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.

YOU GUYS. This post has been literal years in the making!! I am dishing everything you could want to know about our DIY Raw Hardwood floors!!

When we decided to use straight from the lumber yard basic 3/4″ maple as flooring in the Merc it did a few things. 1. It gave us unlimited options for patterns (yay!!) 2. It unleashed a million opinions from concerned readers. 

I don’t think that it was so much the type of wood/technique we were using as it was the fact that we were leaving them COMPLETELY RAW.

If you’re new, you might have gasped. It’s cool, we’re used to it.

See I kind of have this weird thing that makes me ask why. Like, why are things are the way they are? For example, why do we pay $$$$ for perfectly distressed wood floors that look like they’ve been around for a hundred years and then make them indestructible?

In my mind, the magic of patina is the life that it bears witness of.

I get that this is a super unpopular opinion but it’s the exact reason that we decided to do completely raw floors in our house. I wanted to see what would happen if we just left them open to the elements of living. And that is exactly what we did.

So let’s get into it!

For those that are new, here is a 15 second recap of our renovation situation. Time me!

3 years ago we bought a 100 yr old Mercantile store (the Merc as the locals call it) It was in complete disrepair and needed SO MUCH LOVE.

Like SO MUCH.

We spent almost a year renovating 1/2 of the 4200 sq/ft aka Phase 1 and moved in. That was almost 2 years ago (where has the time gone!?) I wanted to keep it as true to the time period as I could handle, so we did lots of traditional finishes and accents, with my signature out of the box style mixed in. We are starting the second half of the renovation in the next few months, and feeling VERY excited about it. You can get completely caught up from the beginning here.

Phew. Did I make it?

So back to the floors. It just felt really gross(?) to put in laminate or engineered flooring. There is something so special about an old building like the Merc, like the energy and life from all of those years are part of it. From the old brick to the un-level floors, to the original windows, everything showed signs of life in the most authentic way. I wanted to embrace it, ya know?

And because this is literally our job, I thought meh, if it’s a horrible idea it wont be that big of a deal to change them out.

Using The Right Kind of Wood

We ordered 3/4 solid maple boards from the lumber yard, had our awesome friend with a woodshop full of tools straighten them, cut them to a 6″ width and plane them nice and smooth. It was one of the best choices in the whole world to not take that on ourselves. 

The reason I chose to use maple is because we did a project similar to this 6 years ago with our vintage trailer The Nugget. The $80 floor DIY was one of my favorite projects of the whole renovation and it taught us a lot. Most importantly, not to use a soft wood like pine for a project like this. (For something that doesnt get as much use like a trailer pine is fine, but it has a tendency to splinter and dent easily, which can cause more splintering.) For a floor in your house that gets walked on every day, having hard wood is a big deal!

Maple is one of the hardest woods available. I love it’s soft warm color and light grain, if you’ve been kickin around Vintage Revivals for any length of time, you know this is truuuuue!

We used it on 4 floors in the Merc (3 bedrooms, and my office) each space has a different pattern and is like a special snowflake.

How are they doing?

I absolutely 100% no hesitation would do it again. I LOVE them.

They are exactly what I pictured when I dreamed this project up. We havent really taken any special liberties when it comes to the way we treat them. The spots that have really high traffic have a little bit of a sheen to them and there was an incident with black paint water that was spilled that needed to be sanded, but man I just cant get enough of them!

Do they look perfect?

Nope. There are spots where the grain in the wood changes direction and it tends to look grayer/dirtier there (maybe if we sanded them in those spots it would be different?) But I’m not mad in the least. It always makes me feel better to know that if we need to we can just sand the whole thing smooth and put a sealer on it, but for now I am feeling great about it.

Are Raw Wood Floors Right for Everyone?

That’s a no from me dawg. I LOVE ours, but I also dont stress about a lot of stuff. If you do, these arent the floors for you. They dont scratch or dent (even in places like my office where the chair is always in the same spot) but stuff can/will stain them.

Would We Ever Clear Coat/Seal Them?

Right now, I would say no. But if you want to do this DIY and seal them, I would recommend a product like Rubio Monocoat. It’s liquid so it will fill all of the gaps, as well as add protection to the surface.

How Do I Clean Raw Wood Floors?

