Preparing Our Home For It's Next Chapter

When we built this home, almost 6 years ago, it was the first APS build from the ground up. Sure we had done additions, renovations, and the like, but never an entire home start to finish. It was a really large project, for such a small crew (Me & Adam), but we learned so much along the way.

We learned to challenge our limits, or perceived limits.

We learned to work together, even after we had worked all day at our ‘regular’ jobs.

We learned the hard truths about timelines, deadlines, and budgets that only experience with home building can bring.

We learned what we would, and would not, do again next time. If there was a next time.

Well, as it turns out, there is a next time.

We love this home and wish we could bring it with us to our acreage that we purchased last year, but sadly that is not possible.

We spent countless hours fussing over every detail of this home…from light switches to water filtration systems. We spent even more time personalizing it, with backsplashes, wainscotting, reclaimed flooring, and much more.

Then came the realization that we needed to move, and with that the need to de-personalize. It took us 6 months to prepare our house for the next owner, and finally I can say that mission has been accomplished.

And while it might no-longer feel quite like ‘home’, this house will always hold a special place in my heart.

On to the next project….moving!!

We’ll chat soon

-Rachael

Below are a few photos of recent projects at our home.

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

Getting BOLD, with Paint!

Recently I was asked about my ‘bold’ paint colors in my home, and how I choose them. Determining colors for a room has never been a time consuming process for me (I am the person in the greeting card aisle that goes with the second or third one that I pick up), but I know this is not always the case for everyone. I have friends who have been wanting to paint their home for nearly a decade but cannot agree on a color or finish.

Today I am sharing my tips on how I make my (bold) paint choices, and maybe they will provide some inspiration to you as well!

The photo that prompted the bold paint color discussion! Photo credit to Corridor Home Photos

First, choose a high quality paint!

I like the paint and primer combination paints, especially if my project contains existing paint. These styles are a little bit more per gallon, but always have full coverage and eliminate the primer step. Personally, I like the Ovation, HGTV, and Valspar brands at Lowes, but this is just my preference.

Now, It’s time for the color!

I follow a few simple rules…

1. Never try to match: If there is existing permanent decor (such as cabinets, flooring, trim, etc), never try to match it. I always go with a complimentary color instead.

2. Work with what you have: Have a difficult color already on the wall? Don’t want to rent an extension ladder to re-do that vaulted ceiling? Pick something that compliments instead (see step 1). My first home came with a single wall that was deep chocolate brown, which was absolutely not my style. Instead of trying to cover that up, I added teal to a neighboring wall to brighten the space (throwback picture below…)

3. Don’t sweat it: Paint is the most cost effective way to transform your home, and it can always be changed! If you are unsure which color to pick, go with your heart and change it later if you end up not liking it.

My VERY FIRST home, photo from most recent listing. This home has been sold several times since I lived there, and none of the owners have changed a thing! Not even the curtains!

Now, I fully understand that some people prefer neutrals and there is nothing wrong with that! In fact, I really like neutral paint and decor, but it’s just not something I would choose for my own home. In my opinion, all white or neutral colors make for an interesting design challenge so the room does not come across as sterile or cold.

As much as I enjoy a good challenge I also need the decor at my home to be practical. I hate dusting, so arranging 800 pieces of furniture and decor to fill a neutral space is just not realistic. Adding a bold paint color helps decorate the room a bit. Again, just my personal preference!

Here are a few more BOLD paint choices from my current home:

BOLD slate color for the fireplace bump out. Photo credit: Corridor Home Photos

Barn red in the laundry room, and slate blue in the powder room!

Well if you have made it this far you deserve a gold star, as this post somehow became quite lengthy! I guess I am passionate about my paints! Ha! If you have a bold paint choice in your home, I would love to see it! Tag me on Instagram or send me a message!

As always, thank you so much for continuing to support our small business! We will chat soon, big things coming to APS (wink wink).

Stay cool out there in this blazing heat!

-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

Farmhouse Renovation: Month 5

If you are new here, we are in the process of renovating a c.1900 Iowa farmhouse that we purchased about 5 months ago, and to be honest I thought we would be pretty much done with this project by May 1st. Well, as you all know, a world-wide pandemic came along and threw everyone’s plans for 2020 out the window.

I was torn on even writing this update, I mean there are much more important things you could be reading right now. Ultimately I decided to proceed, to try and provide a sense of normalcy for myself and maybe a 5 minute break from reality for my readers.

Over the last month, we have made huge progress on the outside of the house, installing new siding, sofitt and fascia. You will notice the black sofitt (overhang of the roof) on the old section of the house, and white on the new section. We also have white vertical siding for the front of the home, which is actually going up tomorrow, weather permitting. Here is a close up photo of the sofitt, so you can see the difference.

