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

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

Farmhouse Renovation: Month 6 Update

It’s a new month, and that brings a new farmhouse update!

This will be the last update before the finished project reveal, which will be sometime in June. Originally we had planned on this project only taking 6 months, but as we know a pandemic had other plans. We have tried to remain as flexible as possible and just log some extra hours when we can (between essential jobs).

My favorite part of this month’s update is the vertical siding on the front of the home, which is something we have never done prior to this project. The cost of this type of siding is significantly greater than traditional horizontal siding, and I am not sure why other than increased demand due to current trends. Anyway, it looks great! Here’s a close up…

Another addition to the front porch is the tin ceiling, which will naturally rust over time and look older/more original. We also are in the process of installing a deck over the existing porch cement slab, which will level it up and overall just look nicer. Here are a couple photos of the front exterior.

Note: Final door and frame are not installed yet!

Another exciting install this month was central air conditioning, which was never previously installed in the home. I’m not sure how anyone survived for the last 120 years of sweltering Iowa summers without central air, but we have officially solved that problem!

A/C for the win!

Equally exciting is the addition of attic access and blow in insulation. Iowa is an extreme weather state (extremely hot and extremley cold) so proper insulation is key to managable utility costs. Anyone else get excited about insulation? Just me? Ok…

Attic access in the hallway!

That’s all the photos I can share for now, as I need to save some for the final reveal. I’m really looking forward to these next few weeks of finishing touches, and I will probably have a few sneak peek’s over on Instagram.

I hope wherever you are reading this that you are able to stay safe and healthy during this unprecidented time. I am looking forward to finishing this project, for the simple fact of having one less iron in the fire during all of this uncertainty. As always, thank you for stopping by the blog today, it really does mean a lot!

Unitl next time,

Rachael

The Kitchen Reveal You Don't Want To Miss!

Sometimes there are home improvement projects that linger, for years. This would be one of those projects. Our kitchen was 95% finished for the last two years, all but for some 6 or 8 back splash tiles and decor. Well, since this winter is approximately 15 months long, we had time to finally get a few things done around here and this project was one of them!

A little background info:

the home we currently live in was designed on a piece of notebook paper by my husband. We eventually had to have an architect develop the house plans off of our drawing (because let’s face it, we know nothing about truss systems for roof structures) but the floor plan stayed the same. Now we had previously built additions to homes, and remodeled existing structures, but building the entire home from scratch was a new endeavor. Oh, and did I mention we had never designed a kitchen… (yikes!).

So off we went with our notebook paper drawing to meet a local cabinet maker and have him help us come up with something. He told us what worked logistically for wiring and plumbing, and showed us some basic layouts he had in production. I knew I wanted something different and unique and by the time we left our first meeting I am pretty certain he thought I was nuts.

Fast forward to that next summer, and we were laying tile and painting the walls in preparation for the cabinet maker to bring and assemble the cabinets. I don’t have many pictures from this point in time (maybe because we were literally building our home during the night and working during the day), but this photo below shows you the basic outline of our cabinet system (excuse the contractor lighting and pizza box).

The next step was to add counter tops and appliances, which then made this kitchen functional. We were on a time crunch, so finishing touches and decorating took the back burner. We just needed our kitchen to pass the final building inspection and we could worry about the rest later.

Originally, I was interested in concrete counter tops but my husband talked me out of it. We cook A LOT at our house, and he was afraid that we needed a stronger material that could take a beating without showing any signs of wear. I am happy to report that after three years of constant use, these quartz counter tops have held up perfectly and have zero imperfections.

We did add a stainless steel back splash behind the stove area pretty early on, and then gradually finished the rest of that wall with subway tile, as you can see pictured below.

One of the first comments people usually make when they see our kitchen for the first time is that our cabinets look ‘beat up’. Well, I think this is where our custom cabinet maker thought I was nuts, but I wasn’t going to budge on the distressed look. The material is knotty alder, and we chose all of the wood that had the greatest amount of natural knots and ‘imperfections’. Then, combined with black glaze and iron knobs and pulls, this kitchen has the appearance that the cabinets are older or re-purposed, when in fact they are brand new. I know this is a unique look, and it’s not for everyone, but it really came together in the end and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

Ok, fast forward a couple of years to present time, and the last of the subway tile was installed over the kitchen sink. During the notebook paper design phase, I had pictured a window for this space but it was not feasible since the garage was on the other side of the wall. I still decided to put a window in this space, but just had to be a bit more creative.

I found an old farmhouse window at a salvage barn for $5, and I immediately knew it would work for this space. All of the glass was removed, which was perfect since it would make cleaning a breeze. This window frame is very light, and thus I was able to install it easily with command strips. Plus, I didn’t really want to drill into the fresh tile! (yikes!) And while I love our sink, I would have preferred a copper farm sink but that just wasn’t in the budget for this house (maybe next time!).