I spot treat a lot, like if something is spilled, or a coloring project gets out of hand. I love using Magic Erasers, and a damp microfiber cloth. For spots that need some more TLC (like the spilled paint or something that doesnt come up with a spot treatment) we’ve been known to pull out the sander. 

Do They Splinter?

Maple is such a hard wood that we have had ZERO like literally zero splintering. Not one sliver. If you use a softer wood I bet that can happen easier, you might be pulling out the sander more frequently.

Have any other questions? Leave them below and I’ll update this post!

The post DIY Raw Hardwood Floors appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Someone hand me a tissue.

I am so excited to share with you today a video reveal of phase 1 of the Merc reno!!

Almost exactly 2 years ago I walked into the Merc for the first time. I cant even fathom how these years have passed by so quickly. They have been some of the most rewarding and difficult years of my life. Renovation is no joke, but man would I do it again in a heart beat.

Thanks for following along, and caring about our journey, we are beyond grateful for each and every one of you!

And if youre feeling sad thinking that the Merc saga is at an end, let me assure you (with a manic laugh and crazy eyes) that it is in fact not even close! We’ve still got Phase 2 and the Tithing Granary.

If you’re new and have miss any part of the renovation thus far, you can follow along from the beginning here!

So without further adieu, The Merc Phase 1 Reveal!!

The post The Merc Phase 1 Reveal!!!! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Finding cool door hardware isn’t hard, especially if you like clean modern designs, but what if you want something that is positively vintage? Finding antique door knobs (or replicas for a fraction of the price!) is something that can be tricky. Most of your normal door hardware companies don’t hit the vintage door knob out of the park, but I found one that totally does!

Obviously being the most special building in the entire world, the Merc couldn’t have just normal hardware. I mean the doors themselves were such a statement, I needed something that was the perfect companion for them. My search came to an abrupt end when I fell down the design rabbit hole that is Nostalgic Warehouse with their massive combinations of vintage style door knobs and backplates. If you can dream it, chances are they’ve got it. I couldn’t have found a better partner for this important design decision at the Merc.

Each door knob can be configured to reach your anticipated antique level. They have hundreds of combinations, from the long simple New York backplate (the one we went with!) to the heavily detailed Egg and Dart plate. They have got so many options, and then you throw in the knob selection and your mind sort of explodes. Precision cut crystal, smooth porcelain, and perfectly finished metals make up almost 30 knob options. Imagine the possibilities folks!!

Antique Nickel Door Knobs

For all of the interior doors (and after loads of back and forth) I finally chose the New York Plate and oval Homestead doorknob in Antique Nickel. Though the Studio plate in Antique Nickel and Black Porcelain knob, and New York plate and knob in Unlacqured Brass were some seriously stiff competition. Which one would you have chosen?!

Antique Brass Door Knobs

We ran into a challenge with our front doors. If you remember, we bought them from an antique store and gave them a serious makeover (if you havent seen the before, you’re in for a treat!) One of the updates we made was filling in the old mortise locks. That made it so we could easily use standard knobs. Welllllllll that would have been great and good, except our door thickness (2″) is thicker than standard doors, so it presented a little bit of a problem. FORTUNATELY Nostalgic Hardware has a sister company called Grandeur Hardware that specializes in this exact scenario.

Something that was really important to me was matching the original letter slots. So instead of going with Antique Nickel like our interior doors, I chose Vintage Brass. It was one of those things that I went back and forth on (gosh isn’t there so much of that in a renovation!??!) but ultimately the brass won because I just couldnt give up on the original mail slot.

The knob I chose is a sectional set, which means that the knob and deadbolt are separated. They are in the Fifth Avenue collection, so the backplate style is the same as Nostalgic’s New York Collection. One thing that is SUPER important to note is that Grandeur’s sets are made from solid forged brass, they aren’t plated. They have a few different handle styles, I chose the C handle. Its simple and vintage and absolutely perfect for the Merc.

Having installed many a door knob in my days, I will say that these were a little bit trickier to install than the basic ones from Home Depot. But the instructions are clear and easy to follow, they just aren’t a plug in 2 screws and you’re done kind of knob.

I think the feel of the knob is a big deal. You know when you’re grabbing something that is solid, and when you’re grabbing something that is hollow. These knobs feel substantial, especially the exterior ones.