I really wanted to do something different for the original section of the home, to make it stand out, and I think the contrast of the black sofitt is exactly what was needed. I really wanted to install vertical siding on the entire house, but it’s so much more expensive than horizontal, and wasn’t really in the budget. Either way, the home will look amazing with an all new exterior.

In fact, I dug up an old photo of the house that we took right after we bought it and I will add it below for comparison. There’s quite a difference from a few months ago!

This was taken right after we closed on the house!

With the completion of the vertical siding on the front of the house this week, all that remains for exterior work is the front decking and posts. And of course some landscaping, but this is Iowa so we can’t do much of that until late May. Maybe some flower shops will be open by then!

Well that is all i have for this update. Again, thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by the blog, we really appreciate seeing all of your support. Wherever you are in the world, I hope you are staying safe and healthy.

Until next time,
Rachael

Farmhouse Renovation: Month 4 Update

If you are new here, we bought a c.1900 Iowa farmhouse roughly 4 months ago and promptly took a bulldozer to a large portion of it. Over the last couple of months we have completely updated what remained of the original structure, and added on a large addition (for some much needed square footage).

I have posted several updates thus far, but this is the one I have been waiting for!

This is the first update where the layout of the house is easy to understand, since the walls are complete with drywall. Not everyone can look at a room full of stick walls and picture the final product, and I have tried to take that into account when posting in the past, but now everything will be quite easy to picture!

Ok lets start in the kitchen….

Here’s a throwback photo of the previous kitchen. Adam is 6 foot 4 in tall and he could barely walk underneath the pendant light fixture in the middle of the room without hitting his head. This was due to a significant bow in the trusses, as they could not support the proper amount of weight. Also, check out how close the top of the door frame to the bathroom is…just an inch or two!

Below is a picture of the new kitchen, with a properly installed 8 foot ceiling! The opening on the far left is the same door to the bathroom pictured above, however this time around it has over a foot of clearance between the top of the door frame and the ceiling.

Moving on to the stairs….

You will notice that new the steps are no longer steep, and are also a normal size. In addition, we have a large window at the top of the stairs now, that provides a source of natural light but also serves as an added safety function, should someone need to evacuate out of the second floor for any reason.

I recently caught a photo of our mini inspector checking out the window at the top of the stairs…

The last photo I have for you is of the new master bathroom. The original structure had no master suite, so I have no before photo to share! And while this bathroom is not extravagant by any means, it adds value and much needed space.

Alright, that’s all I have for you today! I am excited to see what the next update brings, as we can start putting our personal touch on the project with paint and flooring, etc. Since we work on the farmhouse in our spare time, and both have other full time jobs and 2 year old child, sometimes things take longer to finish than we would prefer. It’s all about balance, and we are still figuring that out as we go.

Thank you for stopping by the blog today, and we look forward to catching up with you again soon! In the mean time, feel free to follow us on Instagram or Facebook :)

Until next time,

Rachael

Farmhouse Renovation: Month 3 Update

It’s time for another update on the farmhouse renovation project!

For anyone new here, we purchased a c.1900 Iowa farmhouse 3 months ago and promptly tore down a large (sagging) section and have been putting it back together ever since. This has definitely been an interesting project, mainly due to there not really being any building codes or rules to follow 120 years ago, so we have had to allow for extra time (and money) to accommodate unforeseen things along the way….(hello super scary/non supported second floor…i’m looking at you!)

Enough on the recap, let’s get on to the accomplishments for the month….

New this month:

-All Plumbing

-Furnace and all duct work

-Interior walls framed up

-All windows replaced

-Almost all the siding torn off original structure, and new OSB and tyvek paper

-All electrical wired up and ready

-A functioning set of stairs

Here are a couple photos showing the updates…

This photo is from the front porch, looking at the front door

The porch view after new walls and windows!

The above photos show just how extensive this renovation has become. Was it in the original plan to tear everything out to the studs? No. However, we needed to replace the improperly installed windows and that meant tearing off all the siding out front. The insulation and sheeting weren’t up to par and not really functioning, so they all had to go too.

Now, this means more work and increased cost, but we would rather spend a few more dollars up front and not have to worry about issues down the road. Plus, this is Iowa so we can’t have poor insulation and improperly installed windows or utility bills will be very high.

We have repeated this same process, section by section, for the entire house. Only one small part remains, and that will be done shortly. It’s particularly time consuming to do this all in January, but that’s what we have to work with at the moment. I mean, icy scaffolding just makes things more interesting…right?

