Have you ever surfed the tile selection on homedepot.com? There are so many (SO MANY!) fantastic designs. I thought that everyone knew how great their options were until I talked about the tile in the Parade House that was from HD and everyone was shocked. So I thought it would be fun to round up a few of my favorites, and a few turned into well…more than a few. Prepare to be wowed! If you need more options, just search Merola and buckle in because they have everything you could possibly want!
*Each image is linked to the product, click in for more details like size and price!
I’ll give you a second to pick your jaw up off the floor.
They’re so good right?! Which one is your favorite? The first 3 are mine, and I’m digging the terra cotta lantern shape hard! Now, just to find somewhere to use them…
This week I found out that I am one of BHG’s Top 10 Best DIY/Decorating Blogs! (check out the other nominees and vote for your favorite here) It is just so surreal when stuff like this happens. I look around and my house (that is a disaster right now) and want to silently mouth “who me?” because 1. this is cray, and 2. I don’t want to alert them in case its a mistake.
But in all seriousness I’m grateful for moments like this that make you stop and look back . The thing is, you just don’t ever know where you’re going to end up. When I started Vintage Revivals 5 1/2 years ago I literally knew nothing about DIY. I’d never spray painted anything, sewn a pillow, or made multiple trips to Home Depot in the same afternoon. After all, I wasn’t “creative”. I didn’t decorate or DIY because I didn’t think that I could, so attempting it wasn’t an option. I probably would have butter socked you if you told me this is where I’d be today.
The whole crazy ride started when I found All Things Thrifty. At the time, all of my friends were buying black slightly distressed living room groups from Ashley Furniture. Our money was going…other places. In my core I felt like not having a cute house, and cute things that everyone else had was just another tally mark in the “Mandi’s Life Fails” category. But All Things Thrifty was different. She wasn’t dropping loads of cash to have what everyone else had. Brooke was going to the thrift store and decorating her whole room for like $150. I was blown away. I was inspired. I wanted to be just.like.Brooke. So I went to the thrift store, and bought an end table. And then I went to Wal-Mart and bought bright yellow spray paint. I could not wait to get started. I didn’t care that it was 105 degrees outside, or that I had no clue what I was doing, I was ready to be creative!!
Looking back and knowing what I know now, the project did not turn out well. I didn’t know that you were supposed to sand after you primed, so the poor defenseless end table had the texture of Rhino Liner. *shrug*
I also didn’t know that you were supposed to put a cover down on your driveway that was bigger than the piece you were working on because there was this thing called overspray. *double shrug*
But you know what? I LOVED that table. It unearthed something in me that I didn’t know existed. It taught me that creativity isn’t something that you’re born with, its a skill that you develop. I was SO EXCITED about this new found love that I just couldn’t contain myself, so I started a blog. Let me be the first to say that for the first 6 months that thing ran on spray paint fumes because I had no idea what I was doing, nor did I have any business telling people how to do it. Thank goodness for blind enthusiasm and the fact that Pinterest didn’t exist so you could take after pictures in your driveway! This was my real life after picture of the one that started it all:
Wowza. (Court’s reaction was exactly what you’d expect it to be.)
My FAVORITE emails to get are from people who’ve just finished their first project. For some reason lately I’ve been getting less of those and more of the “I’m overwhelmed and don’t know where to start” emails. That, coupled with the fact that I haven’t done an actual project since Brem was born means that we are ALLLLLLL getting a pep talk!
Awww yeah!
I saw this video on AFV (my girls LOVE AFV so its constantly on at our house) and it made me laugh because how often do we do this in our lives? Bless the internet for making GIFs of everything.
The agony!! So much stress and anticipation for what?! Just kick the stupid ball!!
Did you know that 4 out of 10 homeowners wait 5 years to repaint in their house because they are worried they’ll get sick of the color? Of course you’ll get sick of the color! Its ok!! Your style will evolve, change isn’t a bad thing!