Doorknobs (and doors!) are one of those things that are easy to overlook, but a simple step outside the basic style will pay off 10 fold when it comes to making your home feel custom and special. Whatever style your house is, I guarantee that you will find something that you love at Nostalgic. Its impossible to not fall into their world!

The post Meet The Place for Your Perfect Antique Door Knobs appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Smart Home upgrades can be intimidating, at least they were to me. There is just so much tech and it changes so quickly! I nervously dove into the smart home space with the Merc, knowing nothing and learned a ton. So here I am, passing my knowledge on to you.

It seems like there is a smart home product for almost everything right!? Except folding your laundry. FOR THE LOVE, can someone PLEASE figure that out?!! Like I mentioned before, I have had very little smart home experience and the thing is, it can be as easy or as complicated as you want. I started off by asking our electrician during our electrical walk through about it and he told me about these huge expensive integrations that had to be hard wired into the walls, had a master control panel, and seemed like a HUGE commitment for something that could be outdated very quickly. So then I did what I always do when I’m wrestling with a decision. I went to Home Depot. Most of the smart home products that they have there are aftermarket, meaning you can install them in a house that is already built.

The first thing that I want to touch on was the most confusing, how to get them all to work together. All smart home devices come with their own software/app (that’s what makes them smart!) but it can be kind of clunky trying to find the right app, so this is where a Hub comes in. A hub is basically the heart of your smart home. All of the apps and devices sync into the hub that in turn puts them into one app. Brilliant! The hub that we chose was the Wink 2. The thing with hubs is that none of them work with all devices, so we chose ours based on the smart home tech that we wanted.

The first and easiest upgrade to your smart home is definitely your thermostat. If you dont have one yet, it’s a quick fix that will save you some serious cash on your utility bill. We have the Nest and have loved it!

Our carbon monoxide/smoke alarms are AWESOME. They are the Nest Protect and I absolutely love them. One of my favorite features is that they detect motion in the dark, so if you’re walking through the hallway at night it knows and illuminates so you have a nightlight! Another feature that has magically helped bed time at our house is the Nightly Promise. When you turn off the lights, the Protect illuminates green to let you know everything is in working order. We’ve taken it a step further and when the green light goes on that means it’s time for Brem to go to sleep. AND IT TOTALLY WORKS.

We’ve also put Nest Cameras around the house. I love that it alerts me to when someone is in the room, that way I know when the kids get home from school, or when someone is at the door.

One of the easiest smart home upgrades that you can make is your lighting. Everything from individual smart bulbs to replacing the wall switch can give you lighting controls at your fingertips. I very highly recommend using Lutron’s Caseta. In fact I’ve got a whole post coming about the simplicity of upgrading and some of my favorite features.

One of the reasons that I was most excited about our Andersen Windows is because of Verilock. How many times have you pulled out of town, only to panic house later because you couldnt remember if the windows were locked. Seriously, I have done that more times than I’d like to admit. Verilock tells you if your windows are locked and alerts you if it changes.

If you’ve been following the Merc reno closely, then you know that Court’s arch nemesis is water where it’s not supposed to be. If there is a leak in the Merc, Court takes it as a deeply personal attack. After all of the work that we went to to seal up the outside and roof from water damage, an interior water leak would just be THE WORST. All of this to say, that our Rheem EcoNet Heater is Court’s favorite smart home feature. Aside from being able to adjust the water temp on your phone, it alerts you if there is a leak!

Last but not least are our Samsung Washer and Dryer. I had these picked out long before I knew they had a smart feature but how cool is it that your washer and dryer can talk to you!?

Check out our video below to see everything in action!! Which smart home feature is your fave?

The post The Smartest 100 Year Old House I Know appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Is it worth hiring out drywall work? In a word? Yes. Let’s Recap.

Up to this point, all of the interior work on the Merc has been done by subcontractors. Because of the commercial zoning for the Merc, there are rules that we have to follow that don’t apply to regular homes. For example we had to have a Commercial Architect do our plans. We are required to have a General Contractor. We have to have licensed contractors do our plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems. I believe when you’re building a regular house you have the option of doing all of those yourself, as long as they meet code. We also hired out our framing (which was SUCH a good idea because there is not an existing wall in the Merc that is straight or plum.)