Here are a couple more photos/angles of our kitchen:

Well I could go on and on about this kitchen, it really is the focal part of our home and I am so excited that it is finished. This was a huge lingering project that I can finally cross off of our list, all thanks to our epic long winter this year. If you have any other questions about the materials or process, feel free to leave a comment here or catch me on Instagram. As always, thanks for stopping by the blog today! We really appreciate your support!

DIY Candlesticks

Hello! I hope January is treating you well, wherever you are located. Iowa is gearing up for a major winter storm, and while the snow is pretty, it generates some long days and nights of snow removal. If you find yourself snowed in, I have a super easy winter craft to share with you today, and if you are fortunate enough to have great weather then pin this post for a rainy day!

Candlesticks are new to my personal decor, although I have seen people use them for years and always admired their versatility. I had planned on purchasing some the next time I saw a good deal (I never pay full price for anything) but recently I went to a thrift store and saw they had old staircase spindles for $2 a piece, so I picked up a few and decided to try making my own. I think they turned out really well, and I wanted to share how I made them since it was SO easy! Let’s get to it!

Here are the staircase spindles straight from the thrift store, very budget friendly at $2 a piece!

The first step is to wipe them down of any dust or grease, I used a bleach wipe but you could use anything you have on hand.

Next, I used some white chalk paint that I had on hand to paint the spindles, using two coats. Make sure to take a brush and wipe out any excess paint within the details/grooves in the woodwork.

Then, grab a piece of sandpaper and sand down/distress to your taste.

Clean off the spindles using a lint free cloth, and apply a VERY thin layer of wax to seal, wipe off excess with another lint free cloth.

After these dry completely, preferably overnight, cut them to desired sizes. I was able to get 5 different sized candlesticks out of these three spindles.

Now for the fun part! Decorate!

I had fun styling these candlesticks with greenery and even put them in a birdcage that I had on hand. Next fall I plan to use them to hold pumpkins, and maybe even ornaments next Christmas. These are such a versatile piece of decor, I can’t believe I didn’t have any until now, but better late than never!.

Hello January!

Hello! We made it through the holiday season at my house, and I don’t know about you but I’m ready for all of the clutter to be packed up. I still have some simple flocked trees that I am decorating with, but all of the holiday decor is back in storage. Christmas is my favorite time of year, but by the end of the season I always feel overwhelmed with glitter, gift wrap, and general disorder.

With all of that in mind, I thought I would share my simple table design for the remainder of winter. Iowa has had some chilly temperatures but no real snow since November, so everything outdoors is gloomy and brown.

My initial thoughts when I was digging through my decor and putting this together was that I needed something simple and with a hint of color. As you can see, I chose mostly neutral colors and added a pop of greenery to remind us that spring will be here (hopefully) soon.

I have several of these book sets all over my house, each telling a different ‘story’. I am working on setting up a web page where these can be ordered but for now if you would like a set just contact me. I put this tray together and then set it on top of a simple beige and green table runner that I had in my spring decor collection. I was in the mood for simple, and kept it at that.

I hope you are all staying warm this January, wherever you are located! As always, you can catch us on Instagram or Pinterest for daily decorating ideas and I will be back soon with some fun DIY projects to keep you busy during these long winter months! Cheers!

Bring it, 2019!

I have never been a person who makes resolutions for the new year, but recently I have caught on to the idea of having a ‘word’ for a focal point behind fresh ideas and goals.

This year, i’m going with the word ‘visibility’.

For those of you who may be new to our community, 2018 was a big year for APS as we branched out into the tech world and constructed this fancy website that you are currently viewing. While APS Construction and APS Design are not new businesses, the idea of documenting and publishing content to a website was (and still is) very new to us.

The suggestion to create a website came up about a year ago, and to be honest I tried to ignore it for as long as I could, as the thought of taking the time to learn the behind-the-scenes technical details seemed daunting. But the need for a way to organize and showcase our work to better serve our clients was not going to go away, so in August I tackled this project head on. And while this website is still a work in progress and receives almost daily updates and tweaks, it certainly is nice to be able to send a client here to view past projects instead of trying to scroll through thousands of photos on a phone.

We have some big plans in store for the coming year, and increasing our visibility will be in the background of all of them. Soon you will be able to find APS Design’s ‘blog’ portion on Apple News, I will share the official link for anyone interested when everything is done being approved by Apple.

I can also share that I am in the final stages of developing a ‘commerce’ portion of this site, where customers can easily purchase the personalized book sets that you might have seen on our Instagram or Pinterest accounts. This should hopefully streamline the process and make things easier on both ends, but first I have to get through the legal side of things and draft ‘terms of service’ and register to collect state sales tax and all of that fun stuff.

