I know that The Nugget has been revealed so this post may not interest some, but I still have a few more tutorials to finish up before we can shut this series down!

One of the first things that I knew would need to be replaced was the moulding on the outside of the trailer.

On my trip to Jim’s RV I found out that it was actually called  J trim. It is sort of like a mini rain gutter that runs along the entire outside frame of the trailer. It also covers up where the aluminum sheets are stapled together.

We needed (6) 8’ pieces to go around the outside of the Nugs. This was the first thing off the trailer, and the last thing on, and I may have cried tears of joy when we were finally at that point.

Attaching the J Trim was pretty simple. Even though its made out of aluminum, it didn’t seem very bendy, so I was nervous. We started by putting the entire top center piece on. Then we cut a small piece to reinforce the second pieces so that they could sit flush and still be bent. The best way that we found to make the curve was to screw and then bend it to the next screw. Doing this made it a really controlled process so that we didn’t get any kinks or major problems. (We put the putty tape along the outside of the trailer for this part, not on the J trim.)

Lets just talk about screws for a minute. One of the biggest cosmetic problems that trailers can have are rust marks from screws. I knew I didn’t want to put the plastic trim on that covered the screws (I love the look of just the screws!) so that meant that I needed something with superior coating to prevent rust. When we were at Home Depot we came across these Teks roofing screws that had a sealing washer on them. This was a major win. Any sort of hole that you put in a trailer is not your friend, but these screws would be sealed off twice, once with the washer, and again with the putty tape.

Right smack dab in the middle of the painting process we decided it would be easier to tape off actual windows than giant gaping holes…also the 2 day storm that was rolling in was super good motivation.

Court cleaned and polished the windows using ultra fine steel wool (0000) and brake cleaner,  I could not believe how much prettier they looked!

First I put all of the little corner pieces of aluminum moulding inside the windows, this is what trims them out from the inside. Then we covered the inside of the window (where the screws go) with Putty Tape. A trick to working with putty tape is to keep it as cold as possible. Store it in the fridge until you are ready to use it, because when it isn’t cold this stuff is like working with Satan brand bubble gum.

Next step is to put the window on and screw it into place. Start with a screw in the middle of each side and work your way around. Don’t get overly zealous on the tightening front, just make sure that they are even and tight.

When you screw on your windows the putty tape will ooze out. Just use a clean razor blade to trim it off. Make sure that its clean, when it starts to get gunky its hard to get a clean line.

We had to improvise a little when it came to the kitchen window. Because we added cement board, and the tile, the interior trim piece was too far away to reach the window.

We cut long strips of aluminum sheeting and covered the entire inner frame of the window.

Then we put the moulding and the window back on. You would never be able to tell that there was a little bit of finagling happening because the trim reaches (just barely) the window.

One of the first things that I was excited about was replacing the lights on the trailer. Don’t these little teardrops look so much cuter than the old ovals?

Because we had to replace the entire backside of aluminum I could place the back tail lights where ever I wanted. I decided to move them up a little higher.

And really,  The Nugget’s backside did break the internet or at least the blog (sorry Kim.)

I used my Cricut Explore to make the little sign by the door, and the big Nugget logo on the back. I have plans to put the Bell logo back on the front, just waiting for the outdoor vinyl to arrive!

Have an awesome day friends!!

The post The Nugget: Finishing Off The Exterior appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

If you are just tuning in, you are in for a treat. Almost everything in The Nugget has been DIYed and has a tutorial! Whether you are looking for inspiration for a trailer that you are working on, or ideas for you home,  get ready for an awesome project avalanche. All of the projects in The Nugget have been linked at the bottom of this post! If you want to follow the series from the beginning, start here!

I almost don’t even know where to begin this post. Are you ready to finally meet The Nugget?

Just a little reminder of what it looked like 4 short months ago.

And here is what it looks like now!!

Dun dun dun dun dun dun duuuuuuun!

CLICK THROUGH TO SEE THE REST!

Are you ready to finally see the inside? It was the craziest thing, for months The Nugs was parked between the side of the house and our block wall with just a teeny bit of squeeze room to get inside. After all of the changes that we made inside (like taking out the top bunk, and cupboard) it felt so much bigger! Then, when we pulled it out so that I could paint, and the first thing that I thought was “Holy crap this thing is WAY smaller than I remember!” I guess a shift in perspective will do that to you.

This is what it looked like before? In a word. Dark.

Tutorial for this awesome (and SIMPLE!) light coming next week!

Taking out that upper cabinet made a HUGE difference..

Remember what the kitchen area looked like before?

It was definitely a good choice to redo the tile, and start fresh with the cabinets. High fives on that one friends!

We took the door off of the closet and widened the doorway.

Then we added lawyer style shelves for loads more storage!

