This post was written in partnership with Travelers Insurance.

How often when you’re doing a project, do you think about how it’s going to affect the value of your house? Having been through the selling process fairly recently I was very onboard when Travelers Insurance asked if I would be open to chatting about the biggest (and most profitable) projects you can take on that will boost the value of your house.

We hear over and over again that kitchen and bathrooms sell houses. If you’ve ever watched a show on HGTV you’ve had this drilled into your head on every occasion, but just how much does having an updated kitchen or a new bathroom really increase the value of your house or increase its sell-ability?! Travelers breaks it down space by space (how great is it that they’ve done all the work and we can just plan accordingly?!)

Did you know that a kitchen refresh has approximately the same ROI percentage that a full blown kitchen renovation has? If your house is teetering on that line of maybe feeling a little outdated but everything still is in great working condition a refresh is in your future! That is where our kitchen was. The cabinetry and appliances were just fine, the colors and finishes however were a little outdated. We replaced the tile, painted the walls, and added a backsplash and it TOTALLY changed the entire space from outdated and grubby to clean and on trend.

Its pretty miraculous what a little paint and tile can do right?!

This bathroom update at my in laws was extremely budget friendly—would you believe that we spent less than $1000?! Before I got my hands on it it was stuck in 1992, and that my friends is a dark and lonely place for a bathroom to be. With a little work, we were able to make it something that any homeowner would be proud to call their master bath.

If you’re thinking about moving, or looking to increase the value of your home, race over to see the 5 areas with the highest ROI and how they can increase the sellability of your house!!

SaveSave

The post When Do Home Updates Actually Pay Off!?! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Hey hey!! You know when you have a new perspective come into your life and it makes you take pause? Well, my sister Amy just bought their first house (YAY!!!) and so we are in constant conversation about home decor and how to furnish it. I sent her over my private pinterest board of FAVORITE decor at The Home Depot and she was like, “um hi, why wouldn’t you share this with your readers?” SO. Are you ready to see 17 of my favorite pieces that you can mix and match?!

Lets chat living rooms. the living room is the first place that people think of when it comes to decorating because a) its the center of your home b) its what people see when they come over 3) it where you usually invest the most money. I’ve picked some awesome staples, consider these a spring board, that you can customize and fill in with DIY, thrifted treasures, or favorite pieces you already have! (Remember my post all about mixing thrifted + new?)

I love an eclectic mix of styles, its what Vintage Revivals is all about, so here are a few ways I would start!

I love all of these pieces so much and would use any (and all!) of them in my house! I feel like you can pick your favorite from each group and mix and match to your hearts content! These tables are money (especially that white and wood one! ?) and hello, they’re all under $225!

1| 2| 3| 4|

Are you sick to death of me talking about how great the rugs at Home Depot are? Literally everytime I hop online and look they’ve added even more and I swear to you the prices are the greatest I’ve ever found. That bottom one that is $126 for a 5×8 is DEFINITELY living at the Merc, and I used the one that is only $179 in Aspyn’s Living Room makeover!
1| 2| 3| 4| 5|

Lighting can be tricky, and while i love a good DIY, the thought of electrical currents surging through your body can be a little much for some people. I get it! These are some of my favorite lights that look like they came out of a perfectly curated designer showroom but cost 4x less than their showroom counterparts.

1| 2| 3|

3|
Couches are probably the most important piece in your living room, which means they automatically get priority stardom. Amp up the style game with any of these guys (the blue leather chesterfield is SO good!!) and you’ve already done 90% of the work!

1| 2| 3| 4| 5|

Ok one more thing we need to have a heart to heart about. One reason that I’m a HUGE advocate of buying furniture from homedepot.com is because of their return policy. Sure you can order similar finds from other online retailers, but do you have a place to return them in store if it doesn’t work? I am LITERALLY the worst person at returning things and the thought of returning a couch? That needs to be shipped back?! That’s never going to happen in my life I’d rather live with it. But if for some reason I need to, I’ve got a Home Depot 10 minutes away that will happily take it off my hands. Why would you want the hassle of repackaging and shipping a couch? Blah.

