Iowa Winter Landscape

The amount of snow we have had this year in Iowa is just nuts, but there is a slight silver lining with this new white landscape: gorgeous photos! Whether it’s wildlife, barns, old homes, or farm fields, Iowa photographers on social media are really taking advantage of this snow.

Each Sunday, I try to highlight one photo on my Instagram page, and I am rounding up a few of my favorites over the last few months and sharing them here with you today.

An old barn, by Iowa photographer Doug Craigmile

These pheasants were captured by Iowa photographer Judene Gardner

Captured by Iowa photographer Deb O’Brien

An old barn, by me!

That last photo is a barn that is at a property we are currently renovating, in Parnell, Iowa. It was built in 1863, and has withstood the harsh weather ever since (it was -20 windchill when I took this photo the other day).

I might be biased, but the beauty of the white winter months (almost) make it worth living through the ice and snow…although I wouldn’t complain about a trip to the beach right about now! ha!

Stay warm and safe, we’ll chat soon!

Rachael

Iowa Winter Fun & Life in 2021

Hello 2021!

Iowa started off the new year with nearly a foot of snow. Exciting for those who like to play in the snow, but also challenging for those who remove the snow. Our household experienced both sides of this dilemma.

I am grateful we took some time to slow down and recharge over the holidays, we certainly needed that. If I could just have one week every quarter to sit at the beach and refill my cup, I think I could go on at this intense pace of life indefinitely! Not too much to ask, right? Ha!

In all seriousness, we are using the beginning of this year to organize our business to the highest level. I am a big advocate for efficiency, and gathering receipts for taxes has shown this is an area that is lacking (does anyone else have a large plastic tub full of paper to sort through?).

We have a couple large projects that will begin once the ground is un-frozen, until then its clean and purge time at home. Each year I feel the need to really minimalize my house around January/February. Maybe it stems from trying to get every last piece of glitter left over from Christmas, or just that I’m over the clutter of the holidays. Either way, it’s time for it to all leave my house and as a bonus I am reminded of what my kitchen counters look like. I consider it my yearly surprise. Here are a few photos!

Also, we will be selling our house soon to move to the farm, so I guess the clean and purge is currently serving two purposes! We don’t quite have our house plans finalized yet at the farm, and thus no start date, but there is not much that can be done right now in the frozen tundra of Iowa in January.

Speaking of that, it is supposed to snow again tonight so I had better tidy up some things outside. I hope this post finds you safe and healthy!

Talk soon!
-Rachael

Happy Holidays From Our Crew To Yours

It seems like just last week it was Thanksgiving, but here we are just a few days out from Christmas. I’m not sure what happened to December, but I am ok with this year coming to a close.

The magic of Christmas is so exciting to watch through a child’s eyes, and it has been a really fun time for our 3 year old, Phoenix. When the weight of this year and all that has changed becomes distracting, I try to focus on her excitement and joy surrounding this season to keep me grounded.

We have SO much to be thankful for, and I can’t wait to see what next year brings for us! I hope you can take time to enjoy the holiday, and refresh/recharge.

-Rachael, Adam, and Phoenix

Our First Renovation Video

Today I have something a little different!

I put together a video of our renovation project we did over the last year, that we titled ‘The Farmhouse Project’. It’s a pretty short video, but I think it captures the behind-the-scenes pretty well.

This is the first time I have ever tackled something like this, so it’s no professional production, but hey, we have to start somewhere! Just click on the photo below (or here) and it should take you to the video.

I hope you enjoy it!!

-Rachael

Fixer Upper Homes - Risk vs Reward

A while back, I was asked about my favorite type of project, and homes that need renovations really speak to my heart. Whether it’s a cosmetic update or a structural overhaul, these homes have so much potential as they wait for their next chapter.

Every home tells a story, and every owner adds to that story. Quite often I will find myself in one of these older properties thinking about all of the people who came through that tired front door before me. Or the number of children that sat on the front porch over the last 100 years. The celebrations that took place in the family rooms at the holidays, or the heartache experienced when loved ones were no longer present for those gatherings.

