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.

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.

I know that this is a very public forum. Sharing this is something that we decided as a family. We arent putting our daughter “on blast”. She very bravely opened up about going to Anasazi before we even considered sharing it. I dont know about you but at 16 I was for sure not woke enough to know that sharing the hard thing I’m struggling with could lighten someone else’s burden. As a mother there is nothing in this world that I could be more proud of her for. 

This post like all of the posts we share about our story with addiction, is about hope. I mean, what’s the point of going through rough stuff if in the end it doesnt help anyone? Here is our experience. We hope with our whole hearts that it can help one of you! 

Our 16 yr old daughter was struggling. Without going into to too much detail (honestly it’s irrelevant now that we’ve experienced Anasazi) we were completely lost with how to help. For years we had tried all of the things that people suggested and it just wasnt helping her. Knowing what I know now, there was no way that she could change without our family changing as well, but that is what we kept trying to do. Change her, fix her. The reality is that our whole family was in crisis. We ALL needed to be changed.

I had some pretty inspired revelation that she needed to go to the Anasazi wilderness program. (You can read more about that here!)

The Anasazi Foundation is a non-profit wilderness therapy program for teens and adults. It is grounded in Native American traditions and outdoor survivalist methods. Anasazi has their own language for stuff, so as I use it I’ll make sure to clarify what it means! The YoungWalkers (as the kids are called) live in the wilds of Arizona for 7-8 weeks and it is one of the most inspired programs I have ever experienced. They are taken out of the world and given tools that help them see themselves differently. 

Those that have been following along for a while know that Court and I LOVE the LDS 12 Step program, I love Anasazi just as much. It is inspired and saved our family. In fact we love and believe in it so much that every single one of our kids will be going, whether they are struggling or not. 

The incredible thing about Anasazi is that it isnt just sending your kid off to get “fixed”. As parents and family members we are also doing really intense work. Even though we’re not physically walking like they are, we are walking in our hearts right along with them. They have a powerful workshop that you get to attend when you drop your Youngwalker off that changed my whole outlook on life. 

Anasazi believes that every child is good; that they have a Seed of Greatness. The Trailwalkers (the staff that lives and hikes with the Youngwalkers) are so positive. They understand the sacred responsibility that we as parents have trusted them with, and they love those kids hard. They magnify every good thing they see in that child in ways that only an outsider full of compassion and a deep desire for connection can. They see and focus on things that we as parents are missing in our every day frustrated interactions. They dont know anything about the Youngwalker’s past or situation, they go in completely open to learning about them and treating them with compassion and love. 

Each Youngwalker has a Shadow (Therapist) that they meet with once a week. The Shadow goes out on the trail and has sittings (sessions) with them. Court and I also met with him via phone once a week for a report on Ive and to help us with the things that we were working on. Shadow G is part of our family forever. We love him!!

Life on the Trail

I did a little interview with Ive about what life on the trail was like. I wanted to share it from her perspective. Because TBH if I just listed the facts of what they did and didnt have, and did and didnt do, its intense. But no one has died, so that’s good right?!

After some of her answers I chime in with a little more detail/clarity, these notes will start with an asterisk*.

If someone is sending or thinking about sending their child out on the trail, what do you want them to know about it?

Um, that it sucks at first but it gets easier. Ya, it pretty much just sucks (laughs) but it’s a really good experience and you wont regret going. Send them!

In the beginning, what was the hardest thing about being on the trail?

Not being able to see my family. Not knowing anyone in my band yet.

The band is group of people that you’re stuck with. (laughs) You have to learn to like them and work together. It was hard because you dont want to be stuck in a place where you dont like the people you are around cause that makes you unhappy and its unpleasant.

There are a lot of different personalities in the band. Some people I got along with really easily and some people were harder. I met my best friend when I first walked into the office. Meeting her was the best thing of my whole life. We left on the trail together and came home at the same time. If you are going out there I would try really hard to find a friend, because some people are weird. Parents, you’ll get the stories when they get home. That’s all I’m going to say. There are lots of different reasons that people go out on the trail. Some people didnt really have a huge reason, and some were using it like rehab, most of us were somewhere in the middle.

Being in the band taught me that we have the choice to learn to love people even though you want to punch them in the ass. (laughs)

*A band is what they call the group of kids, they keep boys and girls separate. The bands range in size but aren’t larger than 9 Youngwalkers. 

Tell me about the hiking.

