Hi guys!! Labor day weekend is upon us (holy cow where has the entire summer gone?!!).
We are having a massive girls weekend at the Gubler residence. My sister Amy is staying with us for a few weeks (it is the best thing of my whole life, she is forbidden from ever leaving). We took a quick jaunt to Cara’s house and Amy got her very own Maskcara makeover. I will make sure to let you know when the full reveal is on Cara’s blog, but here is sneak peek with little Gertie Girl.
The fun doesn’t stop there. Jamie, who you all know and love has also taken up residence and we have some major projects happening while she is here too. At least that is the plan, so far all we have managed to do is eat every yummy thing that crosses our path. But we will get there. She has also promised to do a behind the scenes/real life at Mandi’s house in next week’s newsletter, so you might want to sign up if you are itching to know how things REALLY are at Vintage Revivals…or not, if secondhand embarrassment is not your thing. (form is in the sidebar, make sure it is the newsletter that you are signing up for, not the email subscription!)
Because everyone loves celebrating the end of summer, here are lots of fun sales happening! Here are a few of my favorite things! (a few of the links are affiliate, just a heads up!)
Check out RugsUSA for 80% off this is the best sale that they run the entire year. The overdyed purple rug that I used in the BHG shoot is on sale for $61.50. And they have about a million colors.
Wallpaper Direct for 15% off everything. My current fave is the white brick wallpaper that I am using for some of my small project shots
Hey guys!! I have had this weird phenomenon happen. Working on the Nugget day and night has made me really appreciate normal home DIY. Like a lot. It seems like the more we use our creativity, the more we have, right? A few weeks ago I shared my die heard obsession over Ben at HomeMade Modern. Apparently I am not the only one that loves him, because Cara, and my Mother in Law both requested furniture using his stacked plywood technique.
Then I saw these adorable modified hairpin legs that the always amazing Emily used and just decided to facilitate a love child between them.
The one thing that was a bit daunting for me was the inevitable use of a table saw for cutting the ply. To me, it is the scariest of all saws, and the one that I am least comfortable with. Then out of the blue I got an email from the folks at GRR-RIPPER. I did some research and the GRR-RIPPER 3D Pushblock looked sort of too good to be true. But I was game for a try.
You.guys.
One pass with the GRR-RIPPER and Court and I looked at each other like “did that really just happen?!” it was AMAZING. Like you know on infomercials how they do something and it is SO simple, and then they smile and have a little sparkle gleam on their teeth?
THAT.
The first project we used it on was for the Nugget (coming down the pipeline soon), but I knew I had to put the GRR-RIPPER to use on a project that I could talk about right this second and share it with the planet!
To make the bench we used 2 pieces of Plywood. While you are at the hardware store, have them rip (2) 4’x8’x3/4” sheets into (6) 2×4’ sheets and (1) 2×8’ sheet.
The smaller 2×4 sheets are going to be cut every 3 inches. (This is going to determine the height of your bench/table top so adjust accordingly.) 3” for me gave it a really hefty industrial butcher block vibe.
We started out by ripping 2×4’ sheets of 3/4” ply using the Smart Hook Pushblock GRR-RIPPER. The underside is rubber and holds on to the wood, and on either end are little gravity hooks that help push the piece along. (they dont actually hook into the piece, they lay flat against the wood if they are on top of it, the magic is when they are hanging off the wood. Major leverage.
As amazing as the Smart Hook Pushblock is, the real magic is in the GRR-RIPPER 3D Pushblock. You guys, this thing can guide a cut down to an 1/8th of an inch. Lets just let that marinate for a sec.
You can practically make toothpicks on a table saw.
The way that it works is truly genius.
You move the sliding bridge so that it is between your saw guide and the saw blade, then you just push your wood through…OVER the saw blade. The saw blade goes between the edge and the bridge and you have so much control. Table saws are sort of notorious for lifting up your material as it is being fed in. That doesn’t happen when you are pushing on the material as the saw is cutting it.
The most important part is that it is safe. Your hands are nowhere near the saw blade.
