Common Areas in Dementia and Alzheimers Residence

Our Camellia Place Interiors: Stylish, Safe, & Intentional

Over the past month, we’ve welcomed our residents to their new homes. Six houses, not hallways, rest on the Camellia Place property, and two of our homes officially have residents enjoying our amenities. When we built Camellia Place, we worked closely with our architects, builders, and designers to create an inviting, stylish, and most of all, safe place for our residents to live. Our purposeful design choices have made our homes an ideal place for our seniors to dine, socialize, sleep, and receive care.

Design Features: Smaller residences, like those at Camellia Place, provide a sense of intimacy that sometimes lacks in large buildings with long hallways.  Each of our homes consist of only sixteen bedrooms which are divided by spacious living and dining areas. In addition to considering intimacy for our community, Camellia Place’s homes were designed with short, purposeful hallways. Knowing the dining room is only a short distance from one’s suite makes a difference in the social aspect of our homes.  Seniors can easily participate in activities, meals, and special events knowing they are never far from their bedrooms. Further, a stylish, yet safe handrail guides our residents from place to place and functions both for a design detail, and more importantly, stability. Each suite is a single-bedroom with its own heating and air conditioning for ultimate privacy and comfort. The philosophy behind this design is to encourage residents to live in the public areas of their homes while having private suites for sleeping, hygiene, and privacy for reading or watching television.

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Interior Styles: Our interior designers and owners chose lovely furniture and soothing colors that highlight our homes. Additionally, having upholstery that can withstand cleaning and disinfecting is critical in the maintenance of our homes.  While many fabrics can tolerate that type of cleaning, few have the feel and look of institutional fabrics.  Our owners took extra care to select fabrics and colors with the homes in mind.  Even the height of our cushions was well-planned. The ability of Seniors to be able to safely transfer from sitting to standing supports their basic need to move be ambulatory.  Little features like this make a world of difference in seniors knowing they can come to the porches or dining rooms and be able to stand or transfer without fear.

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Each of our homes also features an open-island kitchen for family-style meals to encourage socialization and friendships. Further, good nutrition and hydration are essential in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  With family-style meals, caregivers can easily monitor the food and liquid intake of our residents. On each of the two, 8 bedroom wings, residents will also find a library or game center complete with card tables and sofas. Porches and patios are available throughout the homes and feature gracious spaces for outdoor enjoyment and living, especially with Georgia’s warm summer nights. Our porches and courtyards have tables, chairs, and conversation groupings.  However, one thing you might notice is that we don’t have any rocking chairs; they focus one’s attention on rocking and not talking. We want to encourage conversations in our homes and equipped each home with furniture for just that.

Safety Priorities: Safety is always on the minds of our staff and caregivers at Camellia Place. We’ve incorporated design features in order to maximize safe-living for all of our residents. Each resident’s room features an integrated closet and restroom allowing for walkers and wheelchairs to enter freely. Further, dressing and bathing with articles of clothing close by aids in the daily routine of good hygiene and helps caregivers in their role of assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADLS). Our bathrooms are beautifully appointed with zero threshold showers and sinks for bracing.

One thing we haven’t yet mentioned is our attention to medication management. Medication management is one of the most important aspects of assisted living.  You will not see medication carts in our hallways. Instead, medicine is housed in and dispensed from an in-home apothecary.  It provides for more privacy for residents and better watchful oversight by our staff. Additionally, one of the other things that we pride ourselves on is that our caregivers aren’t responsible for  housekeeping or food service for residents.  This allows caregivers to be extra attentive to our residents.  With more intimate watchful oversight, behaviors can be observed that might indicate changes in wellness.  Making sure residents are hydrated and eating well balanced meals helps prevent unnecessary doctor visits.

We’ve devoted countless hours to think of every detail for our residents. If you’re interested in touring Camellia Place, don’t hesitate to contact us or call 770-296-1513. We’d love to send you more information or take you on a tour.

new residents at camellia place

A Visit from the Queens

On a sunny spring day in April, we had the pleasure of hosting Mr. and Mrs. Queen, the previous owners of 294 Rope Mill Road (also known as Camellia Place). As it was their first time visiting the property since selling it to become the home of Camellia Place, we wanted their trip to be a special one. They were overwhelmed at the beauty of their property as well as the purpose it will serve as seniors move to our community for assisted living care. A lifelong legacy if you will. The couple told stories about how Mrs. Queen planted the black walnut trees that were used in creating the beautiful library conference table where they were seated. Interestingly, she said the power company complained that she had planted the trees under the power lines. We appreciate her leaving the trees there, regardless of what the power company had to say.

The Queens visit Camellia Place.

Later in the Queens’ visit, our founders Lauren and Denise presented the couple with unique and special ink pens. The pens were made from the same wood of the black walnut trees: the same wood that created our library table, and the same wood that the power company had words about so long ago. The pens are a part of a special collection crafted by a woodworker in North Carolina.

Camellia Place is a place of legacy. While the two black walnut trees are no longer standing, their impact on us, and on the Queens, lives on.

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The Design: Organic and Natural

Such careful consideration and concern for legacy and nature would not occur to most developers. But for Camellia Place founding Partners Denise Swords and Lauren Clifton, the story of the trees that lived for more than 55 years on the property at 294 Rope Mill Road in Woodstock and the preservation of their legacy were important to the evolving story of Camellia Place.

“This is not like any other project we’ve worked on,” said Steve Sanchez, principal with HGOR, landscape architects for Camellia Place. “It is new and different because of the involvement of Lauren and Denise, versus a corporate structure. It’s very personal.”
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The Craftsman and Camellia Place: Bringing Dreams to Life

Greg Michael grew up in a woodworking family. He worked in the shop of his father and brother, but he wanted to do something different than the family business. Yet, when he and his wife were building their home, they chose to do all of the interior work themselves. And Michael rediscovered his passion for woodworking.

Today, Michael is the pastor for Woodstock Community Church on Rope Mill Road, just down the street from Camellia Place. He also founded Mi-Kin Creations, a name that stands for “Kin Folk.” Michael’s two sons, Gregory and Jonathan, also have ownership in the business and are talented craftsmen in their own right.
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The Library: Our Future is Rooted in Our Past

Two black walnut trees stood tall for more than 55 years at 294 Rope Mill Road in Woodstock. They were planted by landowner James Queen, a cabinetmaker. They not only gave shade on hot, sunny days and provided relief from a hard day’s work, but Queen also used nuts from the trees in his furniture dyes. While they may no longer be standing, the trees occupy an important place in the story of Camellia Place.
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The Land: Bringing Camellia Place to Life

Destined to create a special place for and raise expectations in senior living, Founding Partners Lauren Clifton and Denise Swords set out on a lengthy journey to locate the ideal Camellia Place land, a residential neighborhood for assisted living and memory care. It was immediately evident that the homestead of James and Irene Queen on Rope Mill Road in Woodstock was the perfect piece of land to bring the dream of Camellia Place to life.
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