This project is a custom home that we wrapped up last year. Custom homes are my favorite, because each client has a different style and vision, and I never know exactly what everything is going to look like until it’s all put together. This is also the first project where we have used GE Cafe appliances, and I have to admit they are stunning. Check out the kitchen photos below to see for yourself! Is this a staged home from a magazine? No, this is a real house right here in eastern Iowa. Can you find the fridge in that last photo? It blends right in! The natural light in this home brings such ..read more

It’s been a month since I updated you about the status of our move to the farm, and if you missed the last post regarding our plan you can check that out here. It’s been a typical cold and wet spring here in Iowa, which has delayed a few things for our move (including the septic system), but we have made quite a bit of progress. Here are a few photos. We are definitely ready to live up at the farm full time, and while progress seems slow it really is moving along pretty quickly considering Adam only has one day a week to devote to working on our things. In the meantime, I continue to gather ma ..read more

Good morning from a rather warm day for February in Iowa! This time of year, just about anything is possible with the weather. Will it be a -60 degree ‘polar vortex’ day? Or a 50 degree day, prompting some of the life-long Iowans to bring out their shorts? We just never know. Looking ahead to future projects helps get me through these cold winter months, and today I am sharing the plans for our personal home that we plan to get started on toward the end of this year, and where we will be living in the interim! As you probably know, we have been living in a college apartment since we sold our h ..read more

As you might already know, last year we collaborated with our architect and had several custom home designs created for our clients to use, either as-is or simply as a starting point. Quite often, figuring out the exact floor-plan of a home is overwhelming, and we wanted to have some options available to help alleviate that stress. One of these designs (The Willow Plan) was built last year for the first time, and I am excited to share the final photos. It’s been an entire year in the making, but as you will see shortly, it was well worth it! The details: 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 2900 sq ft ranch ..read more

Oh hey there, 2022! The new year rolled in, burning hot and fast, whether we were ready or not. Each year, when we are turning the large wall calendar from December to January, we write down some goals we have for the upcoming year. Some are small, some are unreasonable and unattainable, but regardless we write them down. One of the goals for 2021 that seemed unattainable was Adam being able to quit his job at the city and build homes full time, which he was able to do. Another goal that seemed unreasonable was taking a vacation (it had been since Oct 2019, y’all) and somehow we were able to p ..read more

Hello again! Today’s project is at a home you might recognize from last year (read the full story here). We recently returned to this home to help transform a deck into an outdoor bonus room. Adam started by adding vertical posts to the existing deck and attaching horizontal slats, which serve for both privacy and shade. It was only 100 degrees on this day, so the shade was much appreciated! After all the smaller boards were attached, the homeowners decorated this area with lights, hanging plants, and furniture….transforming this deck into an outdoor living room! A big shout out to the homeown ..read more

Hey there! It’s a stormy summer day here in Iowa, but I wanted to update on a recent project that Adam and APS Construction completed. A local restaurant reached out, needing a large deck constructed to accommodate more guests for outdoor seating. Adam and crew got to work (in the blazing 100 degree heat!) and about a week later the project was completed. Here are a few photos! With this large new deck, there’s plenty of room for activities! If you are local to Marion Iowa, you can enjoy a beverage or sandwich on this beautiful outdoor patio, located at Goldfinch Tap! I know we will be visitin ..read more

It is with extreme excitement that I inform y’all that Adam has closed the chapter on his full time job at a nearby city, and is now able to do what he loves full time - build homes. We had planned on this happening in the next few years, but everything came together in the last 12-18 months that showed us now was the time. I am a firm believer that opportunities will present themselves when the time is right, and that’s exactly what happened here. Last year all taught us a number of life lessons, and for our family we realized that the time is now to act on our dreams. Looking back, we should ..read more

It’s been about a week since we visited our home for the last time, picked up the final items, and took one last photo on the front porch. The last porch pic! It’s been a bittersweet experience, leaving the first home we built together from the ground up, our child’s first home, our beloved dog Mia’s last home. We are excited to move on to our acreage and spread out…to watch the summer sunset’s with sweet tea and fireflies…to chase chickens, play in the creek, and enjoy the wildlife. I mean, first we have to build a house out there, but we will get started on that soon. Whatever it is, the w ..read more

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 ..read more