Cut all 6 of your 2×4’ boards. This will give you enough material for a 4 1/2 foot bench/table.
Wood glue is a must for this project. A thin line between each board goes a long way when it comes to sturdiness.
Stack 3 boards high (with glue in between!) and then on the last one add glue to the top.
Place this glue side down, on the boards that you just installed.
Then using 3” wood screws, attach your boards to the stack.
We did this against a block wall to make sure that it was nice and straight-ish. If its not perfect, its ok, this project rocks the laid back DIY vibe.
Attach the 2 end pieces with a nail gun. (You will just need 1 board for each end, not 3.)
Cut your 2×8’ board so that it fits on the underside of your table.
Real life DIY alert! The original plan was not to have this support board. But after we installed the legs our bench was looking a little droopy in the mid section (sort of like me!) so it was a bit of a super hero. Now that it’s on, I really love the way it adds just a little more detail.
I used inexpensive plywood and it was really splintery and needed a good sanding. I recommend 150 grit for a project like this. It will smooth everything down really well without taking the character out of the wood, if that makes sense.
For a bench I ordered these 18” table legs, if you want to make this for a coffee table, I would order the 14”.
We did a little rearranging in Alicia’s Living Room and really love how dramatic the bench is against the black wall. Now just to find some art!
For more info on the MICROJIG GRR-RIPPER visit 3dpushblock.com.
This project was sponsored by MICRO-JIG, all project ideas and opinions are 1000% mine. (pssst….this thing really is life changing folks.)
You would think that, you know, rebuilding the entire front and back ends of our little vintage trailer would cause some major satisfaction. But anyone who has ever done a room makeover knows that the real pat on the back moment comes after the paint.
I could not wait to start painting.
And what a world of difference! (Taking out the bunk didn’t hurt…)
Notice the the darker tone along the top of the wall, along the ceiling? One thing that happened that I didn’t anticipate was bleed through.
Where the wood paneling had a little bit of water damage, even though it had been sanded, there was a yellowish color that seeped through after the paint was dry.
So out came my trusty can of Kilz Primer (it has a stain blocker in it!)
I sprayed it everywhere that had potential water damage. Around the corners and windows, along the seams in the ceiling, even around the ice block fridge.
And it worked fantastically!
(Sometimes this thing feels like Mary Poppins bag with the sheer amount of crap that we can fit inside.)
At this point I was feeling mighty grateful for the prep work that I had done.
One little reminder, take into account your wall texture when choosing a paint roller. The walls in the Nugs are smooth with a little bit of faux wood grain. Using a roller that is for a semi smooth surface is going to leave more texture than we want. The rollers that I used were Wooster 3/8” High Density (they are the white fluffy ones). It is also CRUCIAL that you use a good paint brush for edging. Why spend all of the time painting, and redoing the countertops, only to have the spot they meet at have major paint brush texture?
In March when I went to the Home Depot Manager’s meeting, they were previewing the new Behr Interior Marquee line. It still isn’t sold in every Home Depot (they are working on it!) so I was really excited when Behr said they would send me a few gallons to try. I always want to give you guys the best info, so constantly trying new things is really important to me. Overall I was extremely impressed with the quality. The paint has a much thicker consistency than regular Behr Paint+Primer, which I really liked. I am really looking forward to trying it in a regular interior setting so that I can see how it performs there. I can say that I have had to wipe the walls down multiple times because of dust and dirt and greasy handprints and it comes clean like a breeze.
So now that I have a giant blank white space, the real fun can begin…stay tuned!
You guys are seriously blowing me away with your freaking amazing #colddeadfingers posts. Every new post is just SO good.
I found a pretty great pair of lights on Craigslist last week. At least I thought they were a pair. When I called the seller to set up a pick up he told me that he had sold one. Whyyyyyyy? If you have a pair of anything, keep it that way, I promise it is worth it! Lights, chairs, eyes (because who wants just one eye?). All of the things. Pairs=Joy
So there was just one light. Which was fine, it was amazing enough on it’s own. But there is just something about knowing that there is a mate somewhere out there (sing that like Fievel!) So if you live in Southern UT and you have the twin, message me. I will pay you with lots of money and Durangos.