It sucks. You hike almost every day for 2 months. But it feels so good when you get to your camp spot and you can take off your 50 pound pack and lay down…on rocks. (laughing) It’s fun when you have a friend. Hiking taught me to push through hard things. Cause when you wanted to give up you couldn’t, or else you wouldn’t get where you needed to go.

Tell me about the pack.

The pack is a pain, emotionally and physically. It’s really heavy and you have to learn to pack it. I’m making this whole experience sound really bad, IT’S GOOD I PROMISE. In my pack I had a sleeping bag, tarp, fire set, food pack, burrito, books, extra clothes, toiletries. It’s heavy as hell.

*The pack has everything the YW needs for the week, it’s not a traditional hiking backpack like we are used to, they use the things in the pack to actually build it. Everything gets wrapped in the tarp and the straps of the pack are made out of the burrito (the burrito is a canvas cocoon with snaps, they can use it for a million different things!)

Tell me about the food.

It tastes um-not good at first, I’m like why am I eating rice? But by the end you are a gourmet chef. You get really creative with the food pack. I loved Beanie Mac, Ash Cakes with butter and brown sugar, Beans and Rice, Cheesy Beanie Rice and Cold Gold. 

*Having experienced Ivie’s cooking at Family Camp I can tell you that she did in fact become a chef. They can make anything out of the food pack ingredients if they put their mind to it! She said that they talked about food a lot on the trail, and she had a list of what she wanted to eat when she came home.

Tell me about making fire.

You make fire with a bow and spindle. Its really hard and frustrating. When you very first make the fire it’s like the coolest feeling in the world. Because you’re like damn I just did that. Once you learn how to you feel like a god! Cause you’re just making fire! And once you make it you dont want to stop. 

Tell me about your trail name

A trail name is a name given to you. It represents things that the Trailwalkers see in your personality or things that relate to you. Like an animal, or thing in nature. It speaks to you. I thought it was literally cool, like “Oh wow, you see that in me?” My trail name is Golden Warrior Butterfly. Golden means the I have an essence of light, Warrior means I’m loyal to my friends and family, and Butterfly means that I have the ability to change.

Tell me about the Trailwalkers

The Trailwalkers are really good people. They’re really nice and they treat you like you are their own and they care about you a lot. Some of them are really excited and happy, so you might want to prepare yourself for that. Most of them are really chill. They have different personalities and everyone finds somebody they connect with.

*The trailwalkers walk for a week with the band and then new trailwalkers come in, so the dynamic is always changing but is always full of love. We were able to talk to some of the trailwalkers when they came off after spending the week with Ive. You could feel how much they loved her and it was powerful to hear all of the wonderful things they said about her.

Tell me about your Shadow

Shadow G!! I love that guy. He was my best friend out there. We talked about everything, like, literally you could name anything and I’m positive that we talked about it. I miss him!

What was the hardest part about living on the trail?

Not being able to shower, not seeing my family, hiking everyday, sleeping on the ground and peeing my pants. That sucked really bad.

What was the funnest part about being on the trail?

When we had free days. That was the best! You just got to hang out with everyone and not hike. Cause like, when you’re hiking all the time you dont want to talk. Then youre out of breath and dont want to talk because you have to go slower or stop so you dont make it to your spot. When we had off days you could just sit and talk and get to know everyone.

Do you feel like the trail made you a different person?

Ya, I still pretty much act the same, not the bad stuff though. I dont do that anymore. It made me realize that I didnt need all that stuff I was doing before. It also make me realize that there were people I didnt need in my life. So when I got home I cut all of that stuff out. Oh and not depressed anymore! 

If someone has a kid that is struggling and they are worried that their kid will be mad if they go on the trail what would you tell them?

That the kid will probably be mad. (laughs) I’m not going to lie, there were a lot of people out there that were pissed at first. But if you can, don’t Goon them (Goon means you have a transport company pick them up without their knowledge and take them) It makes the kids more pissed and you’re stuck in the woods. I felt so bad for all the people that were taken like that. Tell them in advance that they are going so they can emotionally and mentally prepare. 

What advice would you have for kids who’s parents are sending them on the trail?

Suck it up because it’s going to be great. It sucks, it sucks so bad. But it’s worth it in the end. Power through!

What did you learn about yourself?

That I’m pretty cool and I’m a lot stronger than I thought I was. You learn a lot about yourself and how strong you are and who you want to become.

Are you glad that you went on the trail?