Fixer upper projects aren’t for everyone, but in my experience they present some one-of-a-kind experiences that are second to none. I have put together some pros and cons for these types of homes, in case you are thinking of taking one on yourself.

Let’s start off with the positives…

1. Blank Canvas: This is your chance to be the designer your Pinterest account knows you can be!  From paint colors to bathtubs, you get to put your own stamp on all of it!

2. New Chapter:  With a few of your updates, these homes can be ready for their next 100 years.  Your expertise and design choices could be enjoyed by future generations.  

3. Smaller Price Tag: Homes that require renovations are often offered at steep discounts, even if they are in a desirable neighborhood.  The cost of updating is not something the current owner wants to take on, so if you are not afraid of a little elbow grease you could catch a bargain. 

4. Sizeable Profit Potential: Right in line with #3, a fixer upper home (properly updated) can present a sizable profit, and can be the perfect opportunity for budding developers. 

5. Uncovering Hidden Gems:  From original features to period architecture, the possibilities are endless.  Who knows what’s waiting in those walls to be restored (did you know there are entire social media groups dedicated to ‘things found in walls’ ?)

And a few challenges…

1. Research, Research, and more Research:  Finding the right property, that doesn’t require ‘too much’ work, can be time consuming for a buyer.  Getting in touch with a real estate expert that knows how to evaluate this type of home is going to make the process much easier.  If you need assistance in eastern Iowa, or need help finding someone in your area, you can contact me here.  

2. Thorough Planning:  Organization is key, especially if you will be tackling renovations yourself.  Watching sales and rebates, tracking receipts and shipments, as well as applying for permits and interviewing contractors can all seem overwhelming.  But with a solid plan in place up front, much of this headache can be avoided altogether.  

3. Creative Solutions Needed:  Sometimes unique problems arise that can require some creative thinking and/or solutions.  Remember, not all older homes are constructed the same, as building codes and inspections likely weren’t in place at time of original construction. A contractor with experience with these types of homes can be your best asset for troubleshooting solutions.

So, are you ready to tackle a rundown property and make it your dream estate?

Maybe you are a planner, like me, and want to see it all mapped out before taking the plunge? I’ve been there.

Or, maybe you already own a property that needs renovations, but don’t know where to start? I’ve been there too.

Over at APS Homes, I have a free download that identifies the most common red flags that your fixer upper could require costly repairs, called…

10 Warning Signs You Might Be Looking At a Money Pit’

• No tools or special skills needed

• Print and take with you to the inspection!

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At the end of each year, it always seems like we are in a race to finish projects before winter officially sets in, and this year is no different. With a nationwide shortage on materials, we are having to shuffle projects to tackles the ones that have in stock items and etc. It’s full on chaos over on google calendar, but we just have to power through!

Plus, I am distracting myself with Christmas decorating, anything goes in 2020!

I hope this post finds you all safe and healthy!

-Rachael

The Joys of Investment Properties - 2020 Edition

Slight sarcasm in the title, if you couldn’t tell.

In all seriousness, investment properties are really not that much of a hassle, but we only have a select few as we manage all of them ourselves. Ordinarily, these properties don’t require any more or less maintenance than a personal home.

But, as we all know 2020 is not an ordinary year.

Last month there was a car accident that happened at an apartment building that we own in a neighboring town, and a car ended up crashing into the building. No one was hurt in the car or inside the apartment, which was obviously the first priority. There was, however, significant damage to the interior of the building.

Structural people immediately checked the building, and it was determined to not be a hazard (tenants could remain in the residence).

The interior damage was to the kitchen of the affected apartment, and as you can see below it was a total loss.

So after some cleanup, the exterior wall and window were replaced and sealed up.

The remainder of the project consisted of replacing appliances, flooring, drywall, paint, cabinets and countertops. It was definitely an unplanned event that required quite a bit of shuffling schedules and etc, but luckily we are (fairly) organized and could make the necessary changes. It was definitely a learning experience, but things happen!

