Go 1950’s On A Budget
by Kassadee Marie, HSM team writer
For a real kick, why not go back into the middle of the last century and get with it on Home? The “fifties” was a time of post-war development, when men came home from war and went back to work, woman left work and returned to the kitchen, and kids were going to drive-in’s and listening to rock and roll at the soda fountain. The girls were wearing pedal pushers or poodle skirts with bobby socks and saddle shoes, and the boys were wearing white t-shirts under leather jackets, blue jeans and loafers. The girls’ favorite hairdo was a pony tail with bangs and the boys all wore their hair in the style known as a DA (duck’s, umm, err… bottom). Here are some style suggestions, so you can have it made in the shade on Home and not spend too much bread.
For your pad, I suggest the City Penthouse for $4.99. The two story, three room structure has a lot of great attributes, including a super large deck area that is already furnished with seats, plants, planters and water features. This personal estate is a night time space, and while well lit inside, the sky above the patio area is dark and so it makes a great place for fireworks. There are five spots for picture frames or other wall items there. You may want to put up some prints from popular artists of the time, such as Jackson Pollock or Willem de Kooning, or pictures of some fifties icons, such as Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Audrey Hepburn, or Montgomery Clift.
If you want to turn your place into a fifties soda fountain, and you have a few nuggets, you’ll want to cast an eyeball at the following items. Two diner sets are available in the Home stores at this time — one is from Lockwood and the other is from VEEMEE. Dolly’s Diner from Lockwood is seven pieces in brilliant red with a checkerboard trim for $3.99, so that’s an average of $.57 an item. This bundle includes a condiment set, two counter styles (curved and straight), two stool styles (backless and with a back), a table and a double seat. These last two items can be set up to look like a booth, using the table and two of the seats.
VEEMEE also offers a diner set, which is a slate blue counter with a checkerboard trim — with condiments attached — and slate blue and chrome stool, bundled together for $1.99 the set. This developer also has a refrigerator and a toaster for $1.49 each, in a blue that is not quite a perfect color match. The least expensive kitchen items offered at this time are Loot’s Ghostbuster’s kitchen for $1.99 for 5 pieces, including an oven (stove) which is exclusive to the bundle. You may or may not want a kitchen to be part of your diner. I suggest you use the chess board floor from Sony Originals for $.49 as your flooring. The Ghostbusters pizzas from LOOT are available in three styles for $.49 each, and would look great there.
I’ll clue you about some free items, also. Sodas (soft drinks) are a must for any soda fountain, of course. There were a bunch available from Namco in the slot machine game, and hopefully you got them while this space was available. A friend with the Red Bull’s House of Skate can also help you score some sodas from one of the games there. A friend might also send you one or more of the milkshakes (banana, chocolate and strawberry) available in the Lockwood gift machine for only 16 tokens. The gift machine also has a free toaster, which would look good on a counter. Under the Namco Museum tab in the furniture store, there is a free vending machine available, which might also work. At one time Seven-11 had a promotion for a Slurpee machine which you may already have, although this is an active item. Slurpee’s were known as Icee’s in the 1950’s, by the way.
Here’s a fun idea — why not put a fifties dance club on the lower floor? I suggest Grogak’s light up wall and floor from Loot’s Mad Scientist Starter Kit (bundled at $1.99 with 2 computer consoles) and Animated Super Trance Up Lights from Lockwood for $.99 each. The red, green and pink work really well, but the blue is rather faint. Add some music and two picture/poster filled frames in this area, and you will be done.
The third room can be used as a lounge, and I recommend the Tuxedo furniture package from Mass Media for $1.49 for three pieces for this space. It’s large and interestingly shaped, in black and white with red throw pillows. Add a few stand-alone ornaments, such as the large stacked dice from Sony’s Originals store for $.49 or the free fireworks from the Pier game from the 4th of July and you’re all set.
You’ll want to pick up some threads from Threads and such stores as Lockwood, which offers two packages for females in two color choices. The “Fruits ‘n’ Flowers” and “Juliana” clothing packs have four pieces for $1.99 each, and the “Azure Beauty” and “Polka Hot” clothing packs have four pieces, including a hairdo, for $2.49 each.
For the guys there is a “Greaser” pack of four items for $2.49, including a hairdo, and two other clothing packs of three items each for $1.99 called “Hey Ray” and “Danny Boy”. An alternative clothing style which became popular near the end of the decade was known as the “beat” look and included sunglasses, berets, black turtlenecks and unadorned dark clothing, which is a fairly easy look to create on Home from the Originals clothing store.
I also suggest the new “The King” outfit, which can be won in the Casino by Digital Leisure. The white, beaded jump suit comes in male and female versions, with a matching Elvis Presley hairdo.
Dogs, cats, fish and parakeets were popular pets in the fifties, and there are many versions of cats and dogs available in the Sidekicks store. Check under these tabs and pick your favorite: Codeglue, Lockwood, Loot, Sony Originals and VEEMEE.
If LOOT comes out with portable RadioIO soon, I hope it has various furniture styles. Besides a modern look, I would love a jukebox, and it would fit in with this theme extremely well. In the mean time, set yourself up with some music from Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Ricky Nelson and of course, the King himself, Elvis Presley.
So, don’t be a wet rag and end up in Nowheresville. If you want to be radioactive, why don’t you set up your pad and throw a bash. Tell your friend’s to make the scene if they’re hip cats. You’ll all be on Cloud 9 in Fat City.
August 16th, 2012 by Kassadee Marie | 3 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.
Nice suggestions Kass. Having been born in the fifties I can still remember some of this stuff fairly well. Good job as always.
They had segregation in the 50s too which was part of the ugly side.
My memories are mostly good where I lived. The Silent Hill diner is a nice 50s diner if you don’t mind a messy and dark one. The dark side can be cured with the new spotlight from Loot.
It has a jukebox which while it doesn’t play music, one can put the Valentines box on top of it which has two songs, one the 50s styled Flamingo’s I Only Have Eyes For You.
I guess it does take a bit of imagination to do what I’m saying.
I Only Have Eyes For You by The Flamingos on YouTube
Theres several 50’s spaces I visit on some of homes competitors, got to be with the right music. superb fun we do some more dancing moves though.