Forget Astronauts, We Are Deco-Nuts!
by Dlyrius, HSM team writer
I have been an avid (or should I say addicted), Home decorator for a while, now; Thursday July 19th, 2012 is not only my birthday, but it marks the one year anniversary of my first personal space purchase – the LOOT Sunset Yacht. 53 spaces later, this is still my favorite space for relaxation and fun. Suffice it to say, I am not the only one; I am willing to bet there are hundreds if not thousands of us spread throughout the Home world. During this past year, I have made dozens of friends with this same passion for decorating and the list grows each and every week. In fact a couple of weeks ago, word of my spaces reached a group of “deco nuts” who invited me to join them on their weekly space showcase tour. I am telling you now, the limits to the imagination of decorators on Home is well limitless.
Normally we meet in a public area so everyone can add anyone who shows up to showcase their decorating talents. Then we are off, exploring the creativity of Home’s up and coming interior designers. It is a little crazy trying to remember who all to send invites to as we move through the spaces, but it never fails to cause numerous oooh’s and ahhhh’s as each spaces loads up with furniture and decorations. We might make 12 trips to the Harbour Studio apartment, but no two look the same and some of the innovations that appear before our eyes are nothing short of wonderous.
Sometimes it’s the little things that count.
This group isn’t just the seasoned veterans; it also includes new aspiring decorators looking to find their deco mojo. Any decorator worth his or her salt is always happy to help newcomers get their creative juices flowing. We all help each other think outside the box and find new uses for old items. Inspiration runs rampant during these tours, and it often spills over into hours long conversations that can even last over the course of a few days. It also isn’t limited to females; we have some awesome male decorators out there. Now some might say, “Oh, they must be gay” or some such nonsense; well, this simply isn’t true. Your sexual preferences have nothing more to do with being a creative decorator than they do being a gamer in general. The age ranges vary between fourteen and sixty-something, and the talents of these folks are only bound by the edges of Sony’s interior space digital maps. Sometimes not even then, but we won’t go into that.
The one fun thing about it all is that a space is never truly “finished”. They are always in transition as new items come on the market. It is very rare that you will find any Home decorator that can’t tell you exactly where they found an item, how much it cost, and a variety of ways to use it. What started life as a credenza can be easily be turned into a room divider. A sectional sofa piece looks lovely in the living room, but have you considered turning it into an original bed of your own design? Who says that black and white chess board can’t be used as a tile floor in your new kitchen or diner? And that is just the beginning! Decorators know some pretty neat tricks to bypassing the limitations of some of the spaces with minimal, or badly thought out, spawn points. That rug you love won’t fit through the door the normal way? Well we can show you how to flip it on it’s side and push it through instead.
We don’t need no stinking spawn points!
Decorators are also experts at finding a bargain. If a piece has multiple uses, or there is a bundle out there that is a must have for even the creatively challenged, ask a decorator. Just because something is labeled for the Gothic Manor does not mean that it won’t look great in the Raptor Metro Apartment or even the Waterfall Terrace. It is not unusual for one or more of us to visit a space during a tour and suddenly disappear into the store to pick up an item we just can’t live without. So if you decide to join a tour (we do two a week now), come prepared with some cash in your wallet, or a piece of paper to jot down things for a wish list.
Deco-nuts are also pros at working with our 100-item limits. They can tell you how to fill up a huge space without leaving any empty space by using tricks of the trade. Items like rugs are great for making a open empty space seem smaller. They are also great for defining an area in a wide open area as are wall dividers. The one thing I do is to place my basic furniture first. Get the lay of the land so to speak. I decide what areas will become (such as where to put a kitchen, bedroom, or living room), then I work on arranging things so they provide a good flow visually, as well as for foot traffic. Finally, I add the little things like plants and accessories. Making a space look “lived-in” is the key to success. Even a post apocalyptic apartment can look cozy if you take the time to think about it.
Who says a chess board can’t be a tile floor?
While we don’t generally consider there to be any steadfast rules about decorating, there are a couple of things you must keep in mind to reach that next level of becoming a true Home decorator. To put it simply, if it looks like you can walk around it, or sit on it, you better be able to do just that. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing something you want to check out and running into an invisible wall before you get close enough. Or, worse, having someone get stuck and having to move furniture to release your visiting prisoner from between that chair and table. Your best bet is to try it all out. Sit in the chairs, walk around the tables, make sure you don’t get stuck, because if you do, you know your company will too. One other thing is to respect the creativity of others. Their style may not be your own, and there are no wrong answers or designs here. If you love what someone has done, tell them so, but before you copy them, be sure they don’t mind. Most of the time we encourage folks to take pictures, but there are some who do not wish to find their designs sitting in some stranger’s spaces.