Yes. 

*Teenagers

How has it been since you’ve been home?

It’s been good. It’s a lot better than it was before. I mean, it is really hard coming home because you cant be around a lot of people, sound or light, I almost had a panic attack when I got home because my entire family was there and it was a lot of people. (laughs) Love you guys missed you, I promise!

How do you feel our family changed after Anasazi?

I feel like we understand each other more. We try to use our tools to get along and I dont know, it just made us all come together.

Isnt she the best?

This video of meeting her on the trail is the most special thing that I own and if it doesnt give you hope then I dont know what will!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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WE GOT OUR GIRL BACK! I can’t wait to tell you all about it, but for the moment we’re soaking up all of her light! @iviegubler @anasazifoundation

A post shared by Mandi Gubler | Fearless DIYer (@vintagerevivals) on Nov 1, 2019 at 8:07pm PDT

I thought instead of chiming in with all of my thoughts and making this already long post even longer, that I’d give you guys a change to ask some questions and do a follow up post. So feel free to leave them below! 

The post Our Anasazi Experience Pt. 1: Ivie’s Interview appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

If you follow along on IG you might have seen that about a month ago the bottom sort of fell out of our family. I’m no stranger to sharing hard stuff, the last thing that I’d ever want you to think is that my life is perfect and easy and struggle-less. We’ve been super open about talking about Court’s addiction and recovery. And while I dont feel ready to share all the details of what is happening, I know that so many of you are praying for us and I wanted to give you an update!

If you missed it, we had some serious divine intervention and 4 weeks ago sent our 16 year old daughter to wilderness therapy. (You can see the post here)

She’s living it up in the wilds of Arizona with Anasazi, brushing her teeth with charcoal from the fire that she had to build with sticks, and learning so much. Being the parent of a teenager is intense. Our cute girl struggles with depression and hit a low low. She is absolutely incredible and is working harder than any of us thought possible.

While she’s working and learning, we’re also on a journey. Sometimes we need a shock to the system to help us focus on what is the most important thing and rework our priorities. It’s been a beautiful and healing process. I didnt realize what a frenzied life I was living. I would wake up in the morning feeling like I was already behind and in chaos. I could never find rest or peace. When life slaps you with a heartbreaking situation that turns your world inside out it’s a good time for a wake up call.

I’ve studied, prayed, fasted, prayed, worshiped, hiked, prayed, and prayed (did I mention prayed?) more in the last month that I ever have and it has brought me so much peace and clarity. As I’ve stepped back and let go of the things and behaviors that I was frantically trying to cling to and manage it’s been very interesting. I’ve learned so much about myself and what is actually important. I feel like the tools that I’ve been given have changed my heart, not just toward Ive, but toward everyone.

It feels like we moved our entire house into the driveway and are slowly sifting through everything to decide what to keep and what’s important enough to clean up and save. It’s so hard but SO GOOD.

As far as living in limbo goes, Ive still has another month on the trail, but we are starting to get into more of a routine here. Its just weird and hard. It feels like my heart is living outside of my body.

I wanted to pass along some of the books that I’ve been reading in hopes that maybe it will help someone! 

The Anatomy of Peace

The Seven Paths

The Five Legends

The Book of Mormon

Present Over Perfect

The Outward Mindset

I’m not going anywhere, and have some really fun projects and tutorials coming this week, I just mostly wanted to say thank you for giving my heart space to process. We truly love you and are grateful for your support in everything that we do! If you’re going through stuff in your life, just know that you are truly not alone and that you are loved and important!!

xo
m

The post Let’s Have a Life Update appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

I got the most interesting comment on Instagram this week while I was in the midst of installing pavers. The comment said “Surely you make enough money to hire this job out!” I dont know if it’s because I had time to chew on it while I was working, or if this feeling has been bubbling just under the surface for a while, but I want to share with you guys why we still DIY. 

When I stared Vintage Revivals 9 years ago I was in a rough rough place. Court’s addiction to pain pills had taken over the last 8 years of my life and I had completely lost myself. When I found the world of DIY blogs, the simple fact that these awesome and inspiring women had taken matters into their own hands, ignited a fire in me that 9 years later still burns. They were just doing it!

Back then there were 2 huge needs that DIY filled. Financial and emotional. We had very little by way of money and finding an $8 table at the thrift store and spending $10 on spray paint to make it over was about as far as I could stretch. Creating a home I loved on a budget that I could handle was magical.