How many times have we passed up that once in a lifetime find at the thrift store because you don’t know if you can pull it off? If you love it, you will make it work! The answer to that question is once, and you’ll kick yourself forever.
How about not starting a project just because you’ve never done it before? I pinky promise if you start you’ll learn something, one way or another. Hopefully you don’t lose a finger in the process…or we might have to ring finger promise the next one.
Or my personal favorite, not doing something you’re excited about because your worried what someone else will think, especially people that don’t matter. You guys, you’ll never please everyone, so do what YOU love. It’s your house! We all know how supportive Court is in all of this. He literally lets me do whatever I want because he’s wonderful. True story. Court came home from watching a fight about a month ago. It was at a Dr’s house. Super expensive, in the nicest part of town. Basically The Dream in his mind. So he comes in and says “I finally get what you do.” This giant amazing dream house was beige and boring and was just like every other house in St. George. He could finally see the value that unbridled creativity brings to the table…after 5+ years of helping me execute it firsthand. WHAT!?! But you can bet your pudding cup that I was over the moon excited that he finally gets is.
As funny and cute as that video is, how different would the poor kid feel if his friend said “Whoa buddy. Chill it for a second. Let me show you. This is what I’ve learned. Do this, not this.” That is what Brooke’s blog and so many others did for me and what (I hope!) Vintage Revivals does for you! For fun, check out my top 10 WORST projects to see just how hard I’ve missed the mark. I bet you’ve never spray painted your kitchen backsplash orange. Been there, done that.
In all reality, how easy is it to feel like we’ll never kick the ball as far as some people?!! All of these perfect projects and houses and families are so shiny! But guess what?! We’re shiny too, we may just need something to shine us up a little (I have an abundance of nursing pads so of you want we can use those!)
So lets make a pact to just kick the ball! No stressing, no melt downs, just taking a breath and realizing it for what it is. Its decorating. Its not choosing to cut the blue wire or the red wire.
For goodness sakes, send me those project pictures so I can high five your skills! And don’t forget to pop over and vote!
Last week was the St. George Area Parade of Homes. It is a HUGE deal down here, like 35,000 people in attendance huge and its the most attended home show in Utah. This year the houses ranged in price from $315,000-$3.5 million with most being in the $800k-$1.5m family. Holy money!!
There is so much excitement around this event that you cant help but get caught up in it. I walked into each home with so much anticipation for inspiration. There were a few houses this year that were out of the box, which I loved, and even though some weren’t my style, I could totally appreciate every single one of them. I just want to feel inspired and not like I have to drop a ton of money on furniture from Restoration Hardware or have 5 different matchy fabrics for pillows on my bed, ya know?
Each house had something really great about it but I had a few favorites. Lets chat about the highlights. I feel like there were a few that were right on the money.
Wallpaper was everywhere. Some great (like the picture below) and some not so much. How about that built in entertainment center?! So good!
Marble: The house in the next couple of pictures was my favorite.
The tile in that house was fantastic. Like this one, can you believe that you can get that on HomeDepot.com?!
Stand alone tubs were in almost every home.
As were hidden pantries.
I loved this interior window wall
Loved this buffalo head.
These built in bunks were killer.
This ultra-modern house was Court’s favorite, and how gorgeous is the wood on the island?
I did love this macramé chair, it’s the stuff of dreams.
Overall, there is still loads of beige, granite, and over stuffed couches. Its baffling to me that no one rocked cool vintage furniture, its like it’s not even an option. I know that my style is surely not everyone’s but man oh man, I love walking out of a place totally blown away, and I wish that it happened more.
So now its time for the whole point of this post, I want to hear your thoughts! Please chime in, how do you guys feel about home show houses?
Why do you go? Is it to see how people that can afford a $3.5 million dollar house live?
Is it to see houses that are in your price range?
Is it to get decorating ideas?
Did you check out any of the houses this year, if so which ones were your fave?
I have loads of respect for the hard work that it takes to pull this thing off, I cant even imagine. This post is in no way bashing what anyone is doing. Tastes and styles vary, thank goodness for that! I am just really genuinely curious and dying to hear your perspective!!
