Bringing dinner outside, sitting with friends hanging out, kids playing around… decks are an extension of your home. These deck maintenance tips will help you maintain your deck so you can enjoy it for years. In central Iowa, we aren’t able to use a deck all year round, which makes it even more important to […]

Want to see a lovely transformation? This project took an absolutely stunning home with tired landscaping and created a beautiful, functional design without a lot of money, materials, or time. Quite the magic act! THE BACKGROUND Some dear friends in Adel hired Red Fern to put together a plan for their 1910 home. They were […]

Anyone who has owned an old home will tell you the maintenance is never done.  Our clients in this beautiful historic Tudor in downtown Des Moines would agree. Their lovely home needed work on its large back terrace, front entry area, and front walkway.  We wanted to honor our clients’ beautiful home with an English garden-inspired […]

Let’s start with our title: “6 questions to create an ideal fire pit.” What is ideal??? An ideal fire pit means what’s right for YOU. We don’t believe in cookie-cutter designs around here, and every home is different.  These tips will help you figure out what would be the ideal fire pit at your home. […]

We worked on a master plan for the landscape around a new construction home for clients out in the country. This property has something for everyone! We’ll start with our inspiration board and plant palette. For plants, were looking for grasses and other plants that have lovely movement and fit in the prairie-inspired surroundings. Of […]

Oh I’m excited to show you this landscape design project! We worked with amazing homeowners that seriously own a secluded country haven outside of Adel, complete with gorgeous views, lots of timber, and Panther Creek running way back in their yard. Without any improvements, it was already a special site. The homeowners brought wonderful ideas […]

Our friends were looking for a landscape update for their gorgeous Tudor home in West Des Moines. This project was a treat because our clients are completely capable DIY-ers, so we were able to talk through the design plan knowing exactly who was doing the installation work.  A landscape update is less of a big […]

WHAT EVEN IS AN OUTDOOR KITCHEN? In Iowa, we are cooped up half the year. While the weather is pleasant, we want to be outside as much as possible.  I get a lot of questions about outdoor kitchen design – what’s needed? How do you plan? To help you get started, I want to teach […]

Let’s start with the front yard on this fun project.  This is really a case of “business in the front, party in the back”!!  The front yard plantings are lovely, but the real fun happens when we get to the back yard. Here in the front we have a great mix of colors and textures […]

Every pathway should get you from point A to point B. That’s the lowest bar. I think it’s not a path if it doesn’t! Really, the journey is what matters. You can tell when you’re on a well-designed pathway. It has a purpose. Its shape, layout and materials all support that purpose. We can create […]