is the west side of the Merc. It’s going to have all of the original windows opened up and we have to decide on a dormer style for the loft.

The Original Pitched Dormer Design:

In Phase 2 there is an area above the mater bath/closet that we are turning into a loft. The intent behind it was to use up some of the vast vertical space and add square footage. Originally, we were going to take out part of the roof, and put in a giant pitched dormer with window at the end of it.

At the beginning of this week, we met with the framers and talked through what that would look like. I joke that nothing in the design of the Merc is safe or permanent. It’s always up for discussion. And what a discussion we had!

The issue (but not a deal breaker type issue) was the it was going to take a lot of work to add the dormer. Totally doable work, but a lot of it. As we were throwing ideas around, the contractor suggested changing the design from a pitched dormer to a shed dormer. This would give us more functional space on the interior, and it would be a lot easier to build out.

I was totally down! Dustin the greatest designer/general contractor in the world updated the plans and yesterday we met with our structural engineer again to make sure things were going to work. We talked through a lot of specs and ideas for fortifying the roof with this new design.

And then things took a turn for the modern.

Have you ever seen the show Grand Designs on Netflix? It’s filmed in Britain and follows people as they renovate and build their dream homes. It’s a must watch if you’ve never seen it! So many of the designs use old existing structures and then they add these crazy inspired modern additions. This is page straight out of Grand Designs. Dustin specializes in modern architecture and started sketching as we were talking.

My favorite phrase in design (and in life!) is “What if” which is how we ended up with 2 different design options. I am DYING to know what one you prefer! Let’s talk through both!

New Option #1: Shed Dormer

Here is the uncolored rendering!

Here’s what I don’t like:

Once I put it in photoshop and added the colors I surprisingly liked it a lot less. It looks farmhouse-y and isn’t really adding a lot to the design. It feels safe (which can be a good thing, or a bad thing.) 

Here’s what I like:

It matches the historic vibe of the Merc. It’s seamless and inoffensive. 

It’s got a massive increase in functionality over the pitched dormer. The interior loft space now has a head height of 8′ sloping down to 6.5′ at the window.

New Option #2: Box Dormer

Here’s what I don’t like:

When Dustin sent over the uncolored version I didnt love it. It felt too huge and thick and was the only thing that you saw when you looked at the elevation. 

After a little time in photoshop and adding color though, I super love it! I think the original rendering made it stand out too much, but having it match the black of the roof pulls it back just enough.

Here’s what I like:

The flat elevated ceiling is a game changer for the height of the loft. Originally with the pitched dormer the head height wasnt ideal. If you’ve ever been in a space with deeply pitched ceilings you know what I mean.  With the shed dormer, the head height is improved, but with the box dormer, we have taken a fun addition that wasn’t super functional, and turned it into an actual room with 9′ ceilings! It can be absolutely anything now!

The design totally changes the whole side of this building. It is impactful and makes you have an opinion about it. I love forced opinions about design. It stands out, but in a cool way, not in an obnoxious attention seeking way.

Up to this point, we’ve restored the Merc pretty accurately, even uncovering the original brick and sign. Adding this feels like we’re putting our stamp on it.

Here are both options together, scroll back and forth and take them in!

What do you think?! Tell me everything!!

The post Help Me Pick a Roof Style! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.