On the opposite side, I put in a mirror and a little ledge perfect for holding toiletries.

This is also where we put the light switches for the closet light and the main light.

And we cant forget to talk about the floor. I love this thing more and more every time I see it!

We also have some storage in the eating nook, and a place to put cute treasures.

Can we just talk about the art for a second? If you are a diehard VR reader you might remember the giant bike painting that I have hanging in my entryway (posted way back in 2011 so be kind when you click that link!). I have been DYING to get a painting of Wallace and Gertie Girl done and of course had to reach back out to my friend Jonathan. You guys. This painting is an EXACT freaking duplication of their adorable faces. And the crazy part is that he does everything with spray paint. I know. He is the coolest person on the planet. So if you want more info, check out his site here.

The rest of the art are prints that will be selling in the soon to be opened Vintage Revivals Shop! I preach that art doesn’t have to be expensive and so I am putting my money where my mouth is!

I need to give the most massive thank you in all the world to The Home Depot for not only sponsoring this project, but for the FREAKING AMAZING employees at my local store who always wanted status updates and were so willing to listen and troubleshoot all of the strange requests that came up over the course of this project. They always have kind words and encouragement to share, and never judge me when I am rockin a 4 day ponytail. Those are the kind of friends that you want right? MUAH!

I just have so many feeeeeelings about The Nugget and the process that this entire thing has been. Don’t mind me as I wax thoughtful for a minute mkay?

This has hands down been the hardest project that I have ever done. There were so many new skills that we had to learn and so many projects that went awry, at times it was almost too much to handle. I don’t consider myself someone who knows everything about DIY and design but there were moments that I felt like a complete amateur. Like every choice I made was wrong (because it was!)  When I am working on room projects I like to get things done really fast, while the excitement and inspiration is fresh in my mind. Over the course of the last 4+ months I have learned patience and that its ok to start over.

The crazy thing is that originally, I had talked with Home Depot about having it done in mid July for a cross country trek to Atlanta. Thank goodness that was nixed. Then I had planned on having it finished in mid September. That is when I had my meltdown. But now. Mid November it is finally done. The absolutely insane thing is that it would have looked completely different if I had finished it in July or September. Circumstances and little moments of inspiration adjusted my viewpoint and design and I am THRILLED with how it all turned out. In fact (Court cover your ears) I kind of would love to do another one. Now that I know a little more about the process. It might be a little like child birth. It is so fun and exciting when you find out you are expecting, you spend so much time getting things ready,  at the end of the pregnancy you can.not wait to get it over with,  birth is freaking painful,  but then you have this adorable little baby trailer and you kind of forget about all of the crappy parts.

So is The Nugget everything I pictured? Yes and No. No, because it isn’t where I thought that the design would end up, but that detail is completely trumped by the fact that is in fact a 1000x better that I thought it would be! I am SO proud of how this little guy turned out. It is hands down the coolest project we’ve ever done.

I don’t sing his praises nearly enough, but I have THE BEST husband on the planet. Court is so patient and hard working and rarely complains…even when I tell him the new tile has to come out. He is absolutely my better half and I could do none of this without him. Love you Court! So um…wanna have another baby trailer?

Lastly (I feel like this is turning into a speech to the Academy) I want to thank you guys for sticking with me through this entire series, and for giving me tough love when I needed it and huge bursts of encouragement when I was struggling. You are the absolute best readers and I am SO lucky to have you!

You can see every post from the entire Nugget series here!

So, I have to know, did you love this project series? Is The Nugget everything you thought it would be? I am putting together a FAQ post, so if you have any questions please leave them below!

Once again, a HUGE THANK YOU to The Home Depot for sponsoring this series. Like the hugest in all the world. You guys are the best!! 

The post The Nugget: Vintage Trailer Makeover Reveal!!! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Dudes! We are overhauling a 1972 Bell Travel Trailer! Follow the entire series from the beginning here!

I cannot believe that I am FINALLY at the point with The Nugget series that I get to talk about exterior paint!! Holy CRAP!! This is the best day ever!!

I am a huge believer in finding inspiration all around you, and you never know when it is going to strike. Looking at pictures of vintage trailers online I realized that the ones that I loved the most had a mix of bright colors and aluminum. Of course I wanted to do a bold pattern (because its me) but I was having a hard time finding something that was busy, but not too busy. This is where the “finding inspo all alround you” comes in to play. One of my favorite #colddeadfingers diehards Katie linked up this picture of some thrift store scores.

Do you see the amazing Thermos pattern? The one with the diamonds?! It was exactly what I was looking for! (Thanks Katie!!)

We did a few color mock ups in Photoshop and everything was just feeling so light. I swear that has been the biggest reoccuring problem that I have had with this project. So at the last minute I decided to go less desert than my original plan so that I could use some color to ground the dang thing.