So I’m dying to know, which of the pieces are your faves?

HUGE thank you to my best and favorite partner in all the land The Home Depot for teaming up with me on this post. As always, all selects and opinions are my own, as was the decision to get a Home Depot tattoo. I mean, people get Harley Davidson tattoos all the time, why would a Home Depot one be any different!?

The post 17 Decor Pieces You Can Eternally Mix And Match (+ How To Pair Them!) appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Guys!! Thank you so much for all of the love on yesterday’s sneak peek post! We can’t wait to get it cleaned up and share more info! Its been such a fun project and there is SO much to share! Until then I’m working on a post rounding up the sources (especially for the faux wood siding!) But today we’re talking about tile.

Encaustic tile goes by a few different names, Encaustic, Cement, Moroccan, but regardless of what you call it, its GORGEOUS. It’s wildly on trend and completely timeless at the same time. You know what else it is? Expensive (starting price is usually ranges from $16-20/sq foot BUT GUESS WHAT?! I’ve found (and used!) a shop that sells it for $9/sq foot!!

Are you dying? Cause I was.

It was almost too good to be true, so before I shared it with all of you I wanted to make sure that it was legit and it TOTALLY is. We used Zanzibar in my MIL’s master bath and it’s one of my favorite things in the entire house. (It still needs to be cleaned and sealed #constructionzone)

These are a few of my other favorites:

El Fenn Black

Estrella Black

Nola Pink

Nola Black

Riad Tile not only has killer prices but their customer service is incredible!! If your obsession with cement tile runs as deep as mine you MUST check them out!! They get the VR gold star of approval!!

The post Where To Get Encaustic Cement Tile at 1/2 the Price! (SERIOUSLY!!) appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Happy Tuesday you guys! How are you surviving summer? Things have been so good and crazy over here. We’ve had volleyball camp after volleyball camp for Ives, we’re getting geared up for the renovation on the Merc to start, and trying to not die from evaporation in this ridiculous heat.

As some of you know, my in-laws have been building the last (almost) year. Its been a cool process to be part of and we’ve learned so many great lessons along the way that will help us with the Merc (I can’t wait to share them with you!) They are almost done with the build and I thought it would be fun to show you guys what the house looks like right now before its cleaned up and decorated.

The style is casual modern with loads of monochromatic finishes.

Isn’t it so pretty?! My favorite part is the faux wood on the exterior. You’d never know it was metal, except that it requires zero maintenance.

The inside is just as good.

The railing for the stairs has since been installed, and the brick on the fireplace still needs to be painted.

One of my favorite parts is the master bath/closet. The tile is so good and if you can believe it I’ve got a secret source that sells it for HALF the price of most companies. HALF. I’m spilling the details tomorrow so hold on for one more daaay (Wilson Philips always!!)

The laundry room is freaking amazing.

There’s a nice big family room upstairs, perfect for all the grandkids.

All of the tile and finishes are just so good.

They’re hoping to have it move in ready in the next few weeks and I will share ever detail and source room by room once it doesn’t look like a dirty construction zone!

SaveSave

SaveSave

The post Sneak Peek at My In-Laws Dream House! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

There are a few things that people don’t give a lot of thought to. Why no one has created a more advanced zipper? The fact that you’ve never actually seen your own face, just a reflection of it. (!??!) Unless they’re heinously offensive, do you even give much thought to the type of door knobs in a house? Am I right?

While I have yet to invent a new zipper, and find a way to dislodge my eyeballs to look at my face, I can DEFINITELY help with the doorknob situation.

I teamed up with Schlage to chat about the difference a doorknob makes. Instead of doing a before and after, I thought it would be fun to show you 6 of my favorite knobs on the same space, styled just a little differently.

The first thing that I need to announce is how heavy these knobs are. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality. They are solid and have some serious weight to them!

Schlage has so many options, so if you see something that you love but want a different finish or knob style –  chances are FANTASTIC that they can make it happen.

My first pick was the Latitude Lever + Century Trim in Matte Black. I love the color and how simple and modern the style is without being too basic. There is a slight curve on the back trim piece that ups the style cred instantly.