Hellloooo!! Ok so, I feel like it is so easy to get in a rut when it comes to things that maybe aren’t conventionally DIYed. Do you know what I mean? When I was working on the Laundry Room Makeover I found myself searching for a really fantastic towel rack that I could mount on the underside of the cabinet. Let me tell you, I found a few good ones…the problem was that they were SO expensive. Ugh, why?!!
Per the usual, I decided to take matters into my own hands and pulled out my trusty staples, leather and copper. I think they are critical to a DIY MacGyver’s arsenal. You can make anything!
Trust me when I tell you, you‘ll want to get your grommet kit at Home Depot. Their prices are significantly lower than the kits that you can buy at the craft store.
Start by cutting your leather into 2” strips. The length will depend on how low you want it to hang, mine were 10” long.
Fold the leather in 1/2. Using your grommet setter (or if you want to technically correct tool you can use a leather punch) punch a hole in the leather 1/2” down from the ends.
Set a grommet in each side.
Next, fold your leather in 1/2 again and punch a hole 1 1/2” from the fold.
When it’s unfolded it will look like this.
Fold it back up and set 1 grommet through both holes to hold the leather together.
So easy right!?
To mount them I put screws through the grommets into the cabinet. **When you’re doing this, make sure that your screws aren’t too long or they’ll poke through! My cabinet is made from 3/4” MDF so I used 3/4” screws (because of the space the grommet creates.
To be completely honest I wasn’t sure how much weight this would actually hold (I was fully prepared to take it down if I had to) but it can hold a whole dryer full of my clothes no problem! Hooray for projects that are pretty AND functional!!
There are SO many things to buy when babies come into our lives right? And man there is so much more stuff you have to have compared to 7 years ago when I had Dyl. Its dizzying. Of all of the things to spend money one though, the best thing that I’ve bought is photography.
Around Halloween I was at a party, eating and chatting with other moms. Lots of them have had kids recently so I was picking their brains on what the latest and greatest was. One of them asked if I’d booked a newborn photo session with Chelsy from B. Couture yet (because you have to hold your spot suuuuuper far in advance). They all chimed in and the way they talked about it I felt like one of those moms that didn’t register their kid for private school when I was 4 weeks pregnant and now the rest of their life they’d be perpetually behind. The second I got home I emailed Chelsy and asked if she could squeeze me in. Luckily she was able to because the pictures that she got are priceless. I wasn’t planning on being in any of them (a week postpartum will do that to you) but I am so glad that I have a few.
Hold on to your ovaries.
In this day and age where everyone is a photographer, let me just say that everyone is NOT a newborn photographer. I had no idea what went into it until I was there experiencing it first hand. This girl is the real deal and while it wasn’t cheap ($375) I would do it again in a heartbeat. If you are in Southern Utah, you can contact her here!
Hey guys!! Lets get the laundry room tutorials goin’ shall we?!
When I was planning the laundry room makeover I knew that I wanted the countertop to be wood. Wood just adds so much life to a space and with all of the tile and painted surfaces it needed some liveliness! It also needed to be budget friendly so spending a $1000+ on butcher block was just not going to happen. Factor that in with the 2 week turn around and it was even more far fetched. Do you know what I love? Projects that just seem completely impossible, that is where creativity thrives (when you read the word thrives picture jazz hands!)
We pulled this whole job off for under $90! WAHOOO! And in case you were wondering if we were still loving the stacked plywood look, the answer is a resounding yes. We get so many compliments on the tables at Durango’s, it just makes my life.
To make this project you’ll need:
(2) 4×8 sheets of plywood (1 premium and 1 not-so-premium)
Wood Glue
Finishing Nails
Wood Screws
Feet
Brackets
Polyurethane
Start by measuring the size that you want your countertop to be. You’ll need to leave at least an inch between the top of the washer/dryer and the countertop and an inch on each side. I had some people ask about their dancing appliances. If your washer/dryer move around when they are cycling they need to be balanced better, it shouldn’t effect your countertop design. Heck maybe it will help tone it down a little?