I debated paint choice back and forth the entire time that we were renovating the interior. I wanted to do something that was attainable for the budget DIYer. Taking the trailer to an automotive paint shop was not even an option because $$$…$$$$$$. And also $$$.

Here is what I came up with. Exterior Paint with the right primer TOTALLY would work and be so budget friendly it isnt even funny. But I wanted the finish to be super high gloss. So my next thought was to use Exterior Paint like Behr Marquee and put a high gloss protective coat on it. Then I thought that maybe using spray paint would be the answer (Rustoleum makes a high gloss automotive in Black and White) but I would need about 5000 cans of it and it doesnt have all of the colors that I wanted. So do you know what I did? I asked my friend Josh who is a professional painter and knows all about all of the things.

He told me that he had painted a few trailers with Exterior paint and that it did work, but needed to be touched up –> redone in about 5 years. Suck. He then said that Automotive paint would be the best, most durable option, and that it would give me the finish that I wanted. Suck again. THEN he told me that he had a HVLP sprayer for automotive paint that he would let me borrow if I wanted to DIY it. Sweet!!!!

To prep, we stripped off all of the paint (most came off with Citristrip but some stubborn spots needed Airplane Stripper which is the heavy dutiest of heavy duty. Court did all of that scrubbing because he is the husband of the year. Then we cleaned it REALLY well, and I taped everything off so that Josh could come.

He told me that Automotive paint has the worst kind of over spray that that I needed to mask off everything that I didnt want paint on. He wasnt joking. I thought I was done taping off in the pic below, but I ended up taping off the entire top section too and I am so glad that I did.

All of the automotive supplies we bought at a specialty paint store.

First we sprayed the clean metal with automotive primer (gray)

Then once that was dry, Josh sprayed it with automotive paint. It took a few coats, but it looked AMAZING.

(It was at this point we put the door and windows on because it was SO much easier to tape them off than to tape off gaping holes.)

We started by putting down the white first, then we built the other colors on top of it.

The next step was taping off all of the triangles that we wanted to stay white. I figured out the measurement distance and marked and taped and cut and marked and taped and cut. The most frustrating part about the entire thing was that I couldnt figure out a way to prevent bleeding. I tried ScotchBlue, and masking tape, and automotive masking tape and it didnt matter, because of the texture in the faux wood and the ridges in the aluminum the bleeding just kept happening (its ok because we fixed it!)

Instead of using gray primer for the burgundy stripe, we used rose primer. Red is a hard color to paint with, it takes a lot more layers to get full coverage, so using a rose primer helped that quite a bit. This side of the trailer was the test side. Everything was done a day beforehand on it so that I could make sure that 1. I could figure out what I was doing, and 2. that I liked it. We didnt want to have another tile fiasco on our hands.

You can see the texture and miniscule gaps in the picture below.

This is where I took over the painting. You.guys. it was so cool!! WAY easier than I thought it would be. Just a word of warning though. Sometimes you make unintentional messes and you get automotive paint on your hands…and it doesnt come off for 2 weeks. SO just wear gloves if you go this route. Alrighty?

In the picture below you can see the storm that came rolling in and put the painting out of commission for a few days, and if you look closely you can see the bleeding. To touch it up we used lacquer thinner and Q-tips and just sort of wiped it off. It worked best if we did it pretty soon after the painting, before it had a chance to cure.

Round 3 was the light pink. Again, lots and lots of taping and masking.

My awesome sister Amy got assigned the job of touchup.

Also, won’t you be my neighbor?

Lets talk about the tires. Court scrubbed all of the rust off of the old wheels and I sprayed them with white automotive. We replaced the actual tires and both of the bearings because I wanted to make sure that it was safe. We found the moon caps here and they were EXACTLY what I was picturing. In the pic above it looks a little wonkfest because it was just leaning against the hub.

It was at this point that we left for Pinner’s Conference in Salt Lake (about 4 hours away) while we were there Jamie my AMAZING assistant started the final round of paint,  goldish copper metallic pinstripes on all of the diamonds.

And guess what? That is all I am going to show you today, because tomorrow is the big reveal!!

Questions? Leave them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them!

The post The Nugget: How To Paint the Exterior of a Trailer appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Dudes! We are overhauling a 1972 Bell Travel Trailer! Follow the entire series from the beginning here!

Finding a way to bring plants into The Nugget, and being able to take them out for normal day to day care is the problem on the chopping block today. I knew that I wanted plants. Because hello. But there were a few things logistically that needed to be worked out.

