Kevo Smart Lock & Door Handle Installation — Kwikset to the rescue!

School is in. I am back… let the games begin!  Post sponsored by Kwikset. The opinions and observations are my own.

Photo courtesy of Kwikset

Picture this, a little over a year ago my family returned to our new home from vacation in the middle of the night with our tired, hungry littles only to discover that the keys our realtor gave us didn’t work! Not then, not even now. Fast forward to today and we haven’t had keys for over a year! It’s crazy to think that we’ve literally been opening our doors with my library card. No keys to the house = massive mom fail. Aside from being completely unsafe the handles we had were sub-par at best. Time for a change.

Cue Kwikset please. Two exit doors needed a complete overhaul, the front door and the door to the garage (I’ll post on that tomorrow). Not only does Kwikset have traditional, beautiful front door handles, they also have top of the line smart locks that will blow your mind, like their Kevo smart lock. The smart technology in Kevo is so cool and the smart lock can be linked to your smart phones, and Nest Learning Thermostat. It comes with Bluetooth-enabled key fobs for littles that don’t yet have smart phones, you can send a guest eKey to friends & family and it even comes traditional keys if you want to kick it old school.

DOOR INTERVENTION #1

Sometimes I get all wrapped up in life and miss out of some of the great technology that is developing all around me. I’m so glad I’m not missing this. Kevo is so worth it. Kwikset is even releasing a second-generation smart lock this month that they say is even better than the first – how is that possible?! But as fantastic as it is, check out this gorgeous new handle set:

I installed the modern “Tavaris” handle in combination with the Kevo for a deadbolt on top. Installing door handles is one of the simplest home improvements around. As simple as it is sometimes lining up the bolts is not always easy with paper templates and since you don’t want to drill more than one hole in your door, try this trick I invented. After you mark where you plan to drill, put in a small nail and hold up your door handle. See if the hole lines up with the nail and make sure the handle is level. If it all lines up, remove the nail, line up your drill and drill away!

Thieves are probably bummed out that for a year they missed scoring some sweet lego sets, school projects and massive family portraits from my house. These Kwikset locks have patented SmartKey security features, which means the locks are bump proof, pick-resistant, even library card proof if you can imagine! Also, and you can rekey the door lock anytime if one of the littles loses a key or you want to reset your security. So, no more hiding keys or getting locked out with Kevo. And, most gratefully, no more wondering if the house is vulnerable. It’s pretty sweet.

Welcome home to us!

(wreath and mat from Target)