So today, in memory of my light’s forever lost twin, I thought it would be fun to honor those that still have their life partner.
Hooray!! The little Nugs that could is chugging along!
One of the elements that just couldn’t survive the overhaul (besides the blue carpet) was the lime green Formica countertops. In the right place they are AMAZING but the conclusion came about that there could only be a few design stars, and the countertops just didn’t make the cut.
Working within the confines of a trailer makes things different. One of the biggest factors that needs to be considered is adding weight. I knew that I wanted to save my added weight allowance and use it elsewhere (like the floors!!) so I needed something lightweight that had major transformation powers.
A concrete overlay countertop was just the ticket. Now, I know what you might be thinking. Yes it is concrete, but it is only about 1/8” thick. And yes it is durable. (We will get into that in another post!)
For the last year or so blogland has been abuzz with talk of Ardex Feather Finish and its magnificent countertop transforming powers. After doing a little internet sleuthing I found out that Ardex Feather Finish is made by a company called Henry. Do you know what else they make (among other things)? Henry Feather Finish that is sold at Home Depot.
I couldn’t find an exact yes or no answer to if they were the same, so I called Henry and asked. This was their response:
“ Technically, no, they are not the same. As far as using them, and their performance, they are the same. In a blind test, the manufacturer wouldn’t be able to tell you which is which. “
YESSSSS! Best news ever!! While Ardex Feather Finish and Henry Feather Finish aren’t exactly the same their performance is! (You can find it in the flooring isle at HD!)
The process I used is from the original concrete wonder, Miss Kara Paslay. (She has a great FAQ here if you are attempting this project!)
When we bought it, The Nugs had 2 faucets. The one on the left went to the outside water hook up, and the one on the right was connected to the water tank inside the trailer.
They had to go. It was like a faucet fiesta. The blue switch box powers the small electrical pump that pumps water from the tank…that had to go too.
Taking them out left 2 holes that needed to be patched. After securing a piece of wood on the underside of the countertops, we filled the holes with wooden dowel and screwed them down.
We sanded the edges to make sure that they were flush with the countertops.
And drilled a hole for the single handle faucet that we were planning on installing. (This one) The faucet saga is a whole different blog post, so we will just leave it at …To Be Continued.
The biggest warning that Kara gives when installing concrete overlay countertops is that the surface needs to be SOLID. The situation with our countertops was that they were totally solid, but the top layer that was the actual Formica was loose in a few spots. We used our staple gun to secure it nice and tight.
The countertops also need to be roughed up a lot. I used 40 grit sandpaper and obviously went to town. Making sure to get all of the smooth finish off of them.
After all of the dust is cleaned off the real fun begins. The Feather Finish has the consistency of firm pudding. It was at this point that I tried to do a Bill Cosby impression and Court just gave me a blank stare…so there is that.
We spread the first layer with a trowel and then switched to a plastic putty knife. We liked the putty knife better.
Lay down a few thin layers, sanding down the high spots in between. Get as much of the dust cleaned up as you can between layers.
We found that the more layers we added, the more color variation we got. I am not sure why, but if you want something that isn’t mottled with different shades of gray, you will want to keep that in mind.
Here is the third layer going on:
When it was all said and done I gave it a good sanding with 400 grit sandpaper. It is so smooth, it feels like glass.
Sealing concrete is different than sealing concrete countertops. The most important thing to take into consideration is that because it is countertops, where food will be prepped, the sealer needs to be food safe. Forever ago when I was planning this for my kitchen, (don’t worry, I haven’t left you guys in the dark, I am still rocking the beige) I ordered Cheng Concrete Sealer and have just been hanging onto it since.
While sealing, I learned a few things. 1. Southern Utah heat + the need to keep the concrete wet the entire time is definitely a 2 person job. One that I didn’t do so well. I can tell where the concrete absorbed the sealer differently in a few spots. Next time I will make sure that Court can help me. Also, the sealer made the concrete significantly darker. Which is fine, but I sort of loved the lighter color better. So keep that in mind too.