As other activities become more finalized I will be sharing them, and as always I will be posting our current client and DIY projects to give you some inspiration for your own farmhouse. We don’t know all that 2019 has in store for us, but we are ready to work hard and see where this journey takes us.

The Friendship Fireplace Project!

Hey all, one week until Christmas Eve! Are you ready? (It’s OK, I’m not either!) I’m not too stressed about it either, there’s plenty of time left for that! All of that aside, I am excited to share with you a client project we recently finished up called ‘The Friendship Fireplace’. The street address for this home contains the word ‘Friendship’, thus that is how the project name was developed. We do a number of fireplace/mantel projects and have to keep them straight with unique titles!

The fireplace is often the focal point of the living room as well as the backdrop for family photos, and this homeowner wanted a total remodel of this space to bring it out of the 1970’s. To do that, we first had to start with a clean slate!

Aside from the fireplace itself, there was not any part of the original design that was worth keeping…it all had to go.

And as you can see we made a huge mess, but it was worth it!

Progress photos after some new framing, insulation, and cement wall board.

We needed to redefine this space, and the easiest way to accomplish that was to add a new texture or wall surface. The homeowner chose rough sawn weathered shiplap, which is pictured below. It’s a gorgeous light grey, and really makes this space ‘pop’!

These barn beam mantels are always my personal favorite. Every single one is unique, bringing a different century-old story into each home. This one was mounted with simple gas pipe wall plates and fittings.

And here’s a full length view, complete with fresh tile at the base of the new wall. This family will have a fresh new space to take all of their family photos and the mantel will surely be a talking point with guests for years to come!

We really appreciate the homeowner choosing our business to complete her fireplace remodel!

The fireplace insert remains in original condition, as the homeowner has plans to resurface that herself

And some bonus mantel pictures, because I can’t help myself!

The 'Great Outdoors' Project

Winter has arrived in full force here in the Midwest, and that means all outdoor projects have to be wrapped up. If Iowa wasn’t such an extreme weather state maybe we could work outside into December, but once the air hoses and tools start to freeze/not function properly, we call it quits for the (outdoor) season.

We did get to finish up one last project for the year, one which completes a series of outdoor renovations at a particular client’s home. This home is situated next to a golf course and has stunning views of the surrounding landscape, however the grading of the back yard and limited outdoor space made enjoying this little slice of heaven challenging.

The projects at this location included a new and expanded deck, new retaining wall and extensive dirt work/grading, as well as a complete overhaul of an existing screened in area to make it weather proof and fully functional addition to their home. All of these renovations were completed by adam and aps construction.

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The Raised Deck

Original Deck Photos

As you can see, this deck was functional but small, and showed wear from the elements over the years. In the last picture, you can see the screened in area in its ‘before’ state as well.

New deck photos

This project was completed with cedar boards and aluminum spindles, check out that view!

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Retaining Wall and Yard Grading

This part of the project was very important, as it produced level yard space that could then be used for additional structures, fire pit, you name it! Here are a few before/after shots.

As you can see, not much of this part of the yard was usable due to the terrain, but that is no longer a problem!

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Screened in porch overhaul

original photos

The final leg of this outdoor project was to update the existing screened in porch/patio area underneath the raised deck. this room was not being used to its full potential, since it was at the mercy of the harsh Iowa weather.

New and improved four seasons room

With new framing, insulation, windows, doors, and stacked stone vinyl siding, this room is now ready for the elements and can be used to enjoy the golf course views and Iowa sunsets year round.

(disregard the red tape :)

The completion of this project brings our time outside for 2018 to a close, but that doesn’t mean our schedule slows down. we simply transition to more wood working projects, furniture making, and various other items that can be completed indoors. And of course, snow removal, because this is iowa after all!

Thrift Store Thursday!

I have a passion for decorating with repurposed, old salvaged items whenever possible and I often find myself imagining what stories a piece might share with me if it could.

Would a former 4 square farmhouse front porch column tell me about the generations of children it watched lean up against it as they waited for the school bus? Or the epic thunderstorm from decades ago that took out the neighbor’s house? Would a vintage bathtub share the names of all the family pets that were washed in it over its lifetime?

Even though these items cannot share their stories, I still seek out their history and showcase their story as much as possible when I am designing or decorating.

And this is precisely why I love thrift and salvage shopping!

So much history packed into one place!

I won’t share what all I purchased just yet, I have to get crafty first. But if you are like me and enjoy the historical aspect of old vintage and salvaged items, enjoy some of the pictures I snapped today.

Do you have an item with a story? Feel free to share in the comments, I would love to hear about it!