To Hire or to DIY

Hiring out sheetrock was something that Court was on the fence about. It definitely would have saved us some cash (our bid came in at $16,000 for installation and texture). And when you’re faced with that large of an expense (hello 10x what my first car cost) its definitely something you want to pause and think about. We decided that we’d rather do other work ourselves, like painting and tile work, and not get burnt out just trying to install the sheetrock, so we hired it out.

The longer this process trucks along, the more I see the value of skilled tradesmen. That may sound weird, but I’m a DIYer through and through. It’s how my brain is wired to work. The problem with that is sometimes its a smarter and all around better idea to hire it out and I just reject it based on the fact that I want to do it myself. But drywall was something that I was completely uninterested in doing (and have never really done) so it was pretty easy to pass off.

Installation Timeline

It took about 5 days for it to all be installed. The installers started at the ceiling, and moved down the wall, doing the portion by the floor last.

Once it was all done, they cleared out the extra and the next wave of guys came in to finish it.

They started by covering all of the screws and taping the seams. They used THE COOLEST tool to tape. It was a big gun that rolled the tape out and put mud on both sides of it.

Then a guy followed behind and smoothed it out.

Tomorrow we’re chatting about drywall finishing and how we got almost smooth walls on a budget! Have you done your own drywall? How did it go? Was it worth it?

See my full guide to drywall and wall texture here!

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The post What it Looks Like When You Hire Out Drywall Installation appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

This post was sponsored by Travelers Insurance; all opinions are my own.

Hey guys! Whether you’re working on a renovation like the Merc, building a new house, or having some plumbing updated, your contractor is probably THE singular most important decision that you can make. Going into the renovation I wouldnt have thought that, but after almost a year of working with our amazing one, and seeing first hand what happens when you have a crappy one, I stand by that statement.

For those that aren’t fully immersed in the home building/renovation world a general contractor is the guy that runs the show. He hires the sub contractors (like plumbers, electricians, drywallers etc.) and makes sure that everyone is showing up, doing their work, and getting paid. Most subs are pretty loyal to their general, so just like like things attract, if you get a great general, you’ll have great subs.

Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve seen first hand what it’s like when you have a great contractor and a not great one.

Being the unconventional space that the Merc is and unconventional level of DIY that needed to happen, we weren’t sure how to even find a general contractor. The bank and the city told us that we needed one. But where do you even start?! Funny thing, we were initially working with a different one at the beginning of this whole journey. At the last minute he decided to bow out, which at the time seemed pretty devastating, but like everything else in the Merc turned into a huge miracle.

As most of you know, my in-laws recently built a new house (you can see it here!) and their experience was the exact opposite of mine. Their contractor was unorganized, dishonest, careless, and a complete joke.

So how do you make sure that you get one like ours, and not one like theirs?!

1 . Get references specifically from their most recent projects. Sure, any reference is great, but wouldn’t it be even better to get some from clients that they’ve worked with in the last 6 months, as well as 5 years ago?

2. Be extremely transparent. There is something to be said about finding someone that you get along with and that understands your vision from the beginning. If they’re not willing to let you outline and agree to specific expectations then they probably aren’t your person.

Travelers has 10 more tips on their site for hiring a contractor, as I was reading through them I couldn’t help but nod in agreement as I was going down the list. There are so many important things to consider to protect yourself and your home. Check out the full list here, I agree with all 10 of them!

What lessons have you learned from hiring a contractor?

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The post A Tale of Two Contractors appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

We all know that there is loads and loads of planning that goes into a renovation/new build right? There are always budgets and big expenses involved. It’s SO easy to go over budget on renovations because what looks like a few hundred here, and a thousand or two there turns into tens of thousands seemingly overnight. it’s really easy to find your dream tile and think “I’ll just take money from something else and put it here”. But where can that extra money actually come from?

That approach, I’ll save on the things that don’t matter, so I can spend on the things that do, seems really logical. But my eyes were opened to what that actually looks like, so lets talk about it!

I’ve got a bunch of experiences to pull from. My in-laws just built a new completely custom home. My sister built a new house with a builder that gives you a base price with limited finish options and you pay for upgrades. My other sister bought a house mid construction, and we have the house we were never meant to build + the Merc. So this isn’t just pulling from our one experience, it seems that everyone has this problem.

