Five Southern Azalea Projects in 2024

It’s officially 2024! Today, we’re sharing five Southern Azalea projects we have planned for this year.

Garden Greenhouse

This project is actually interesting because this is my attempt to build something from scratch solo. That’s right, no Rob. At least, that’s the plan. But a consult with him wouldn’t count against me, right?

As my inaugural gardening year comes to a close, it’s become apparent that I need some place a bit more permanent to hold all of my garden goodies. Also, I absolutely don’t have room in the cottage to start seeds. Theoretically, this space will serve both purposes.

The greenhouse will be built right off the front of the garden, effectively serving as the greeting for anyone coming up our driveway. Our garden is already in sort of an unconventional spot, and this structure will add to that. But if I can achieve my vision for it, I think it will only enhance the yard.

I’m planning to build the greenhouse out of mostly reclaimed materials. My brother-in-law graciously donated all of the old windows from his farmhouse for this project. Rob and I found a set of french doors at the thrift, and we’re using another set he pulled from a project at my parents’ house.

I’m still working on the plans for the project and am excited to share those later this week. I’ve set a goal to share the final result with you on the final day of January. Let’s go!

Finishing Up the Kitchen

This project is several years in the making. I’ve shared here before the vision for the finalized space. In December, I ordered some sample tiles for the backsplash and found an incredible brass vintage chandelier to hang above the sink.

If I love the backsplash, which I suspect I will, then the next step will be to get my paint on. I’ve already chosen a wall/ceiling/upper cabinet paint color with the trim matching the color of our lower cabinets. But full disclosure: I’ve started second-guessing one of the colors. I think I’m going to try out a few more colors before fully committing.

I’ll also need to pull the swinging door off the hinges to strip off the paint that Rob told my mom and I not to use on the door when we originally painted the house. But I rebelliously didn’t listen, and I really regret it. Thankfully, we did absolutely no prep, so I’m hoping the paint will strip off pretty easily.

I also need to hang the chandelier that I snagged to go over my island. First, I’ll have to rewire it, and then I’ll need to track down a chain long enough to allow me to hang it off center from the island because the current air conditioning vent position won’t allow hanging directly overhead.

This is a project I likely won’t start until spring, so I hope you’ll stay tuned as I work on making some final decisions leading up to that.

Finishing Up the Porch

This is a project that I have penciled in but can’t really tell you when we will begin on the final steps: roof and railing.

If you’ve been here long, you’ll recall that we started the porch build last spring with the One Room Challenge.

We got pretty far in that eight weeks, but life, budgets, and other projects necessitated a stopping point. Before summer, I’ve all but begged Rob to put on a roof. We’ll see if he can make overly sunbaked backyard dreams come true. It’s currently not on Rob’s radar with some other projects taking center stage. My goal is to get it on his radar before April.

Fallen Oak Cottage

We haven’t shared many updates on this project since November, mostly because we’ve had a significant pivot that we’ll share more about in the coming weeks.

This project is a big one for us and one we’re eager to make a great deal of progress on this year. Ideally, I’d love to have it finished by the summer.

I would even sacrifice the roof on my back porch to get this project done before the peak of tourist season here in our community.

We get asked quite a bit about our plans for this house once it’s finished. While we aren’t completely sure, my dream is to use this property as a short term vacation rental as well as a destination for workshops, retreats, etc.

The hospitality industry is very fascinating to me, and I tend to think this could be an area where I can really shine.

Painting the Formal Living Room OR Painting the Master Bedroom

I would love to repaint the entire cottage because the gray paint depresses me, but we actually have a water damage issue we need to fix in this room that makes it, naturally, the perfect room to begin my repainting plans in.

Before we had our roof replaced in March 2022, we had major leaking happen along and around our chimney. So much so that we have several of the tongue-and-groove panels that need to be replaced. Right now, I can hide the problem areas with strategic mantel art.

I’m hopeful this is a project we can take on toward the end of summer/early fall.

Once the area is fixed, I plan to drench this room in a yet-to-be determined shade. Originally, I envisioned blue. But I think I’ve sort of pivoted away from that vision. The good news is that I have lots of time to try paint samples and come up with a plan.

If I get stuck, I can always move onto painting our master bedroom, which is another area I would love to tackle. If I decide to move into that room, I’ll also be replacing the ceiling. At some point, someone used T-111 as the ceiling panels, and it was an awful choice. The rough texture makes cleaning nearly impossible. And it just isn’t charming. I would love beadboard or tongue-and-groove to match the rest of our home’s ceilings. We’ll see what/if this is in the budget.

I’ll be taking on smaller little projects along the way as well, starting this month with a DIY frame for our family room tv. We hope you’ll continue to stop by this space to check in on what we’re up to!