Emotionally DIY transformed me. I never considered myself a creative person (mostly because I had never tried). Each project that I worked on taught me something, and most importantly unlocked the simple truth that I live my life by. That every thing has potential to become more. Buildings, furniture, people, relationships, no matter how far gone, can be- not just salvaged, but dramatically transformed with attention and hard work.

Over the years as Vintage Revivals grew from a wild passion into a business everything became bigger. Bigger projects, bigger budgets, bigger workload. It would seem like a natural progression to hire projects out. After all we are in the business of creating content, and more content means more business.

But man that just doesnt sit right with me.

Vintage Revivals isnt about mass content, it’s about doing something and learning along the way so that I have something valuable to add to the conversation. Not just a regurgitation of the same tips that everyone else in the world shares. And to be totally honest, it took some really hard personal reflection to decide that, because in a world where you can be anything it’s easy to look at others and think that what they are doing is right, and what you are doing is wrong. 

Learning new skills, pushing myself to do things that I’ve never done before- that is where I find happiness. It’s not about saving money, or speed, or doing it professionally, it’s about fulfillment.

I love to DIY and I dont care who knows it!!

Ok your turn, I want to hear why you DIY!

The post Why We Still DIY Everything appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Today we’re talking about how to transition your indoor houseplant outside for the summer! I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had a guest poster on Vintage Revivals, but I just HAVE TO introduce you to my friend Amy. She is a plant guru and I begged her to share some of her plant knowledge with you!

Hello Vintage Revivals readers! I’m Amy from Delineate Your Dwelling, a lifestyle, home decor + craft blog. I was a landscape architect for 8 years before starting a creative blog and my passion for all things green runs DEEP. And I’m excited to share a little bit of plant knowledge with you all today.

As the weather becomes warm and the sun stays out a little bit longer each day, all I want to do is spend my time outdoors. Other than grabbing a good book and sipping on a delicious glass of lemonade, I love tending and caring for my outdoor plants. But are you ready for this?? You can move many of your indoor plants outside for the summer months! It’s so exciting to know that with a few key steps, those sweet little green babies can soak up that summer sun right along with you.

Let’s dive into some of the most important things to know about transitioning your plants from indoors to outdoors for the summer.

Which plants do best making that transition to living outdoors?

Take a quick assessment of your indoor plants. Do you have a delicate air plant that you really have to baby along? Is your snake plant one that you can just forget about for weeks on end? Knowing your indoor plants and their needs is the first step to knowing if they will #1 survive living outdoors for the summer, but also #2 if they will thrive outdoors.

Plants that you need to water more often, have very delicate leaves or are temperate about their humidity levels are probably best to stay inside your home.

What methods are best for transitioning indoor plants to the outside?

This is somewhat dependent upon where you live. When the outside temperature at night are consistently above 55 degrees fahrenheit, it should be safe to start transitioning your plants. However, if you see a wild night is coming up with temperatures below 55, bring them back indoors for the night.

Once you are sure the night time temperatures are warm enough, it is time to start transitioning your plants outside. Take all the plants you intend to move outdoors and put them in full shade. You could put them under a big shady tree, near an overhang or even a covered back patio. Indoor light is much weaker than outdoor sunshine. Even plants in full shade still get more intense sun than when they were in direct window sun inside. Plants can burn if placed in outdoor direct sunlight too quickly.

After two weeks in shade, you can start to move your plants to their appropriate outdoor light needs (full sun, semi sun + shade). If you had succulents, cactus and fiddle figs in high light indoors, they are now be okay in full sun outside. Medium or low light plants should stay in full shade or semi shade outdoors. And all your low light plants should stay in full shade outside.

Tip: Learn all about my favorite low light plants!

Any care needed to pots or containers to prep for outside?

The most important thing to be concerned about the pot or container when moving outside is drainage. If your planter does not have a drainage hole, you should either leave your plant indoors or get a new pot. Unlike inside where you determine how much water to give your plants, outside Mother Nature may rain down for a full day and could drown plants without proper drainage holes.

Trouble items to lookout for after they have made the move to outside

The basic things to be aware of when you move plants outside are sun, wind and rain.
Your plants will probably dry out much faster outside than they had previously due to the direct sunshine they will be receiving. Be sure to keep an eye on your plants watering needs.
Being outdoors, your plants will also experience wind, which is another determining factor of drying out. Dry plants can also be more easily knocked over during the wind.