I wanted a lot of them. As many as I could fit, because plants just bring so much life to a space. The problem was that I didn’t want to have to pack/secure them separately for each trip. 1 or 2 in the sink isn’t a big deal but an entire box full of just plants seemed a little unnecessary. So that meant that I needed to give them a permanent home that they could travel in and be safe.

The cool thing about this project is that it can totally translate into a plant shelf for your kitchen window,  Just add a few L brackets on the ends that connect into your window sill and you are good to go!

There is just one special thing that you need to do this DIY. A 4” Hole Saw. It is this really large and in charge drill bit that basically makes a giant circle in your wood (the same type of Hole Saw that we used to drill the holes for the door knob!)  Its not the cheapest of finds ($19.97 at Home Depot) BUT it was SIMPLE to use and sure beat the heck out of jigging all of the holes out.

I decided that the back window would be the best place to put the shelf because we already had a board across the back (to break up the white wall) but it turned into this super functional savior for this project!

I started by measuring the width of the shelf. There was one spot that we needed to trim down because of the other shelf, but it was a really easy fix.

Next I decided how many planters I wanted and evenly marked and measured their distances.

Then we positioned the Hole Saw and let er rip! This was a great project for Court to do (he is the best!) because the teeth on the Hole Saw are really grabby and sometimes they grab and want to spin the drill (and your arm) instead of cutting through the wood. It is kind of one of those things that as you are doing the project you will get a feel for it.

The girls had a blast playing with the circle scraps, so it was sort of a win win on the project front.

After all of the holes were drilled we took it inside to make sure that it looked right. Turns out the notch on the side needed to be a little deeper….

The next step was to put wood glue (Titebond III) on the top of the piece that was already mounted to the wall and then put the planter piece in.

Then we used a combo of nails from the nail gun and screws to secure it to that piece and to the side of the other shelf.

I was convinced that we would need to put a bracket on the left side but after seeing what a tight fit and the combo of glue and nails did, that thing isn’t going anywhere.

We painted basic terra cotta planters with a bunch of tester paint from The Home Depot and gave them a coat of clear gloss spray paint.

I could not wait to get the plants inside.

I wanted plants that wouldn’t die at the word go. Most of the plants that I have are Cacti and Succulents. I did add a fern for pictures because they are so big and beautiful but I have a hard time keeping them alive, so i don’t know if we’ll keep it there long term.

The really great thing about this project is that it gave me a place to subtly tie all of the colors together.

The post The Nugget: DIY Planter Shelf appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Dudes! We are overhauling a 1972 Bell Travel Trailer! Follow the entire series from the beginning here!  Huge thanks to The Home Depot for sponsoring this post!

It seems that with the Nugget, even the most well intentioned projects have gone awry. And OF COURSE that is the case with the door. Could we have just painted it to match the trailer? Sure. How about adding an accent color with it? Obviously. How about figuring out how to replace the aluminum with wood panels? Errrrr.

That was plan #1. From what we could tell, the door frame was in 2 pieces, an outer frame (that you could see) and then an inner piece that pushed the aluminum flush to the outer frame. So I thought it would be a great idea to take the door apart and find out. (Do you know where this is going?)

Its going here.

And here.

And here.

Oh, and of course here.

And then it took severe left turn into a brick wall and exploded.

The frame was in fact not 2 pieces, just 1.

So we figured that we were this far into it. We might as well try to use the table saw to cut a bigger groove in it (in hopes of fitting 1/8” ply inside) which just might have worked if Court didn’t accidentally cut through the entire lower 1/3 of the frame.

That was fun. Its not everyday that you get to ruin something irreplaceable.

In hindsight I would totally have just taken the door off and sold it on Ebay. But you know. Sometimes you just have to try and see if what you have in your mind is even possible. You know?

Now that we weren’t working in the parameters of the old door, and could truly do whatever, I decided that a mid century esq door would be just the ticket.

The original plan (well…the second original plan) was to make a Dutch door because that would be FREAKING AMAZING. But it was not to be. The hinges were built into the actual door frame and that was not something that we were willing to replace. So a simple single door was the winner! (But mark my words. A Dutch door IS in my future.)

Before we go any further lets chat about weight, because that is the biggest factor that you have working against you while you are working on a trailer. The original door was surprisingly heavy because of the thick glass window. (We decided to use light weight plexi for our windows) but we still wanted to make the door as lightweight as possible, so we made it hollow-ish.

To start we measured the width that the door needed to be, and subtracted 1/2” to compensate for the 2 pieces of 1/4” ply that make up the face and back of the door.

We started by building the inside frame

And then added cross pieces that made up the top and bottom of the window. We put in the small vertical pieces that makes up the other side of the window.

Last we put an extra piece where the door knob and lock goes so that it is really solid in that spot.

Then we measured and marked the pieces of 1/4” ply and used a jigsaw to cut the window holes out. This is our jigsaw. It is basically the 3rd member of our marriage.