It was super important to me design wise to have the wood grain waterfall down the side (so that its continuous) because plywood comes in an 8 foot length you’ll want to keep that in mind if you are planning on doing the same! We used the entire 8’ length for our countertop.
The first step is to glue your sheets of plywood together. You’ll need 1 sheet of premium plywood (ours was Birch) and one sheet of regular plywood. Using the regular plywood on the second layer will save $, which is always a good idea. We started by gluing together the sheets of plywood with Titebond III wood glue and letting it cure for 48 hours. You can use wood clamps to hold it together while its curing, or you can use screws. If you are using screws, just make sure that they aren’t placed where you need to make your cuts!
Once everything is dry, use a table saw to cut it to size. Make sure that the side that waterfalls down is cut at 45 degree angles so that they match up! (You’ll do this by setting your saw blade to 45 degrees before you make the cut!)
We didn’t attach the corner together until we were installing the countertop. I didn’t want the waterfall side of the countertop mounted to the brand new tile, so to stabilize it we used feet. That way they could be adjusted to the exact height and easily level everything out.
To brace the countertop we installed 2×4’s into the studs along the back wall and corner brackets along the side wall. Make sure that they are level and at least an inch above the height of your washer and dryer.
We secured the top of our countertop to the brackets using wood screws.
To join our 2 pieces to make the waterfall, we put brackets on the top piece and secured it to the side of the vertical piece.
Once everything was installed I gave it a light sanding with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth everything perfectly and applied a coat of Triple Thick Polyurethane.
If you have any questions, leave them in the comments, I’ll be happy to help answer them!
Don’t miss any of the other tutorials in this series! Check them out below:
Hey guys!! Happy Wednesday! Thanks for all of the love on the laundry room reveal! Hands down the most popular question was about moving the water hook ups for the washer, so lets dive into it shall we?
When we unstacked the washer and dryer my first reaction was a swear word. I mean, I was thrilled with the new found space but surprised at how high the water lines were. Isn’t that the way that it always is when you tackle something new?!
Water lines that are too high are a massive eyesore and tackling something that is so unfamiliar can seem overwhelming. I totally get it.
My first reaction was to find a way to hide the box.
Should we put the washer and dryer on pedestals?
Could we build a cupboard door?
Or have a removable tile insert?
What about building up a wood backsplash instead of using tile?
How about a really great plant?
Ultimately though, to get the look that I wanted the lines just had to go.
I jumped online to see if it was even legal to move water hook up lines (because I don’t know, what if there are some crazy rules about it?!)
Everything that I found about height said that they can be as low or high as you prefer, as long as they are not lower than the highest water level in your washer. The great thing about that is front loaders don’t fill up all of the way so it wasn’t really a concern. But even installed at the new level it is still higher than the water level could ever reach so we were good.
The first step was to cut away some of the sheet rock to see what types of pipe we were dealing with. Our house is about 12 years old, so I knew it wasn’t going to be a very hairy situation.
Court just used a utility knife to do this. If I were doing it myself I probably would have used a steak knife, isn’t that what kitchen utensils are for? Spatulas for stirring paint etc….
The hoses are standard flexible plastic. We decided to replace the washing machine outlet box to make things easier, so we took the measurement for the pipe and went on a quick date to Home Depot. The replacement box was about $40 and was so easy to use!
After I decided on the countertop height, we trimmed the plastic pipes and attached the new box. (They just push onto the pipe, its so easy!)
Once the hoses were connected Court attached the box to the studs and install was done. All in all it too about 20 minutes.
The last step for this project was to patch the hole in the drywall. Because we were putting up concrete board for the tile, we just filled it in with sheetrock and didn’t worry about patching it more than that. (Sorry I don’t have a pic of just the drywall patch without the countertop!)
Pep talk time. If you have waterlines that are making you crazy, moving them is SO SIMPLE. Don’t be scared, just do it!
Don’t miss any of the other projects in this series!