The watering needs of your plants may slightly change now due to things like the sun, wind and rain. So, you may be watering a little more than normal or a little less if there was a recent rainstorm.

Perks of bringing your plants outdoors

Most houseplants enjoy getting some fresh warm summer air after being indoors all fall and winter. And will often encourage substantial growth during the summer. Even if your plants are not ready for the full time outdoor lifestyle, bringing them outdoors for a nice hose down and an hour or so of sunshine might be just the thing they need!

Thanks again for having me, Mandi. And if you all would like to follow along, I’d love for you to say hi and tell me your favorite plant.

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You might also enjoy these crafty plant posts of mine : Gold Foiled Vase| Clay Plant Holder| Can’t Touch This print| Modern Day Terrariums| His + Her DIY Face Vase

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The Complete Guide To Caring For Your House Plants: Snake Plant Edition

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The Complete Guide To Caring for A Fiddle Leaf Fig

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A Complete Guide to Lighting For Your Indoor Plants + Quiz

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Master List of Low Light Indoor Plants

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How to Mount (and Care for) a Staghorn Fern

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The Parable of The Accessory Plant

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The post Transitioning Your Indoor Plants Outside for the Summer! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Hello hello!! In this week’s One Room Challenge post we’re diving into the decor and furniture!!

Remember our cute rainbow arch wall pattern? Well, originally it wasnt going to be one color. It was going to be a rainbow, but as I was combing through all of the awesome rugs on Overstock, I saw THE MOST PERFECT RUG for this space. Being in a nursery, it needed to be soft enough that little Finn could play on it, but still easy to take care of. This burnt orange floral number was exactly what I was looking for!!

I love mixing different styles into a space, so at first glance my crib and dresser choice might not be something that you would naturally pair, but oh my gosh they look so great in the room!!

The crib gives off a serious vintage vibe, and the dark metal (it’s brown not black like I originally thought) adds an unexpected finish.

The caned mid century dresser adds warmth and dimension-also I am completely obsessed with everything cane right now. 

My favorite part of the space is the plant (no surprise there!) I’m bringing in a beautiful Audrey Ficus. It’s a cousin to the Fiddle Leaf and Rubber Plant and is SO gorgeous with its muted green velvety leaves!! I can’t wait to share all about it!

Can you see it all coming together!?

Check out the other posts in this series

• Week #1 Meet the Space!
• Week #2 Turning Traditional on its Head with a Family Heirloom
• Week #3 DIY Rainbow Arch Wall Pattern

Check out what the other bloggers are up to this week!

At Home With Ashley | Casey Keasler | Dorsey Designs | The Farmhouse Project | Home Made by Carmona | House of Funk | House of Jade Interiors | House Seven Design | House That Lars Built | Inspired by Charm | Jana Bek | Jessica Brigham | Kelly Golightly | Murphy Deesign | The Pink Pagoda | Sarah Gunn | Sherry Hart Designs | Sugar & Cloth | Veronica Solomon | Vintage Revivals | Media Partner BH&G | TM by ORC

The post ORC Week #4 | Furniture!! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

We just got back for the best trip to France and I wanted to write every bit of it down!

Backstory: For Christmas we had the intention of surprising our girls on a trip. We decided that we were done with buying a bunch of crap that they didn’t care about 3 days later and instead we would do something different. In June I saw a great flight deal for round trip tickets to Paris for $450 round trip. Did you notice I said intention?…Dylan was reading a group text message on my mom’s phone and read about the trip. DANG IT!

So it wasn’t a surprise, and it made for a little bit of a lackluster Christmas morning, buuuut we are 100% doing this from now on, I’m just going to be way more stealthy about it.

Ok so let’s talk about France!!

Why France?

We’ve done very little international travel and zero with our kids, so for our first adventure I thought it would be a good idea to do something that we were semi-familiar with. Court and I went to Paris about 7 years ago (OMG we were so young and skinny in those pictures!) so we knew what the language barrier would be like, we knew that we could get around easily, and we felt comfortable taking our girls there. I think our next adventure will be somewhere totally new, but for the first one France seemed like a safe idea!

3 days in Normandy

I think because we had already experienced Paris, I had my heart set on visiting another part of France for part of the time. Oh my heck I am SO GLAD WE DID!! This part of our trip was the best!