(When you are doing a project like that and you want the wood to look nice I would recommend seeing of your local Home Depot carries Purebond Plywood, it is beautiful!!)

We decided that instead of nailing it on we would try our hand and gluing and that way, if it needs to be attached tighter then we could nail it. Good news, the glue is AWESOME. We used Titebond III because it is waterproof and has amazing reviews.

We glued one side and let it sit for 24 hours before we flipped it over and glued the other side.

Once everything was dry,  we measured and cut the plexi for the windows with a fine blade on the jigsaw.

The last step was to add the window trim that actually holds the plexi in place and finishes it off.

I debated on using white PVC as trim….

But ultimately decided that even though wood would be WAY more expensive, that it was the better choice.

We measured and cut all of the pieces at 45 degrees. While we were putting the windows in we realized that we had to trim one side of the window trim down the width of a saw blade, so we really quickly (and very carefully!) ran them it through the table saw.

Before assembly we put a few coats of Helmsman Spar Urethane on the door and trim pieces. Spar Urethane is ideal for outdoor pieces and has UV protectant in it. It is really easy to work with too, so that was a bonus!

When you are working with Spar Urethane, you will want to lightly sand between coats with extra fine steel wool, and then wipe it down with a tack cloth. We did 3 coats on our door.

After everything was dry we assembled it and glued with Titebond 3.

I was SO grateful to learn that Home Depot sells a door hole drilling kit. Unfortunately because the front of the door has a 2” overhang we weren’t able to use it the way that it is intended. BUT we still used all of the parts and saved a bunch of $ buying it as a kit.

After deciding exactly where we wanted the knob, we drilled a pilot hole to get started. Then we used a 2 1/8” hole saw to bore the hole into the door.

We did this on both sides so that it didn’t tear through the back end and splinter the wood.

Then we used a 1” spade bit to drill the hole into the side of the door for the locking mechanism.

I am SO thrilled with how this door turned out! WAAAAAAAY better than the one that I had imagined originally.

I seriously want to do this on a bigger scale for my front door. I LOVE how it turned out!!

The post The Nugget: DIY Mid Century Door appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

If you have been wondering if the diamond theme continues throughout the Nugget. Rest assured my friends, right now Diamonds are the only constant thing in my crazy life!!

When we started out, the table in the Nugs was a lovely shade of lime green. We updated it with concrete overlay when we did the countertops. (Tutorial for that here!)

This cute project can be duplicated just about anywhere. Walls, floors, art, pillows, rugs. It is an extremely easy pattern to replicate, you just have to know the secret.

Start by marking the dead center of your diamonds. You can draw on the entire length of your piece (a tabletop in my case) and it will be covered. Then add painters tape (ScotchBlue Delicate was perfect for this project!) that mark the width of your diamonds.

I used a white colored pencil for this project because a normal pencil was the exact color of the concrete overlay.

Next step was deciding the size of the diamonds. I decided that 1” was just about right. So I started by marking every inch up the side of the tape (make sure that you are making parallel marks on each piece of tape, or your diamonds will be a total wonkfest.)

Then you are going to mark every 1” up the center line BUT make sure that it is sitting at the center of your tape marks. So you will start marking it at 1/2” and then every inch after that. This will give you a diamond shape vs.. just a straight line.

Connect every other diamond with painters tape. (you will have to do the painting in 2 rounds to get them all!)

Make sure that your painters tape is sealed so that you don’t get any bleeding and paint the inside of your diamonds!

Once you have full coverage (after a couple of coats) gently peel off your painters tape.

When your paint is nice and dry you can go back and paint the other diamonds.

Follow the same steps of taping, sealing and painting.

I followed up with a light sanding because I had some pretty noticeable paint lines. Then we installed the table.

The Nugs is pretty teensy, but after taking the bunk and upper cabinet out it was feeling mighty spacious…until the table moved back in. It takes up approximately 83% of the floor space. Fun. But it looks adorable and it is more than just a table, it is the bed too, so its sort of important. (Also, we had a little bit of spilled dirt if you couldn’t tell.)

This table just makes my heart so happy. It was such a simple inexpensive fix and I cant wait to try this pattern somewhere else!!

The post The Nugget: Painted Diamond Table Top appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Dudes! We are overhauling a 1972 Bell Travel Trailer! Follow the entire series from the beginning here!

I am a firm believer that most things in life (especially projects!!) will cost you 1 of 2 things. Time or money. If you dont have money, then you put time in. If you dont have time then you pay with money. Looking at the project list for the Nugget there were a few things that I knew I didnt have the time/skills/equipment for. Most everything could be DIYed, but there were a few things that I left to the pros.