The most important thing to remember is to have fun! Home is so much more than a social networking and gaming platform. Take some time and dig into your own hidden potential; you might be surprised what you are capable of creating.
July 16th, 2012 by Dlyrius | 22 comments
Dlyrius, a native Oregonian, has been an internet chat addict since the days of the old BBS services.
I love to decorate as you well know Dlyrius. I think that is is a very fun part of Home trying out new ideas for spaces. Just because a space is meant to be something specific doesn’t mean it can’t be something totally different. Sometimes I will go to one of mine and wipe it clean and start over just for the heck of it to try something new. Nice read!
I have only wiped one of my spaces and redone it so far.. for some reason, I just can’t bring myself to completely nuke the whole thing, but i have been known to redo areas LOL
The picture at the Wild West Saloon made me laugh. I used pretty much that same method to put a couple of those exact rugs into the rooms there. Still, a single spawn point in that space doesn’t make much sense.
I can relate to many of the other points in the article as well. I’m not a perfectionist with decorating but I do like the furniture to line up without obstructing the walkways.
That is for sure, those rooms each need a spawn point… that one required some serious creativity to get what i wanted in them LOL
Great article! Now if you can just tell me a great spot to put the road apples from Midway 2.
Depends where you put the free Lockwood horse ornament
LOL, a friend of mine filled up his harbor apt with those “apples” and then stuck a couple of the dog in there with it.. too funny!
I never really got into the decorating scene. I do think that this scene is a testiment of how diverse Home activities are. No other “game” is as varied as Home, thats for sure.
That dining room looks great BTW!
Thanks, i tell ya gideon, you hang around us very long and you get totally sucked into the whole thing cuz its so much fun!
Great, great read!
My back is badly sunburned from this dessert sun, and in severe pain.. But reading all this definetly made me feel better.. Though still in pain.
Happy birthday lady D. U inspire many!!
Thanks a bunch tops, hope you feel better soon!
Nice read, and well made points. There’s a funny thing that happens in some peoples heads, a sort of OCD way of labeling things. Like an old school friend of mine once told me that I couldn’t wear sunglasses in October, the fact that the sun is at it’s lowest peak during this month meant nothing to him, apparently sunglasses were exclusively made to be worn during summer months or nothing! Who knew!
My point is; some people can’t get past the fact that an item is labeled say, a floor-tile. Never mind that it makes a fantastic miniature garden wall, IT’S CALLED A FLOOR-TILE OK!!! But those who can see an item as anything, as a set of possibilities rather than “just a shelf” are the ones who bring us kicking and screaming out of our comfortable little boxes, and open our eyes to our own, inner creativity. These eople should be thanked for inspiring us, for showing us new ideas, and for bringing extra worth to some of the hum-drum items we own and don’t know what to do with. My harbor studio is currently decorated with items from Creek Falls, Waterfall Terrace, LW’s Yacht and even Loots Space Apartment. And you know what, it all fits like a glove.
Thankyou Home decorators, even if your inspiration is sometimes just a slight one, sometimes, our world can be shaken by a whisper.
Thanks! Sounds like your friend would never make it as movie star, they were sun glasses year round LOL!
I know what you mean though, I have friends like that too. My harbor was the feature picture in this article, as you can see it is quite a mixture of items.. tuxedo couches, mt olympus tables, dolly’s diner counters, ghost buster stove, nebula space bed, and even aurora grass tiles.
If something fits but doesnt look quite right, try turning it around.. sometimes you get the affect you want from the backside
I like deco-ing.
I like the srticle.
Bye,
YAY kid! keep up the mojo!
Hey D. Great article! I love to deco. I do it all the time. I have a few hallmark places that I love to show off and many seem to really like them too. Deco is fun simply because like the wardrobe, it is an expression of the people who occupy the place. I love to see the homes of people who deco, such imagination and creativity. This is yet another way in which Home has made itself so special: it allows us Homebodies to be unique in yet another way. D, feel free to come and check out some of my places, I’d love to continue showing you my estates. Good points and tips listed in your article. These are the points of good deco. Bravo
Thanks Mael, as must know, you are one of the “males” I referred to in this article. Your spaces blow me away and I am happy to see them anytime you feel like a little company
WOW D! I am truly honored, and all you gotta do is ask, I am usually available.
Wonderful article and a great read Dlyrius,
Decorating some of my spaces has been some of the most rewarding time spent here in Home. There are a couple of spaces I intend to purchase just to decorate them. My next school break I will do just that.
Again Great article!
I hear ya, there are some spaces I now own that the minute I saw them, they were instantly decorated in my head.. its just so much fun!!!1
Great article! Inspiring! Decorating and avi-dressing are my favorite activities in Home. Ty for “legitimizing” it.
you are so very welcome! its an awesome creative outlet isnt it