My second pick was the Accent Lever in Satin Brass. The finish is the kicker here. It’s the perfect brass for those of us that are obsessed and need it everywhere. My only grievance is that it isn’t available in all of the knob styles; maybe we should start a petition? #makebrassgreatagain

The Northbrook Lever and Upland Trim is the definition of modern hardware. It’s angular and masculine and so so good. I love it in the Satin Nickel finish.

The Bowery Knob and Greyson Trim is simple and subtle, this style will literally go with everything, which is great because it comes in 6 different finishes.

I was so surprised at how much I LOVED the Accent Lever and Wakefield Trim in Bright Chrome, it’s a little more polished and traditional than I would have normally gravitated toward but I seriously love the oval trim piece.

The most unexpected item on the list was the Georgian Knob and Brookshire Trim, the plans for the Merc have softened my heart to the ornate things of the world, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that Berkshire was one of my favorite trim options. I get that it’s not for every house, but for those that are aiming for something more traditional and formal; the Brookshire could definitely be one of your new best friends.

The thing that I love about all of these doorknob options from Schlage is that they all look intentional, they look designed, custom and amazing. Each one brings its own personality to the space. So now is the fun part, look around your house, are your doorknobs saying what you want them to say? Or are they saying I’m builder basic/I love 1982/No one loves me and has long forgotten that I exist? Check out the options that Schlage has, their prices are?? !!

Huge thanks to Schlage for teaming up with me on this post!

SaveSave

SaveSave

The post The Wicked Difference A Doorknob Makes appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

This post is sponsored by TIKI Brand. All opinions are my own.

 Who else is thrilled that it’s finally summer!? I am over the moon about it. We’ve been traveling loads but we’re finally home for a bit and I could not wait to get a little space set up outside for our evenings in the backyard. I teamed up with TIKI Brand and it was just the push that I needed, also my in-laws awesome deck doesn’t hurt the situation. The best part is that this quick makeover cost me next to nothing.

The feature of the space is TIKI Brand’s new Clean Burn Tabletop System. The vessel itself is AMAZING. The black is so on trend and will go with everything! The system itself is really cool, it doesn’t have a traditional wick and uses plant-based Clean Burn Fuel so it has dramatically less smoke and no gassy smelling fumes.

Guys, its like they reinvented fire. Its brighter, cleaner, and is safe to use on your table top. Their reusable Roundwick burner-system provides up to three hours of burn time with every fill. See how unique it is in the picture below? The flame actually sits inside the Roundwick!

Like I mentioned before I LOVE the style of this firepiece. TIKI Brand is known for their island vibes but they are branching out into a whole slew of styles. Love modern? They’ve got you covered. How about Farmhouse Rustic?. They’ve got everything from simple pieces to complete show stoppers, you’ve got to check them all out. The difference a little ambience makes in a space is huge.

TIKI Brand products are sold at Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, Amazon, and on tikibrand.com. Even better, you can get $5 off when you buy the Clean Burn Firepiece and Fuel here: https://www.tikibrand.com/promotions. Huge thanks to TIKI Brand for teaming up with me on this post!

SaveSave

The post Instant Summer Ambience + Easy Patio Makeover appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Guys, I’m back, gushing about all things Home Depot. Again. But guess what? Its LITERALLY impossible to not want to share all the crazy amazing things that they have popping up on their site daily. Really I have to physically restrain myself to not instagram them every second. Maybe I should start a finsta just for my Home Depot obsession? (For those that don’t know, a finstagram, or finsta for short, is an Instagram account where you can post whatever you want. No filters, no rules, sharing as much as your little heart desires…you know, the way Instagram used to be before it had to be perfect?)

The more you know ?

But back to the task at hand. Home Depot and their new crazy amazing decor lines. I’ve bookmarked 11 of my favorite rug obsessions and I just can’t keep them to myself anymore!! Want to see?

Dhurries Dark Grey 8 ft. x 10 ft. Area Rug $431. This rug has other great colors available!!

 

Montauk Black 5 ft. x 8 ft. Area Rug $145. KILLER PRICE!!