First thing on the list was powder coating the stove top. The green, while it is a great color, just wasnt what I was going for. It was just so heavy.

I have been itching to use cantaloupe somewhere and this just seemed like the best place. Now. Let me be super clear on this. You CAN DIY a new stove top color. ish. Rustoleum makes high heat spray paint that will absolutely work in this situation. The colors are limited but they do have white and a really good copper (this was my backup plan).

Talking to the powder coater on the phone I was feeling extremely confident that I would be able to find the color that I wanted. (“We have all of the colors!”) When I went in I was a lot less confident. Just a heads up, all of the colors are extremely saturated,  light colors just dont really exist unless you custom match them ($$$$) so I picked the lightest yellow-y orange that they had (I wanted it to be more orange, but I left pretty convinced that it was just going to be yellow, like a yield sign. Fun.)

I was pleasantly suprised when I picked it up and it was the perfect shade of cantaloupe. When I put it in (with the old green tile) it was horrifying. But the problem wasnt the stove, it was the tile. Now that the tile is white I LOVE it. It has this charmingness that just makes the entire space.

We also had them powdercoat the new step. It was an awesome shade of boring and we painted it white. Which in and of itself isnt the most fun color, but it looks SO good with the outside paint job. Total cost for powder coating was $79.00

The second thing that we hired out was the cushion reupholstery. It was just not something that I could convince myself to do. Sewing box cushions with thick vinyl and leather would have done me and my sewing machine in.

I found the perfect shade of pink naugahyde from diyupholsterysupply.com.(they were a dream to work with!!) and had it piped with couch leather. (Because no Vintage Revivals project would be complete without it.)

So was it worth it? Absolutely on both accounts.

The post The Nugget: Stovetop and Cushions appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Dudes! We are overhauling a 1972 Bell Travel Trailer! Follow the entire series from the beginning here!

What started out as an ugly duckling with a lot of potential (if you closed one eye and squinted the other) is fast becoming a swan. With as much work as the little Nugs needed, we have learned a lot (multiple times) so I thought it would be fun today to share 7 of the most necessary products to fix up a trailer, or really any space!

1. ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape. Lets just start off by acknowledging that ScotchBlue is the mothership when it comes to DIY support. Everything from help protecting the awesome floors from caulk, to getting a super sharp paint line, to taping off the outside pattern (eeeee!!) It is #1 on the list for a reason.

2. 3M Patch plus primer. We made a lot of small holes. We also had a lot of small holes to fill. Patch plus primer is hands down my favorite patching product, because it sands so smooth and doesn’t have a completely different sheen when you paint. The proof is in the pudding on this wall that we had to patch.

Can you believe that this is what that wall looks like now!?

3. 3M Advanced Abrasives  So maybe sandpaper should be my #1…hmmmm. Literally every.single.surface in this trailer has been sanded more than once. From the drywall, plaster, stucco and wood, to the floors. I’ve learned that a little 3M Patch plus primer and 3M Sandblaster Pro Advanced Abrasives can really fix just about anything

4. 3M Sanding and Fiberglass Respirator. So much sanding, so many unknown treasures on the walls. Taking care of our lungs is critical because let’s be honest, who wants lungs full of mold and sawdust? Not this girl.

5. Eye Protection. I had a pretty crazy experience while I was cutting the moulding for the cabinets. A piece of wood the size of a matchstick broke off of the piece that I was cutting and flew up and hit my eye. Or what would have been my eye had I not been wearing 3M Chemical Splash/Impact Goggles. I have never had that happen before, and I was so glad that I didn’t injure an eye and my sanity working on this thing. Sanity eventually comes back, right?

6. Hearing Protection. When in the presence of power tools (and children) ear muffs are crucial.

And last but not least #7. Court’s favorite thing to come out of the Nugget. 3M’s Auto Electrical Repair Kit. Update on this post he still wont let me use it.

Looking back through my computer to find the pictures for this post made me a little astonished at just how far this little trailer has come! Holy cow. I cant wait to see it when it’s all finished!

For more amazing ideas check out the 3M DIY Website!

And you will most definitely want to follow them on your favorite social media stomping ground:
3M DIY Pinterest
3M DIY Facebook
3M DIY Twitter

I am proud to be a 3M- sponsored blogger, and, as part of my responsibilities, I get the opportunity to evaluate products from 3M DIY. Opinions are my own and additional product used in the project were selected by me.

The post 7 Necessary Products for Restoring a Trailer (or Any Space for that Matter!) appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Dudes! We are overhauling a 1972 Bell Travel Trailer! Follow the entire series from the beginning here!

