Escape to your Summer Porch or Veranda, The Camellia, Thunder Bay

Hello everyone! It's June and we have been having some incredible, hot, tropical weather. It is so wonderful to see so much green outside, with all the trees in leaf, and Crabapple blossoms in pink and white. Rhododendrons are in bloom, and even though we are still under restrictions due to Covid-19, the world in the Summer is still a beautiful place to be. 

Marsh Marigolds in an amazing display of spring colour. This is our view at The Camellia, we are close to the mountain. 

I have great memories of swinging in a hammock on a Verandah. 

A Verandah is the best place to try and catch a breeze on a hot day. Add a book, and a tall glass of something icy cold. Hot days are the best spent outdoors, lazing around....

Wooden sayings are great for a Porch, above a door, or just perched beside plants. They add some whimsy to an area. They are hand painted here at #TheCamellia, you can pre-order your sign with a custom saying. 

Outdoor Porch signs, old wooden windows, Watering  cans and clay pots are all important elements of styling a Porch. This wooden bench is a relic from my Father-in-law's Farm on Broadway Avenue in Thunder Bay. The bench was refreshed with Cottage Paint - colours used were Sea Turtle and Sky Blue Waters. 

Here at The Camellia, we sell Cottage Paint. This colour is Lichen, and is a nice, soothing gray-green that blends well with a neutral colour scheme of taupe, and black and white Garden or Porch signs. 

To create this look on your Front Porch or Verendah, ask for Driftwood, Lichen, and Black or Soot Cottage Paint. For more information on Cottage Paint, visit https://cottagepaint.com/

If you are looking for unique finds for your Summer Porch or Verandah, visit The Camellia, at 30, Hacquoil Rd. in Slate River, Ontario. We are 10 minutes from the Thunder Bay Airport. 

Open Wed. through Sunday. 11-5, or 12-5p. 

p 807-475-3551

Kitchens take a beating - if I paint my Kitchen cabinets, will the finish last? The Camellia, Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Quite often, we get asked the following question: " If I paint my kitchen cabinets with Paint, will the Painted finish hold up in my Kitchen? "

Kitchens take a beating.... at least 3 meals a day are prepared and served in your Kitchen EVERY SINGLE DAY. Unless you work out of town, and are just home on the weekends. That's a lot of wear and tear on your cabinet doors, garbage cans, counters, floor and so on. Oil and grease are constantly spattered, water from the sink, mess from the garbage can, recycling, fruit and veggie peels, and raw meat waste......all of these add up to a big mess everyday. It seems like you never get out of the Kitchen. If you have small kids, aging parents or a retiree in your Home, hah! Need we say more?

Getting back to the original question, it depends. On:

• On how careful persons in your household are in the Kitchen.
• Does everyone clean up after themselves, and put things away? 
• Handles and knobs on your doors, can your finger fit comfortably in the handle without your nail scraping at the paint? are the handles on the doors located in a convenient spot? ( a handle in the middle of the door will not get used). 
• Are you racing around the kitchen ( usually), banging into your cupboards with  pots and pans?
• Are you unloading the dishwasher and stabbing the drawer front with the edges of knives and forks? 

You will probably say...."No, I don't do THAT!" Yet, most of us live an over-scheduled life, and there are many ways to procrastinate, so we end up being in a big hurry when we are using our Kitchens. Kids are hungry, people have to get to work, the dishwasher needs unloading...

We may be on our phones, and not really paying attention to meal-making....does anyone want some burnt dinner, you yell? We KNOW you don't do this...!

Spatters from Lobster shells ........every day, mess happens in your Kitchen. 

We often think that everyone else has a calm, peaceful Life where everything goes according to a timed schedule. This is usually a single person who has an executive job, with a chef who prepares her special meals at the Office. 

Here is our 33 year old oak Kitchen - the Before Cottage paint. 

Here is the same Kitchen - After Cottage Paint. The inside of the doors were flipped to become the front of the doors, displaying a perfect Shaker profile instead of the busy squares. 

So, how do you keep a painted kitchen looking great? Cottage Paint is a low voc, water-based paint. Most Kitchen cabinets that you buy new are finished in a factory with Paint that contains bad stuff for your lungs, but hardens and dries quickly. It's a trade-off between a paint that you can DIY and takes longer to cure, or a factory finish with bad stuff in it. 

With Serenity Cottage Paint, you should keep a small jar for touch-ups which you will probably do once a year. This is true for any painted cabinets. Serenity Cottage Paint is applied with a microfibre roller and a brush, it is self levelling.  Cleaning is done mostly with a microfibre rag and water, do not use anything abrasive on painted Kitchen cabinets. 

For information on Serenity, click here: https://cottagepaint.com/product-category/serenity/

For more information, visit our store, The Camellia at 30, Hacquoil Rd. Thunder Bay. 

We have 2 free Paint Demo Information nights, June 4th. or June. 11th. at 8pm. at 30, Hacquoil Rd. 

Visit paintoldkitchencabinets.com

You can also check out a small display cabinet at Superior Custom Granite, and pick up a Cottage Paint brochure, at 645 Hewitson St. in Thunder Bay. https://www.facebook.com/superiorcustomegranitetbay/

The Camellia, 30, Hacquoil Rd. Thunder Bay. 

Open Wed. through Sunday. 

p 807-475-3551