Bohemian Grey/Multi 5 ft. x 8 ft. Area Rug $259

Regency Red 5 ft. 3 in. x 8 ft. 3 in. Area Rug $399

Nomad Black 5 ft. x 8 ft. Area Rug $379

Ofelia Multi 5 ft. x 8 ft. Area Rug $179

Middleton Cameron Slate (Grey) 5 ft. x 8 ft. Indoor Area Rug $253

Eton Black 3 ft. x 5 ft. Indoor Area Rug $118

Blythe Grey 6 ft. x 9 ft. Indoor Area Rug $138

Chunky Woolen Cable 5 ft. x 8 ft. Area Rug $215

Overdye Teal 5 ft. x 7 ft. Area Rug $127

8 of these guys are around $250 or less! You and I both know that rugs are one of the most important AND toughest things about home decor. One thing that I love about Home Depot and their rug selection is more than likely they have the one you want in a myriad of different sizes (I hate when they’re only available in one size!) At last count Home Depot has almost 24,000 rugs to choose from, you’re guaranteed to find something you love!! Which one of these guys is your fave?

The post 11 Home Depot Rugs That Will Change Your Freakin’ Life appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Hey hey hey!

Let’s??talk??fabric!! Fabric is a critical component of home design. The style of your space is defined by fabric, whether its on a chair, a throw pillow, curtains, or even used as a wall treatment. Its the lifeblood of a space. Close your eyes (well just one eye, cause you have to keep reading) and imagine a space with no fabric. Its a cold dark terrifying world right?!

I am SO excited about today’s post. One of my happiest time killers is to dive deep into the pages of Fabric.com and see all of the yardage goodness that they have. I have a secret board on pinterest that I save my favorites to and today I’m going to give you a peek behind the curtain! I’ve picked 20 of my most beloved to share with you! You can find all the info on each of them on a special page that I curated on Fabric.com! Check out Mandi’s Favorite Fabrics here! 

Do you have a fave?! I sure hope so cause one lucky person is going to win 5 yards of the fabric of their choice!! All you have to do is head over to instagram to enter!

 See the entire collection here! 

love your guts,
m

Huge thanks to Fabric.com for teaming up with me on this post + giveaway!

The post Fabric Addicts Unite!!!! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Ladies and gentleman, I am thrilled to show you the all new Vintage Revivals site!! Cue the confetti, balloons, and marching band!

This little corner of the internet has changed almost as much as my living room over the last 6 years. When I started blogging it was in no way/shape/form like it is now. There wasn’t a million e-courses to teach you what to do, you just made it up as you went.

And there have been some hurrrrrrdles.

And some bad fashion choices.

Why did I use that picture?! I look like I’m going to bite you.

Lets take a walk down memory lane! Which designs do you remember? Thank you Way Back Machine!

But now, after 6 years of tweaking and changing and starting fresh and running through the whole cycle again, and again, I FINALLY have a site that I love. Not just love, but L-O-V-E love. Its sort of mind blowing, how all the info is still here, but 100% cleaner and a MILLION percent easier to find.

So do ya want a tour? Things look a little different if you are on the actual post vs. the homepage, so you might want to try both to get the full effect! I have taken so much of your feedback into account for this overhaul and I am anxious to hear what you think!

First things first lets talk ads, which I think are the biggest source of everyone’s frustration. I’m always working to find a balance between running a business and keeping things as user friendly as possible. A few years ago sidebar ads were a great way to make $ with your site. Then as time went on, the CPM (which is the amount that an advertiser pays for 1000 impressions of their ad) went down, and the way to combat it was to place more ads, that lets be honest, more ads that are invasive so that they are seen. This is why you may have noticed your favorite blogs who previously didn’t bombard you with ads, start showing more and having them pop up in images or sticking to spots on your screen. Earlier this year, I threw caution to the wind and put up a ton of different ad spots and threw out the conservative approach that I’d been using. I wanted to see if it really did detract from the user experience, and honestly see what type of income was possible. As the year went on, if I got more than 2 emails about a particular spot that was driving people batty we’d analyze it and almost always take it down. Thats why you stopped seeing in post ads, and flyers (I don’t know what they are called) that sort of float onto the middle of your screen, we also reduced the number of in image ads. The result? The extra $$ just wasn’t worth the frustration. So we’ve now got some sidebar ads, and one in post ad. Thats it! We’ll see how it goes!