Dun dun dun dun dun dun duuuuuuuun! I feel like these cabinets have been the biggest saga of my whole life. So many failed attempts, so much frustration,  but we finally came up with something that I LOVE. Taking a step back for a bit gave me a chance to see with a clear mind what I loved and didn’t love about what was going on. I came to this conclusion, I loved the handles. I loved the white. I loved the exposed hinges. I didn’t love all of the other things.

So armed with the knowledge of love, the situation then became, finding a way to make the teeny handles a bigger part of the design. So that they didn’t look like an undersized afterthought like they did before.

Undersized afterthought just isn’t a good look. Not for outfit choices, and not for cabinets.

That is a fun visual.

My first few new ideas were to put something behind the knobs to make them seem bigger. Guess what? I was hating all of those things, and I couldn’t put my thumb on the reason. Then I had a come to Jesus with myself (and I wish I could have had it with the company that made the trailer.)

Literally every single door was a different size  (even the ones that were supposed to be the same!)  It was just adding unnecessary activity to the already small space. (Also, just to clarify because there were some questions on the old cabinet post, we hadn’t installed the tension locks on the doors so they weren’t shut completely tight, that is why they look so wonkfest.)

The solution was apparent. We had to make new doors.

Son of a #$(*.

Insert wailing and gnashing of teeth. Followed by standing up, brushing off my paint covered sweats, drying my eyes and telling myself to shut up and get back to work.

This is what square one looks like.

Before we could build, we needed to make some important adjustments so that we could remake doors that had the same measurements. The center board needed to be wider so that the doors on the left could be made smaller and not have a giant gap. We glued/nailed a new piece of wood in and widened the entire thing, instead of taking out the existing piece and moving it over (it was supporting the front of the countertop and honestly, who wants to find out what happens when that comes out? NOT ME.)

Then there was the ceremonial ritual of putty, sanding, more putty, more sanding and paint.

The doors themselves are made out of MDF because I wanted them completely texture free. We cut them down to size on the table saw and glory, they were SO much better.

So now that we were starting with an evenly spaced blank canvas, we can go back to the door design.

At this point I had given up on the idea of putting something behind the knob, I just wanted it to be part of the door.

I got this idea of using 1/2 round moulding to follow the outline of the door + knob and it just would not leave. I wasn’t 100% sure of it, and Court thought it was a horrible idea (his suggestion was to leave them plain and get new pulls) but I had to try it. Home Depot doesn’t sell 1/2 Round in store, but they do sell it online and I was super shocked at how inexpensive it was! So I ordered it and mocked one up. (Don’t mind the fridge door. It has a mind of it’s own.)

I didn’t hate it. Court didn’t love it. But I thought that it had some serious potential. So I decided to just go with it, and if we had to flip the doors around and use the other side for cabinet door build out #193094 then so be it. (Jumping a little ahead of myself but notice the piece that the top doors are resting on,  we used this to evenly space every gap. It is a lot easier to fill a few nail holes after the doors are installed than to get a divorce because YOU MOVED AGAIN!?! …

Because this design was full of freaky angles, a protractor was an absolute necessity. I started by figuring out the angles that I needed by measuring the diamond shaped back plate. Once I knew what angle I needed, I then divided it in 1/2 (because 2 pieces meet to make up the angle). Then (this is super important) remember that on a miter saw 90 degrees is 0, so you have to subtract the angle that you need from 90, and then set your blade there. For example, the center angle that goes around the pull is 125 degrees. Divide that by 2 and you get 62.5. 90-62.5 is 27.5, so you set your blade at 27.5.

I used a guide to mark 1 1/2” all the way around the door. Then I traced the diamond shaped back plate and marked 1 1/2” on the inside of that for our notch. This made it so that I could measure and line up each of the pieces of trim.

After they were glued on, we puttied, sanded, primed, and painted them. A screw driver worked best for getting the putty out of the hard to reach corners.

And while this was one of the most technical projects that I have done (it had to be PERFECT or else it would stand out like a sore thumb) I have to say that I am pretty proud of how great they turned out.

The one hiccup that I had was, when I designed the idea, I was using the lower cabinets as my template. I loved that there was a short piece on the outside before it notched in, and that was how I was anticipating all of the doors looking. When I started working on the cabinets that were shorter I found out that to keep the angles (and the 1 1/2” cushion around everything) that those small pieces just couldn’t exist. (It has to do with how teeny they would have to be and the fact that we were using 1/2 round).

One other small update was taking the tarnish off of the brass pulls. I am a huge fan of mixing metals but mixing this finish with the brighter brass on the lawyer shelves, just made them look like such an addition. And not in a good way. I used Brasso and an old washcloth to remove the tarnish and it worked like magic!

All in all I am THRILLED with how everything is coming together over there. The new backsplash looks awesome, and the cabinets are full of the vintage-y charm that I was going for from the get go.