All in all, new updated countertops for less than $50 is a huge win!!
*This Nugget project is sponsored by The Home Depot (thanks guys!)
Now that we have gotten the semi-boring out of the way (demo, rebuilding, prepping for paint) we can start work on the fun stuff! The stuff that you can actually see!!
Up first is tile. Backsplash penny tile to be exact. I am completely obsessed with this line of colorful penny tile that HomeDepot.com sells. (Sometimes I forget that they have so many amazing things online!)
I love how they have a little ring on the outside that the color doesn’t cover, it gives it some really cool dimension.
We ordered 2 boxes, but, I think could have gotten away with one if we would have applied the Oregon Trail method of rationing.
I researched the crap out of installing tile in a trailer and the majority of the info that I could find said that it would be fine. But I was still a little nervous, so I called my friends over at Jim’s RV and asked them 1. if it was possible and 2. if they had ever done it. The answer was yes on both counts. (Insert happy dance…but not to Happy, because that song makes me stabby.)
The most important info that I gathered was to make sure that the surface that you are installing the tile onto is solid. The paneling that made up the interior walls? Not solid. It was like 3/16 of an inch thick. Definitely not sturdy enough to hold the weight of the tile.
Off to Home Depot I went to pick the brains of the guys who know best. They recommended installing cement board onto the walls and using thinset and grout that had flex in it (we will get into product specifics in a bit)
We measured and cut the cement board to fit the walls.
To make sure that it was nice and secured to the wall paneling, we put down Liquid Nails before we put the cement board up.
Then we screwed it onto the studs.
The biggest concern with tiling a trailer is obviously the movement that happens. No one wants to get to their destination and open the door to find their backsplash hanging out on the countertop. The guys at Home Depot recommended FlexBond Crack Prevention Mortar, it is rated with thumbs up for use in areas that have a lot of earthquake activity and ground movement. It is a little more expensive than regular thinset, but totally worth it. It was pretty crazy to see how much flex it had when we were cleaning up, It was most definitely the right choice.
This is the first time that I have ever laid tile, and I must say, I sort of loved it!
Step 1: Spread the FlexBond (not pictured, the moment I had to take over because Court was trying to make it perfect and I just couldn’t deal.)
Step 2: Place your tile. I used a box cutter to trim the excess.
Step 3: Snip and fill in all of the little pieces.
So here is the deal. Cutting Penny Tile is not hard, but it is a little confusing. It is too teeny to use a tile saw, that basically leaves you with the option of Tile Nippers. I cant even begin to tell you how many tiles we broke before we figured out a method to the madness (we tried a few techniques like this one from YHL, and this one that recommends using a grinder). The gist of it is, there are a lot of complicated ways to cut penny tile, but I think we found the easiest way EVER.
Place your nippers so that they cover 1/3 of your tile. No more than 1/3.
Squeeze.
That is it. Its all about the nipper placement.
Also? A video for those that like to see things in action!
Around the window we left the tiles on the sheets and nipped them while they were attached.
After we filled in all the little spots with our 1/2 tiles we let it set for 24 hours.
Then it was time to grout! The grout that I chose was premixed Simple Grout in Natural Gray. Its a really good medium concrete gray color.
Using a foam float (like this one) spread the grout onto the tile. I will admit, this part had a little bit of self talk that went something like this “Mand. Don’t screw this up. Seriously. Court will never forgive you.”
The technique is simple. Glob and spread. Make sure that you are getting in every crack, taking off as much excess as you can.
Then really quickly use a damp sponge to gently wipe off all of the extra. There will be lots of rinsing involved!
PSA: I learned the hard way was that you need to wipe off every.thing. Don’t leave any water spots behind, because they are really hard to get off after they dry.
I am so in love with this green tile. It adds the perfect updated retro vibe to the little kitchen! Makes me want to penny tile bomb the entire city of St. George.
I acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with me to participate in the vintage trailer overhaul (the “Program”). As a part of the Program, I am receiving compensation in the form of products and services, for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words. My post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.
and have just been hanging onto it since.