I went back and forth trying to decided if we wanted to stay in the country or in a town. Trying to decide on a place to stay is one of my worst qualities. In every other portion of my life I can make quick and decisive decisions with no lamenting. But omg trying to decide on a place to stay is THE WORST. I have combed through every listing on VRBO and AirBNB. The plan was to stay in a cool barn conversion or house in the country. After finally pulling the trigger, the host let me know that the barn wasn’t available. Suck. Then it happened twice more! GAHHHH! So after my first 3 VRBO selections came back with a no, we decided maybe the country wasn’t meant to be, so we booked this fisherman’s house in a city called Honfleur.

We rented a car (from Europcar, pick up was very easy) and it was the best decision that we made the entire trip. We drove all over the western side of France and I don’t think we will ever travel another way again. It was perfect. 

The reason we loved having a rental car is because we could go anywhere and explore. There were handfuls of tiny villages that we drove through, each more quaint than the last. A lot of the towns have these big signs off on the side of the road showing something noteworthy, so if we saw something interesting, we would put it into our map and go see it. Favorite part of the whole trip was driving around discovering things off the beaten path. 

Here’s a run down of our main stops and a few thoughts about each!

Giverny

Home of Claude Monet. Incredible gardens, loads of people. Absolutely worth the stop!

Honfleur

Lots of recommendations for Honefleur, it was a very charming seaside town, but we didn’t love it as much as some of the other places. It would’ve been a great place to visit for the day, but I wouldn’t stay there again. 

One of the reasons I decided to stay in Honfleur vs in the country was the convenience of having restaurants around. Unfortunately the fam was not a fan of french food, so we didn’t use them anyways. It would’ve been better to head to a grocery store, stay in the country, eat PB&J’s and save a ton of money.

Omaha Beach

YES x10000. Omaha Beach is one of the beaches that the United States landed on on D-Day. They’ve got a massive cemetery for all of the US soldiers that died in France in WW2, and an incredible memorial. We got there at 5:00 when they were retiring the flag and it was a very emotional and awesome thing to experience.

We also went down onto the beach and into some of the German bunkers. Definite must do!

Chateau de Fontaine-Henry

I was so bummed that this chateau wasn’t open for tours yet (they start after Easter so we missed it by a week!) This was a roadside sign discovery and has been in the same family for 800 years! Can you even imagine?!

Mont Saint Michel

We had some friends recommend Mont Saint Michel and I am SO GLAD we went. Holy cow, it was mind blowing!! There were a ton of people, but even so it was one of the coolest things that we saw. Definite must see!

Jumieges Abbey

My favorite stop of the entire trip was Jumieges Abbey. It was built in the 600’s and has seen everything from Viking attacks to the French Revolution. It was even dismantled and sold for building scrap, but in the late 1800’s was rescued and preserved. We were almost completely alone, and it felt like such a secret treasure. I absolutely loved it!!

Martainville Chateau

This was another roadside sign discovery that was worth the stop. The whole chateau has been converted into a museum and it was really cool to see furniture and clothing in their semi natural habitat. The one downside for me (this is going to sound annoying) the electronic guide was great, but the descriptions were so long. Like 30 minutes in each room. My girls were over it really quickly, though they liked walking around and seeing everything.

Staying in Paris a few years ago gave us a point of reference and we knew what we wanted to take the girls to see and what we wanted to skip. We stayed in an awesome VRBO (you can find it here) and were right by the Eiffel tower. The hosts were 5 star, definitely would stay there again!

Eiffel Tower

Of course yes. The girls loved it!

Catacombs

We loved the Catacombs last time and thought that the girls would love them too. We got caught behind a guided tour and I wish so badly that we could’ve joined in, so note to self, get more info on that!!

Notre Dame

We were in Normandy when the fire at Notre Dame broke out, so we missed a lot of the excitement, but when we made it into Paris we went to visit. That whole section of the island was blocked off, so we could only see it from the other side of the Seine river and there were SO MANY PEOPLE. Still worth it, and I’m pretty sure I saw Court tearing up, though he’ll never admit to it.

Invalides Museum

Court and I loved this military museum, the girls not so much. This was a highlight from our last trip.

Louve 

We didn’t spend as much time as anyone wanted here, if we would’ve had another day we would’ve gone back. This was Ivie’s favorite stop, and I got some insop for the wood floors in Phase 2 of the Merc!

I love to travel, but man alive there is nothing like being home! Have any questions? Leave them in the comments below And have you ever travelled internationally with your kids? What is the best place you’ve been?

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