Next up, we have a fully functional and standard size flight of stairs to the second floor. Gone are the days of ducking your head and climbing super small and steep steps with no railing.

Speaking of the second level, we haven’t been up there for several weeks while there were no stairs, and I lost track of how much we have to do up there as well. Obviously the windows will have to be replaced (might as well do them all, right?) but the flooring and fixtures will need work too.

The first photo is of the (likely lead) painted original flooring, and we simply cannot sand that down and use it, for obvious reasons.

The next photo is a view from the stairs, and while things might not look too bad up here there is still a bunch of work to do. For example, the door to the second bedroom no longer closes due to the bracing and raising of the floor that was required in order to ensure it would not come down. We also need proper safety mechanisms such as smoke detectors, railings, and windows that are the required size, in case of emergency evacuation. These things can all be done now, since we can now access this part of the house!

As always, our daughter (who we call ‘the inspector’) is as involved as a two year old can be, and she loves to ‘help’. The weather in January has made this somewhat difficult but we work with it the best we can.

Helping dad with the front door

Giving her approval of the new stairs

That’s all I have for this update! I will leave you with a fun little before and after of the outside. As always, thank you for visiting the blog today, we really appreciate all of your support!

Cheers!

-Rachael

Farmhouse Renovation: Month 2 Update

Two months!

It’s been a little over two months since we purchased a 1900’s farmhouse, and then promptly took a bulldozer to a large section of it. We have since added back a large addition (almost 600 sq feet), to replace the torn down section and add some space.

Out with the old…

In with the new!

Since our last update about two weeks ago, we have the addition completely closed in from the Iowa elements, thanks in part to some amazing December weather. Now if we could just request some daylight after 430 pm…ha!

Now that the new part is enclosed, we were able to open up the wall separating the original section from the new addition, and it was the first time I had seen the old part since we boarded it up! Here are a couple photos…

View inside the new part

Looking into the original part of the farmhouse

Opening up the walls and ceiling of the original section of the home presented it’s own challenges, including 120 years of dirt and grime. Oh and about 3 layers of ceiling in the old living room! Here are a couple before shots…

Tearing into this section was not exactly in the original plan, but in order to update the electrical correctly and put new heating and air duct work in we decided to take it all down. There’s always that one moment in the home improvement shows where something goes wrong, and the owners are left with a decision on how to proceed, and for us it was this ceiling and what was underneath it.

I already mentioned there were a ton of layers to the ceiling, and this left us with quite a mess, but a more alarming issue was how the second floor was being (sort of) supported. The picture below on the right shows ONE board, that is kind of in a notch, and that was what held the floor joists for the second floor. One board, folks!

Lots of layers to the ceiling here!

That one board might have made it the last 120 years, but Adam didn’t feel comfortable leaving it one more day, so we had to handle that immediately. Let’s just say that this load bearing wall will soon be almost 12 in thick to provide much needed support to the second floor. Definitely a scary moment, but I am glad we found it when we did!

In other news, you can see in the photo on the above left that there should be some original flooring upstairs underneath the carpet! The second floor will be where our daughter, who we call the ‘inspector’, will have her bedroom and play room. She likes to visit from time to time to sweep and pick up trash, and we will take any help we can get!

Inspector, doing some inspecting

Well that’s all I have for today! Soon we will be getting into the fun part of a renovation/build, when the rooms really start to take shape. Don’t forget to follow along on Instagram and Facebook, for some fun video updates of Adam working, and the Inspector inspecting!

Until next time…

-Rachael

Farmhouse Renovation Update: Week 6

Hello from frigid Iowa!

Major progress on the farmhouse project this week! Adam and crew braved the frozen tundra (and a ‘snow squall warning’) to frame up the walls and add the truss system, which gives this addition some shape and brings the full size and scale of this project into view.

This photo shows the size of this addition, it’s about 2/3 of the total square footage of the house!

The cold Iowa elements aren’t friendly to power tools or air hoses, but fortunately we are really close to having this project closed up (hopefully this week).

And I couldn’t write this post without recognizing the hard work of Adam and his crew, braving the wind/rain/snow last week to get the the trusses set and keep this project on schedule!

Unfortunately, there is no sign of warm weather (above 40 degrees) anywhere in next week’s weather forecast, but that is just how things roll here in the Midwest. Regardless, Adam plans to have the roof closed in and heaters on very soon, so at least the days of frozen air hose lines are numbered!

Well I am off to finish Christmas shopping today, wrap all the things, and try to keep up with the daily grind of this busy household. I am normally an early shopper and have everything done by now for the Christmas prep, but this year time got away from me, so I will just have to grab an extra coffee and make a mad dash to the finish.

Happy Weekend Friends!

Cheers!

Rachael