Go French On A Budget
by Kassadee Marie, HSM team writer
The French are known for incredibly chic fashion, joy in life, and romance. So why not go French in Home and add some mode elegante and joie de vivre to your virtual life? And who knows? Maybe some amour, too. Pouvez-vous être français dans le Maison? Mais oui!
The Playstation Store offers a lot of bundles for Home items and some of them include personal estates. One of their first offerings, which is still available, was the Paris Clocktower Apartment bundle, which includes the apartment, some of the Summer House furniture and some rather unusual clothing choices, such as the Luchadora outfit and the hamster outfit. It also includes the Harbor Studio picture frame, which is one of the largest and best picture frames on Home. If you decide to pick up this bundle, just consider these items as freebies added to the usual cost of $4.99 for this personal space. Although this apartment is one of many of Sony’s “box” estates, the details here are very nice, such as the rich wood walls with tile-work trim, paneled wood ceiling and the built-in bookshelves. The views from the huge windows are great — inside, showing the giant moving gears of the clock, as well as the outside view of the streets of Paris. It was fun to discover that the gargoyle just outside your window actually flies around now and then before returning to its perch. By the way, the clock tells the real time at your location — just remember that it faces the other way, since you are viewing it from inside.
The reason that they didn’t include any Paris furniture with this original bundle may be due to the high cost of these items. The collections of furniture are $24.49 for 15 items in the modern style and $22.99 for 10 items in the classical style. Those really can’t be considered bargain prices, even with the bundled discounts. However, there is a Home option for another bundle called the “Paris Clocktower Mega Bundle”, which includes the personal estate, 76 items of furniture and ornaments, and 35 items of clothing for $9.99. But what these furniture and clothing items are, exactly, is not clearly defined. I did note that the clothing items in the four male and female Paris bundles in the costume store do total 35 items. But this may be a coincidence, as the total of the Paris furniture items is not 76.
To really save some money, if you like a modern look, I recommend some of the free items from the Abstergo Labs public space. These items include a television and a white, steel-trimmed couch and chair. They add brightness to the space and don’t clash with the unusual color scheme there. These items can be won by finding the assassin’s hideout and by winning the Vendetta game there in the Lab space, with certain conditions. The game is a lot of fun to play, too.
The Lockwood Showcase gave us the perfect romantic table, chair and floral display this year, which would suit this space perfectly. If you like a more antique look, the Lockwood Showcase also gave us the Gothic table and chair rewards last fall, items that would work very well in this space. If you picked up the 100-item Super Bundle, you already have some great leather furniture from the Waterfall Terrace collection — another good style and color match for the Paris Clocktower.
By the way, if you have a friend with the French Chateau, or can get a tour from an HCV, be sure to pick up the guest reward painting from there. You will also want to look over the Paris Clocktower matching ornaments for any individual items that appeal to you, because some of them sell for as little as $.49 or even $.25! The Paris classical rug for $.99 is one of the largest rugs on Home, and you will find it a very useful addition to your furniture inventory.
For music at your estate, I suggest the Ballerina Music Box, which fits very nicely with this theme. Ballet originated in Italy, but was further developed in Russia and France. The word “ballet” is actually a French word, which was appropriated by the English language. Or you might want to try the Valentine’s Heart Shaped Box. This item plays two romantic songs including “I Only Have Eyes for You”. Either one of these two musical items can be purchased for $1.99 at the Home Music store.
The French are known for their fashion flair, so you have a lot of choices in clothing. The costume store offers several bundles specifically designed for this theme. Take a moment to check out the four packages offered for males and females. There is the Fantasy Pack, with five pieces for $2.99; the Victorian Pack, with five pieces for $2.49 and the Modern Pack, with three pieces for $1.49. The final bundle is the Classical Pack. The female version is a gown package, which costs $2.49 and has six pieces. The male version is the Tux package, which costs $1.49 for three pieces.
Another French style that you can design yourself might include berets for males or females. Sie’s beret at Alpha Protocol costs $.99 for either gender, and there is a red female beret for $.25 in the Home Originals store. Cammy’s Street Fighter beret is available for $.99 for all you blonde-haired ladies in the Costumes Store.
If you saved a lot by using the free furniture items and clothing you already have, you may want to consider a little splurge. In the costume shop under the Codeglue tab there is an item in male or female styles for $2.99 called the “Silent Clown”. These mime costumes, with their berets and black-and-white striped outfits, are very typically French, since this style originally appeared in France during the early nineteenth century. You’ll really enjoy the hilarious built-in animations of these costumes.
So decorate your Paris personal estate, put on a French outfit, add a French accent and go live the good life on Home — on a budget, of course.
Au revoir!
August 22nd, 2012 by Kassadee Marie | 1 comment
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.
Another nice addition to your repertoire of budget articles. I bought the Paris a long time ago when it came bundled with the Wizards Den in a buy one get one free. I love the space as it has a lot of detail and the view is wonderful, and it can be a challenge to decorate but also a lot of fun. I recently wiped it clean and completely redid it when the kitchen items came out.
Nice job Kass.