When we were planning on building (before we found the Merc, you can read about that journey here) I had never walked down this road before. Everything that we had done to our previous house was on a project by project basis and never really required a huge chunk of cash. At most a few thousand for our biggest projects, but nothing that we didnt save for. One of the realizations that I came to when we were working on the budget for the build was that we were going to spend a ton of cash and I still wasn’t going to get everything that I wanted. In fact, I felt like I was compromising on almost everything. We didnt make it far enough along to have concrete bids, just an idea from the builder of what things would generally be. When we got the bids for the Merc, because of the unique nature of the building and loan situation we had to get a full bid set, as if we were contributing nothing (no DIY or sponsored products) and it was crazy eye opening. The “I want these door knobs so we’ll pull money from something that no one will see” mindset vanished. The stuff that no one will see that you think you can scrimp on turns out, aren’t really that optional. Things like framing, electrical, and insulation are sort of not optional and don’t really have a lot of wiggle room. Short of lowering your square footage, you’re not really going to save that much off of what your bids come back at. So what does that mean!?

Compromise. DANGGGGG IT!!

There are 3 categories that everything renovation related seems to fall into. Permanent, Semi Permanent, Replaceable

Let me first start by saying that obviously walls can be moved or an entire house torn down, so we’re using the term permanent to mean something that you won’t want to change for the next 15+ years. Things that are structural usually fit into this category.

Windows, Walls, Exterior, Wiring, Roof, Plumbing

Semi-Permanent are things that can be changed but you don’t really want to have to change because of time or expense.

Flooring, Doors, Wall Finish, Appliances, Cabinetry, Plumbing Fixtures, Baseboard and Moulding, Countertops etc.

Replaceable are things that can be easily switched out, and usually can be DIYed.

Lighting, Cabinet Hardware, Accent Tile (backsplash etc.), Mirrors,

Trust me when I say, it’s so easy to get frustrated when you want what you want from the moment you move in. But remember, this is going to be your home! If you can’t afford your dream light fixture, that’s ok! Just find something at Restore or cap the electrical until you can! We’ve done that in so many places at the Merc.

I don’t think that you should build a house where you hate everything because you settled. My advice is to start with the permanent category and move your way down. You’d be surprised what you can live without. ? As of today we don’t have lighting in the office, either of the bathrooms, or Ivie’s closet. We also don’t have shower doors (shower curtains work just as well), mirrors in the bathroom, cabinet hardware anywhere but the kitchen, and closet systems (just a bar in all of them!) I’ve got walls that still need tile and shelving, and we’ve got to figure out how to hide our water shut off valve. And that is just in phase 1.

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Pro tip: did you know that Frog Tape makes a great drawer pull in a pinch?

Guys, renovation/building is messy and complicated and it doesn’t always end when we want it to.

Bite off what you can, wrap the rest in tupperware and put it in the fridge for later. Isn’t the whole point of this to create a space that you love?! Don’t feel bad if you cant do it in one fail swoop.

So where did we actually save money?

Because of our partnerships with some of my favorite companies we were able to save quite a bit. I know that is not reality for very many people, but I also don’t want to not acknowledge that we got a huge leg up on our budget. But let’s just say that you don’t have that option, saving money is still very much a reality.

• DIY what you can! We saved thousands by doing our own demo, exterior refurb, painting, tile, flooring, and finish work ourselves.
• Expand your mind a little. I knew that I wanted really detailed wood flooring, and did some heavy research into parquet, when it came down to it our wood floors in the bedrooms would’ve cost $15,000+ but we spent under $2700 because we made them ourselves. That is FREAKING AWESOME!! I don’t even want to know how much it would’ve cost to hire a professional to do the Merc logo in our entryway. I asked our tile guy and he flat out told me that he didnt know anyone who would do it. But because I was willing to learn (and suffer at times) we have this totally amazing statement that we probably couldn’t have afforded otherwise.
• Get bids! I got bids on our giant metal trifold door from a handful of metalsmiths. They ranged from $1,500-$20,000. The guy we ultimately chose was $3,000 and the door turned out better than I dreamed.
• Use a KILLER contractor. I cant even begin to tell you guys how much we love our contractor. He was on top of everything and everyone and I was honestly surprised at how many of our subs came in under budget, even with all of the Merc weirdness that we could throw at them.

Do you have any tips to add?! I’m dying to hear more money saving ways!!