I will leave you with some photos of the new kitchen, which definitely brings a fresh look to the apartment. I hope we can all make it off this rollercoaster ride known as 2020, but until then we just have to press on.

Bonus: no more microwave on the counter!

Cheers to new kitchens!

-Rachael

Celebrating 2 Years!

Whoa! Just typing that title is exciting.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole two years since I started this little corner of the internet, with a whopping team of 1 (myself). Even today, it’s just me, but I might have to hire out some of the tedious work soon. There’s only so many hours in a day!

A lot has happened over here at APS in the last year, probably the most exciting is our farm/land purchase (which is official on Tuesday). We looked for YEARS in order to find something that was perfect, and we finally found it. I am a firm believer that everything works out how it was supposed to, and this is the property we were supposed to end up with. Now if building prices could come down, we could build something on it. Minor details!

We also spent 9 months renovating a c.1900 home which we labeled ‘The Farmhouse Project’, which was overall a really neat experience. If you somehow missed that journey, I will link it here.

Somewhere along the way I obtained my real estate license and started APS Homes LLC which simultaneously feels like yesterday as well as last year. I’m chalking it up to this year being really odd.

And just last week I had a national real estate blog reach out to me about sharing my fall porch design post, as well some tips for DIY decorators.

You can check out their post here.

Overall, I would say it was a pretty productive year. Obviously not everything happened that we had planned for, and some things came about that we didn’t plan for but that’s all part of it. It’s both exciting and stressful to think that there are only a couple months left in 2020, exciting to think we are almost done and stressful to think that maybe this is our new normal and we have to just adapt and conquer. Either way, I have some really epic goals for next year.

Thanks for stopping by our little corner of the internet, posting here is one of my favorite hobbies. Until next time…

-Rachael

My Budget Friendly Fall Front Porch

Since it’s now October, I thought it was time to take down the Spring décor from the front porch. Somewhere in there I completely skipped over Summer, which is not like me, but hey it’s the year of ‘anything goes’!

I made it to the storage unit and hauled all the Fall bins home, and found quite a few items I had previously forgotten about (my favorite part about decorating for a new season). It’s still randomly hot here in Iowa, so I am holding off on any real pumpkins as my porch faces the west and they just bake in the afternoon sun.

Y’all know I am all about budget friendly decorating, and especially free! I have some decorative grass in the front of my house that we cut down each year about this time, and I saved some of it for my front porch.

I have a large milk can that I stuffed full of the cut down grass, and as it dries out it will look really nice and fall-ish (and even better since its free). In fact, the only portion of this porch project that cost any money, are the fresh mums I picked up from the nearby grocery store. They were only $6 each, so I feel pretty confident that I won’t be devastated if they don’t last too long, due to my inability to keep plants alive. Here’s a closeup of these huge (and cheap) mums!

Everything else was from my stash of things I already had, I mean I collect super inexpensive vintage things all year round for these precise moments! Here is how it turned out!

I hope you enjoyed my budget friendly front porch project! As always, thanks for stopping by the blog, we really appreciate all of the support!

See you soon!

-Rachael

Turning Ideas Into Reality - Introducing APS Homes LLC

It all starts with an idea…

For me, it was the idea that something was missing from our current businesses, APS Construction and Design.

As you are most likely aware, my husband Adam and I have spent the better part of the last decade building and remodeling/rehabbing homes in our community. We really enjoy what we do, and the people we meet along the way, but during our latest major rehab/remodel (the farmhouse project) I realized something was missing.

We execute every part of our projects, and take pride doing so. And I mean every part. From permits, to landfill runs to lumberyard trips and everything in between. We track down every faucet, paint color, cabinet and door handle, while watching every sale and store special to get our clients the best product at the best price. Should we hire some of the tasks out, like moving equipment trailers in the middle of the night? Absolutely. But for now we just don’t, and maybe that will change in the future.

The missing link was buying and selling properties, as we always had to hire someone to handle that.

And that was the beginning of APS Homes LLC. Amidst all the chaos of 2020, I also became a real estate licensee for the state of Iowa.

