Hillside, Moon Forest and the Plum Tree Pavilion
by Kassadee Marie, HSM team writer
Three new personal estates are coming, and they offer quite an incredible variety of styles. No date or price has been set for them as yet, but the big news is that all three may be offered as clubhouses as well as personal estates. In addition, all three of the spaces will also offer furniture packages and two of them have gifting machines built into them. Two of the three spaces also have bonuses for Sony Mansion owners, and these bonuses are something really new and rather fun. I toured all three, and here is a quick review of these estates.
The Plum Tree Pavilion
Of the three estates I toured, this one is definitely the best suited to my own style, and I heard it was very popular. It seems in some ways to be a combination of the Japanese apartment, Creek Falls, and the Luxury Weekend Lake House — and it’s the best parts of these three. It resembles the Japanese apartment by that subtle and welcomed Asian influence; Creek Falls because of the colorful trees; and the Lake House because of the beautiful garden with a creek running through it. Only at Plum Tree, you can walk out into that garden.
You first arrive in the interior, which has a small koi pond (with no fish unless you own the Mansion). There are two white-walled rooms there; the smaller room is partially divided from the first room, but open to it on either end. The larger room has an interesting feature of a large pavilion in one corner. Two groups of four lanterns are hung at different heights from the high, beamed ceiling. There are dark hardwood floors in this space, where large black Japanese screens partially cover the huge glass windows at the front for privacy. From these windows you can see a small, walled and gated front yard. Through an open door you can go out and down to the backyard and this walled and gated area is the best feature of this space. There is another, larger fish pond there (with even larger koi for mansion owners) watched over by a Buddha statue.
It has reeds, lily pads and a miniature pagoda, also. There are three trees there of note, two are medium sized purple-leaved trees and one is a huge red-leafed tree in a planter. You will also see a creek with an arched bridge over it there. On the other side of the bridge is a little glen that overlooks another branch of the creek and this would be a perfect spot for a picnic. All around are wonderful trees that grow misty the further they are from you. There are other thoughtful little details there, like carefully placed rocks, sculptured bushes, and stepping stones. The furniture package for this estate includes a beautiful wall divider which matches the large screens that are built in, a couch, a medium sized plant, a table and a lamp. The lamp is also the gift for your guests. Note, no bed is offered with the furniture package, at this time. There are two furniture spawning spots there and eleven places for picture frames or other wall items.
Moon Forest Apartment
I’ve been hoping for something really different in a personal space, and this estate is definitely different. But maybe too different?
This space is very dark when you arrive, of course, since you are outside at night. A huge and gloomy forest surrounds you there. Ahead of you, you will see a stone patio area with a huge fire in the center. You may want to place the camping chair in this spot for your guests and tell ghost stories. This is also the item that you can gift to your visitors. Raise your point of view up and you will see the huge moon through a break in the trees of the forest. There are many twinkling stars in the deep blue sky, and the Mansion owners will view shooting stars also. You can walk down stone steps into a grassy area which is partially fenced by rough wood and there are several places you can walk into the forest for a small way. In one of these areas you can see a neighbor’s camp site. Behind you, from where you arrive, is your tent, but not the small tent most campers expect. This one looks semi-permanent, which actually makes the huge patio make more sense. This tent is huge, high-ceilinged and has three rooms. The main room has a built-in chest, two built-in book shelves and partial walls of wood on either side to separate the other two rooms.
These identical rooms also have built-ins which include four plants, two desks, two tables and a mirror in each. The matching furniture pack for this space has an active item bed, a luxury day bed, a sofa, a camping chair with accompaniments and a small tent. There are four furniture spawning spots there and eight places for picture frames or other wall items.
Hillside Apartment
Yes, there’s a panoramic view, but if you buy this place, don’t throw any stones because you know what they say about people who live in glass houses. Glass, glass, glass. Also, I hate to sound sexist, but I think of this estate as another “guy space” -what is it about gray cement that makes you guys want to buy?
(NorseNote: Beats me. I’m a Frank Lloyd Wright fan.)
This space is ultra-modern, which seems an odd choice for a home located so far from, well, almost anywhere. The view there is in all directions and the only sign of civilization is a tiny town, miles away. There are two rooms in this estate, both with gray polished-marble floor tiles. One room is the kitchen and has a built-in plant in one corner. This room has a gray chrome wall which includes cupboards, a refrigerator and a microwave oven. This space also has a gray chrome built-in table connected to a gray or off-white marble (?) island with a sink. The island is hooded, but they seem to have forgotten the range top. Also, be advised that no items can be placed on the table to soften all that gray.
The other room appears to be the living room and has an open hooded fire-pit at one end. It also has built-in plants in two corners. A door leads out to a covered gray cement porch and from here you can walk down three gray cement stairs to a tiny grassed area with two built-in loungers, gray cement planter boxes, gray cement stepping stones and a gray cement patio with a small useless pool, tiled in greyish blue. More stairs lead down to another outdoor area, which I’m happy to say is a large wood-floored deck, albeit covered with and nearly surrounded by (you guessed it) gray cement. This area would be useful as a gaming area, perhaps. There are three furniture spawning spots in this estate and only two places for picture frames or other wall items – which isn’t surprising with all that glass. By the way, after careful checking I concluded that this space is mis-named and should be called Hilltop.
Overall I think most people will be pleased with this new selection of personal estates to select from and will find at least one space to be to their liking. Each one of these new estates has something unique to offer, especially in the way of settings and atmosphere. Choose between Asian tranquility and beauty; outdoors woodsy and a little spooky; and modern with that special something which seems to appeal to the guys. I would recommend buying whichever one(s) suit your taste. As always, I also recommend buying the matching furniture packages when they become available, for the value.
I rate the Plum Tree Pavilion at 5.0, the Moon Forest apartment at 4.0 and the Hillside apartment at 3.0. Also, I’d like to thank the HCV Y2David for his generous hosting, affability and time.
March 3rd, 2012 by Kassadee Marie | 4 comments
Home is endlessly entertaining to this California girl. Kassadee has been in Home for about four years, and loves almost everything about it (with a few notable exceptions). She spends way too much money there, and perhaps too much time... Someday she will travel the world and write about the people she meets and the places she sees.
I loved the Plum Tree space the best out of the three, I do hope these will be both personal and club spaces, though I think the best ones for clubs will be the Plum and Moon spaces. Moon was a bit to confined for me, on the small side. The Hillside is too stark and cold feeling for my tastes. Plum is not only aesthetically beautiful, it is the largest of the estates and most well rendered. It will be my choice if I decide to purchase any of them.
Great review Kass.
I agree with your ratings …even though I can’t understand a pond and a pavilion inside a house. One thing: Guides on each tour told the group that the spaces could be either personal or club. This perhaps explains the size and openness of the interiors. The artwork for the foliage of Plum Tree surpasses that of Creek Falls. It’s really a stupendous open area.
The Plum Tree furniture package ($2.99) now offers an active item bed. And it’s great!
The Plum Tree Pavilion is quite lovely, my favourite of the 3 as well. Moon Forest has its charms but I’m not a big fan of dark personal spaces. Hillside reminds me of a parking garage from an upscale shopping centre…set in the middle of nowhere. (The hills are alive with the sound of elevator music? Sorry.)
Stubbornly adhering to my personal boycott of any personal spaces with unwarranted Mansion-related perks, I will not be buying any of them. C’est la vie.