And Court? He loves them. In fact every time we talk about them he says and I quote “Those are the most legit thing you have ever made”. Which makes me happy and gives me a complex all at the same time.

The post The Nugget: Building Cabinets (again!) appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Dudes! We are overhauling a 1972 Bell Travel Trailer! Follow the entire series from the beginning here!

When we bought our little vintage trailer, we were lucky enough to have not one, but two glorious faucets. The original faucet was a hand pump that had stopped working and had been connected to a small electrical pump that pumped the water from the small water tank that lives under the sink. The other faucet was connected to a copper pipe that ran to the outside water hook up. I am pretty sure that changing out the faucets was the first thing I touched on when we were talking about fixing up the Nugs.

My original thought was to just have one faucet (the sink is SO teensy) that connected to the water tank and not have one for the outside water hook up. There was just no way that I was going to put 2 faucets back in.

In the middle of the night I woke up to (what is most likely) a very obvious solution, that I just didn’t see. A faucet with 2 handles can utilize BOTH water pipes. But instead of being hot + cold, it would be outside + inside. So the hunt for a great faucet began. I had one requirement. Brass.

Have you ever shopped for a small brass faucet that isn’t hundreds and hundreds of dollars? It kind of doesn’t exist. After looking for a few days, I narrowed down my search to a bridge faucet which unfortunately increased the price. Whyyyyyyy?!!

There was no way that I was going to spend more on this faucet than I spend buying the entire trailer. That just doesn’t seem like the smartest move.

So I did what I do in every situation where I want something that just doesn’t seem to exist. I went to Home Depot.

There I found a few things,  a laundry faucet that had a brass neck, and John, the master plumber that worked there. I explained to him that I wanted to build a faucet and he was AMAZING and spent the next little bit coming up with solutions for the problem.

So here is the ingredient list.

(1) Laundry Faucet
(1) Soldering Kit
(1) Roll of Thread Seal Tape aka Teflon Tape

(2)  1/2” 90 degree elbows
(2) 1/2” stop valve
(2) Washer Caps
(2) 1/2” brass pipe hex nipple
(2) 1/2”x1-1/2” brass pipe nipple
(2) handles
(2) 1/2” T’s
Not Pictured (1) 1/2” copper male adaptor

(2) 1/2”x3” Chrome Brass Pipe Nipple **Have the employee at Home Depot thread these pieces as pictured above, that way, whatever the thickness of your countertop, you will be able to tighten the faucet down.

Assembly is really simple.

Start by replacing the handles on your Stop Valves. I used a little bit of 5 minute epoxy to make sure they stayed on really well.

Each of the nipples need to be wrapped with teflon tape before attaching them to their components.

The Hex nipple will attach to the bottom of the elbow.

Then the Stop Valve attaches to the other end of the Hex Nipple.

The brass nipple goes into the other side of the elbow.

Then the T is attached to that.

Lastly, the 3” pipe nipple that you had threaded attaches to the bottom of your Stop Valve.

Repeat for the other side.

Your copper male adaptor will attach to the top side of the T, and the brass faucet arm should fit fairly snuggly on that!

Next is soldering. Now. I know how you soldering virgins are feeling. I too was a soldering virgin. But it is not hard to do at all. And the best part is that you can start over as many times as you need to (you guys know how much I love that.)

Before you solder, start by scrubbing the inside and outsides of the pieces that you are joining together.

Brush on the flux (this is the magic ingredient that sucks the solder into the pipe)

Heat your pipe up so that it is nice and hot (all of the instructions for soldering are on the package of the kit, and I am sure there are hundreds of awesome videos that explain this much better than I do.)

Then it’s time for the actual solder. I don’t have a picture of this because molten metal, but it was really cool to see it disappear into the joint.

Obviously you will want to let it cool off before you get all manhandly.

Before you install, put the washer caps over the holes in your countertop. Because plumbing is different for every situation, take pictures of the underside of your sink, and head to your local HD. The plumbing expert will be able to help you get exactly what you need to connect your pipes.

The picture below is of what ours looks like. PVC nuts that tighten the faucet to the sink, and adaptors that screw onto the nipples and have a place to push into the new pipe. Home Depot has every kind and size of connector that you will need.

I cant wait to report back on how it works once we get the battery hooked up, the tank filled and the whole thing going!! But until then, lets just look at how pretty it is, shall we?

And if you are wondering if this would be good in a house, I am going to give you a resounding…I don’t know yet. The stop valves (where the handles are attached) are a type of gate valve, which basically means that it is a moving gate that blocks the water (or lets it in). Its not going to be as simple as lifting a single handle, but I think it would be gorgeous AND amazing. I will keep you posted!

The post DIY Brass Bridge Faucet appeared first on Vintage Revivals.