The post Where To ACTUALLY Save Money During A Renovation/Build appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Let’s talk front door paint. Repainting your front door is one of the quickest ways to bring some serious curb appeal to your house, but you have to do it the right way and you have to use the right kind of exterior paint, or else it looks like garbage after just a few months.

Remember how we’ve talked about finding the right paint for the job and that paint is not a one size fits all type of product? When you are painting outside doors, you MUST use exterior paint. Want to see what happens when you don’t? This is at our family cabin. This door was painted with regular latex just 2 years ago. Can you see how much it’s faded and discolored? That friends, is why you need exterior paint.

How To Paint A Front Door

Prep

Once we had our vintage doors for the Merc modified and hung it was time to get painting. We started by taping EVERYTHING off. Prep is wicked important, especially when you’re using a paint sprayer.

Prime

The first step to painting raw wood is to prime it. Primer keeps the good stuff in and the bad stuff out. It preps the wood for paint and creates the best possible scenario for paint to adhere. It also helps even out the wood texture and is usually significantly cheaper than paint so it’s better to do 2 coats of primer + 2 coats of paint vs. 4-5 coats of paint.

The primer that we used is Sherwin-Williams Exterior Latex Wood Primer.

Painting Your Front Door

The best front door paint Is Sherwin-Williams Emerald Exterior. On our trim we used a color called Tricorn Black (you can see all of my paint colors here!!)  There are some tricks to using Emerald Exterior paint. It’s very thick, which is good and also can be frustrating. We had to get a different tip for our sprayer because the paint was too thick for the smaller one. So that is lame. Emerald Exterior paint has a longer cure time than what you’re probably used to, especially if you’re only used to interior latex. This may seem like a negative until you watch the magic happen. When you spray (or roll) paint, especially thick paint, your immediate finish looks like this:

I get it. It’s textured, and freak-out inducing. BUT DON’T TOUCH IT!!! Channel every bit of patience that you have and walk away to let it dry. Just like when you paint furniture! As the paint cures it will flatten out and dry to a smooth finish. If you leave it alone.

Make sure that you are painting on a breeze-free day. Otherwise you’ll end up with loads of treasures in your paint!

When you’re painting exterior doors, you can leave them installed,

A tip for painting if your door has moulding like ours, Don’t try to do it all in one pass, you’ll put too much paint on the surface and still miss parts of the trim. Instead, lower the output of your sprayer and hit each side of the moulding, then do a pass over the whole door.

Remember that texture-y up close picture above? This is what it looks like after it dries.

The post How To Paint A Front Door + The Best Front Door Paint appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

When you come to the Merc for a tour, we show you all of our favorite things. The custom wood floors, all of the potential in phase 2, our cool cabinet hardware, and this weekend we added another thing to that list. Our new Moen GX garbage disposal (video proof of Court’s obsession at the end of this post ?). I’d never given garbage disposals much thought except in that stressful moment in the middle of the night when you can’t remember which switch on the wall is the disposal and which one is the light over the sink. But after our latest project installing a Moen GX I feel fully qualified to have an intelligent conversation all about garbage disposals.

With the GX, Moen has solved the eternal debacle, “Why do garbage disposals not come with the cord installed?” Not only that, but you have to buy extra parts, just to wire it. Not any more guys, the GX comes, just as it should, with the power cord connected.

We have an ongoing laughable but always frustrating struggle at the Merc where projects take 9x longer than they should. So when I said “we could have this thing installed in 10 minutes” I really meant an hour and 1/2. BUT GUESS WHAT?!! It only took 10 minutes!!

A few things to note, when you’re installing, make sure you pop out the plastic piece that is in the dishwasher hole. Not all sinks have dishwashers and therefore may not need the extra connection. If you do forget and connect your dishwasher hose, youre going to have a mess on your hands!

Just a heads up, you can’t overdo it with the Plumbers Putty. Whatever excess you have will ooze out and clean right off. (It’s SO satisfying as my 9 yr old would say.)

You can buy the Moen GX at Home Depot (it’s in stock at most stores!) and it’s right around $115!!

Check out our video below, It’s got flexing, the disposal being installed, Bremmer boy talking, and Court proclaiming his love over the GX over…and over….and over….?

Huge thank you to Home Depot for sponsoring this post + video!!

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The post Can A Garbage Disposal Be Sexy? According to Court it Can. appeared first on Vintage Revivals.