When I was working with the designer for the new site, I was pretty clear on what I wanted. Simple. Easy to find. I have 6 years of content and needed a way to categorize it to make it accessible. The previous approaches have been to give you as many options as possible to find the same content.

This time we did things differently. There are literally 2 options to click on. Thats it. The Room Reveal and Project tabs at the top of your screen will be you’re bestie if you want to browse old content. If you click on the Room Reveal tab, you’ll see an entire gallery of Room Reveals.

Then when you click into the individual space, it pulls a gallery of all of the projects that are in the space so you can find all of the tutorials in a snap.

If you click on the Project tab, you’ll see a selection of the 6 most recent projects, and if you scroll down they are then broken up by category. So if you want to see all of the Projects that involve Plants, you can just scroll down to that section and click Read More if the project that you want isn’t in the first 6 thumbnails.

You’ll notice if you’re on the home page that there is a button for the Current Overhaul, this links to a page with all of the projects that are for the most recent room makeover, or whatever I’m currently sharing about (right now its Tyler’s Bedroom).

I’ve also added a page called Mandi Recommends that has all of my favorite tools, supplies, and gear so you can shop my garage of sorts.

I love it because its just so simple. There aren’t a million ways to get to the same content. There are literally like 3 places to click. Its not overwhelming, its just easy.

The designer that I used is Ryan from Roundhouse Designs and I recommend him 100%. I don’t do this lightly. I’ve had a handful of companies do a handful of redesigns and I’ve never been as happy as I am with this one. So if you’re looking for a designer, he’s your guy. RYAN I LOVE YOU!

So click around a little and let me know what you think!

The post Check out the ALL NEW Vintage Revivals!! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Hey hey!! Hope your Friday is off to a great start (which lets be honest, Fridays are ALWAYS off to a great start because Friday.) A few weeks ago I shared a little bit on inspiration for updating my outside entryway, and I’m back to show you the quick results!

The biggest struggle that I have with the exterior of our house is that is just sort of boring its this (a little bit awkward) shade of beige stucco that sometimes looks pink, sometimes looks brown, sometimes looks a little greenish. Like I said, weird. That, coupled with the rock color, leaves me staring blankly at it when it comes to bringing some color in. So I embraced it and went a little less loud.

The hardware that we had on the door I was not a super fan of. When our previous handle broke, Court ran to HD and in all his manly designer ways picked something that he thought I would love, bless his heart. I was out of town and remember walking up to the front door and thinking “oh why?!”

So when Kwikset sent me their new Downtown Low Profile Deadbolt and Halifax Lever I was ALL OVER IT. I’d actually been researching new hardware and wanted something that looked modern and sleek but all of the low profile deadbolts were $$$$ so I put it off.

Just for fun, guess how much the Downtown deadbolt is…$35.97! THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS!! And they will most likely have them in stock at your local Home Depot or Lowes so if you want to check them out in person you totally can!

SO MUCH BETTER!!

For the rest of the space I pulled in my favorite cacti, and a easy and cute rug from Target.

I hung a himmeli wreath on the door (you can get your own kit here, and the tutorial to DIY it here!)

I also ordered a wind chime from CB2 that was in my inspiration board but it looked sort of out of place with the stucco, so I took it down and I’m on the hunt for something less stark.

I swapped out the heinous doorbell…

For something with a little more style and personality. You can get your own here!

I also freshened up the wood on the door with a good cleaning and wipe down with Wipe On Poly.

From the inside, the Kwikset hardware is just as amazing (in case you were wondering what it looked like from that side!)

If you’ve got some ugly door hardware that mocks you every time you look at it, it might be the time to swap it out! Trust me when I say, you won’t find something more stylish for a better price than the Uptown/Downtown set. Seems like the perfect way to celebrate the weekend to me!

Massive thanks to Kwikset for teaming up with me on this post!

The post Quick Entryway Update! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.