Now we can truly handle every aspect of our projects, and give our clients the seamless experience they deserve. So heres to adding ‘real estate’ to our list of services, and stay tuned for even more fun things to wrap up 2020.

Cheers to new things!

-Rachael

PS. You can find me at www.apshomesiowa.com or @apshomesiowa on Instagram

The Farmhouse Project - The Final Chapter

Hello there friends! I am writing to you from a nice 80 degree day here in Iowa, which is actually pretty nice considering it was 100 degrees all last week. I am not sure what is up with Iowa lately, but I guess 2020 has taught us to be ready for literally anything.

We just wrapped up a 9+ month renovation, the farmhouse project, and we are really excited how it turned out. We have a lot of new visitors here, so I will give a super quick recap.

Last October, we bought a tired but sturdy c.1900 home in the heart of our community. When I say tired, I mean it showed it’s age and was missing some modern amenities. Since then we tore off a section of the home, rebuilt it with added square footage, put in all new windows/doors/siding/sheeting/roof/hvac/electrical and added central air and a large deck. It took a little longer than planned, due to 2020’s challenges (complete with a ‘derecho’), but in the end it was all worth it.

Let’s get right to the photos (roughly in chronological order)

Photo from the listing when we bought it

Tore the back section off that needed new trusses

New Foundation!

Putting a large Addition Back On

Tearing off the siding and sheeting from the original section of the home

All put back together, complete with new windows

A very cold day! (view from front porch)

The kitchen ceiling no longer droops!

Vertical siding for the win!

As you can tell, we replaced almost everything at this home. Here are a couple fun before and after shots, I tried to take the ‘afters’ at the same angles for easier reference.

Let’s start with the kitchen…

Sink and stove in same position

There’s really nothing the same about this kitchen other than a few of the appliances, everything else is new. We kept the kitchen the same size and roughly the same layout, but this new space is much brighter with an added window and lots of lighting!

Here’s another before and after set…the upstairs bedrooms!

Bedroom 1 before…

Bedroom 1 after

Bedroom 1, second angle

Bedroom 1, second angle

Bedroom 2 Before

Bedroom 2 After

These bedrooms both received new windows, flooring, paint, doors, trim, electrical, and some drywall. The photos from the first bedroom show the new set of stairs and new railing as well. New stairs were essential, as the previous stairs were no where near the correct size, but there weren’t building codes 120 year ago!

The living room was part of the original structure that was kept intact during demolition, and we really wanted to keep as much of the home's character as possible. We tore off multiple layers of ceiling, added all new drywall, windows, electrical wiring and fixtures. We also took up the flooring and sanded down decades of carpet glue and stain. These next photos show the transformation of the living room, which is one of my favorite parts of the home.

We kept the same door in the same place, for reference.

Next up is the main bathroom, which was also serving as the laundry room. We moved the laundry into the (newly added) master closet, and this room got to return to single function status after it was torn down and rebuilt, of course.

Last but not least, the exterior. You might notice no window air conditioners in the after photos….that’s because this home finally has central air. I’m not sure how previous owners managed the sweltering Iowa summers for 120 years with no air!

Front view

Back View

New Back view, with deck! (and central air!)

It was a long 9 months, but it was all worth it in the end. Throughout the renovation process, we had neighbors stop by almost every single day and express how happy they were to see this older home in the heart of their community get the help it needed to see its next 120 years. We even had a person stop by that used to live in the home in the early 2000s, she was amazed at how far it had come since then.

These encounters with the community members were so heartwarming, and often the motivation we needed to get through another 16 hour or 100 degree day (or both!).

Last week it was time to see this house off to its new owners, and while it was almost sad to pass the keys along, it was also very rewarding. It’s in good hands.

Our ‘inspector’ even gave her final seal of approval!

What’s next for us?

Well as you can imagine this project took up most of our free time, but now that it’s completed we have a few other small things in the works, along with some storm damage repairs from our most recent natural disaster. In October we officially will own our acreage, which will bring on another list of projects. It’s going to be a down-to-the-wire finish for us to complete everything before winter but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Stay safe out there and we will chat soon!

-Rachael