A Kilt of Violins and Home
by Femaelstrom, HSM team writer
The Dave Matthews Band has a man by the name of Boyd Tinsley, who plays the violin. In the music video for the song “Crash into Me”, he dons a kilt or skirt made of violins. I thought that in the context of the video, this was really a cool visual. It always amazes me when people put together items in a way that we have never seen before. I was reminded of this when I was in Home recently and saw the massive amount of creativity that is expressed here.
The other day I was milling around my Harbour Studio apartment when I got an invite to meet Burbie52 in her Midnight Glade. I accepted the invite and blurred on over. I entered the place, and as stuff loaded, I saw a hulking mass in the corner of the Glade. I was perplexed as to what this could be. I knew there was nothing in the Home inventory that was that big and grand. I ran over to see what this was, sitting in what is a normally empty corner of the Midnight Glade. As I approached, I saw what our own Burbie52 had done, and it was impressive.
An awesome structure yours truly almost ruined — sorry, Burbie52
She had taken the pillars anyone can get for free from “Mercia”, and built around them a barn made from the two sizes of walls one can get from the Minibots space. She explained the construct to me and believe me it was complex sounding, but in the end she had made a barn for two of her Drey Prop Horses complete with a barrel for the water that the horses drink and even some comical cows by way of LOOT. I sat and marveled at the barn.
It was dark, as is expected in the Glade, and I was having a little trouble seeing the details of this great structure. I gently suggested that she place some kind of light in it, noting that there was no chance of a barn fire in Home. She thought about it, then said that she had the right light, so she stood motionless for a moment as she arranged the addition of an oil lamp. I stood waiting to see the light simply illuminate the barn, but instead watched in horror as a portion of the wall came tumbling down.
The horror continued as she adjusted one wall and another would crumble down. I felt so small that I could have looked up at one of the bears in the Emo Ray display in the Hub. I waited and sat as she toiled again, never making me feel like I had been the reason it collapsed, even though I had suggested the lamp. I’m happy to report that the walls are now back up and stable. This article though, is not about who did what in regards to walls falling down. This is about the fact that as a person who visits others, I get to see a variety of designs and structures that make me realize that with the amount of stuff we have here to decorate with in Home, it is possible to get very creative and “wow” people in a grand fashion. Even when it is technically easy, sometimes the ideas are very clever.
Simply placing three LOOT tables on top of each other makes a great divider
I went to visit MaeBell99 and saw a sight that to this day I love. She had taken a curved counter from the LOOT Space Station and stacked them three high in her Harbour Studio.
Though the concept may seem simple when it was done, the fact is I had never seen it before and it looked really cool. That stack of tables made a great shelf divider. It can be the simple designs that get overlooked, and when someone finally creates it, it really makes you re-think the creative process and how some people have a real knack for putting things together in ways you don’t expect.
I have seen the Primarch’s Vigilarium turned into a restaurant by decorator Chicagotops. His decoration made that space into a believable restaurant, and he sells the atmosphere by really immersing himself in the role. This wasn’t a notable construct, technically speaking, but the way that the place was decorated made it different from the usual living spaces we have come to know. This was something we would expect to see in a specialized apartment like the Granzella Burger private space (but less fast food, more elegant.)
These cars are facing the EOD screen on the Sunset Yacht, making a drive-in on a boat
The LOOT Sunset Yacht was turned into a automobile ferry by my friend Bobsfed after he unexpectedly put cars into the living areas and made it look like a real car ferry. The effect worked, because he put cars wherever one would have thought to put them. And an added bonus is that as one sits in the chairs of the cars that double as seats, you can watch the LOOT EOD that is built in — a sort of ferry plus drive-in theater. Again, it was a surprising mix of elements that worked out well.
This is not to say that these are the only places that have decorating merit. We all know private spaces that either stand out in and of themselves, or have distinct elements that make them noteworthy. We all know people who push the boundaries of what we have come to expect in Home decorating, and use the vast amounts of supplies at hand to create the fantastic or the realistic.
This is a field that will only grow as we continue to get more and more elements from the developers to aid us in the art of decorating. There are vanguards out there that are limited only by the restrictions of the physics in the realm of Home. But this is also something that anybody can do — it just takes a little sitting and thinking it through, then trying and failing, then trying again until there is an achievement. A good idea is to visit with friends and let their thoughts and ideas inspire you.
Part of the fun of Home is letting your creative side wander and see what you can make out of what is given us. I have seen some amazing things, and stared in some wonder at what some folks will conjure up. And like that kilt of violins in the Dave Matthews Band video, sometimes it is cool to see a new and fresh idea that maybe nobody thought of before. So get your thinking caps on, and see what great ideas you too can come up with, decorating in Home!
February 13th, 2013 by FEMAELSTROM | 11 comments
FEMAELSTROM came to Home in June 2011 and never wanted to leave, even at weekly maintenance when he usually gets booted. The sand box environment appeals to the explorer in him and often is out and about as he ‘geeks’ out dressed like some sort of sci-fi character, while he people watches in popular public spaces. An artist and writer, FEMAELSTROM loves making friends and meeting people. He loves sci-fi and decorating Home estates and loves to respond “here” when people ask “where are you from?” in public places.
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Love this Article Strom,
You are so right about how people use there and decorate their spaces. i saw one of Burbie’s once, it was the perfect country club,made from her Blueprint space.
I use my Hollywood Hills space as a Piano bar/supper club. There’s even a reception desk near the spawn spot,old Hollywood Glamour era. The upstairs has the dining area too, where we showcase live acts. The lower level has the piano, seating and one table setup for private dining. Then of course there is the theater for premier showings. I completed this room with a film projector. I love the ways people make home something different everyday.
Good read Strom!
My proudest Home creation is the mammoth fireplace I created in the Harbour Studio from three Chrome Credenzas, two Glittering Walls (turned chrome-side out) and a ceiling panel from the LOOT spacecraft set. And, of course a fire, from the Christmas games a few years ago. I dearly love that thing. It’s still burning, even though my Harbour Studio is currently underwater, thanks to Juggernaut’s Nautilus collection.
This is a brilliant article big guy! Yes there is a very real chance in PSH to make your space more than just a decorated environment -it can also be an “experience.” A good example of this is my friend Trixie and her morbid Digital Leisure hotel room- she painted the wall with zombie blood and then added three Cutterridge Mansion poltergeist chests full of knives… So when a person walks into the space they get virtually filleted -- it made me laugh so hard I cried the first time she enticed me to go in without any warning… All this goes to show that we can indeed embrace the fantastic with our designs on Home -that is part of what makes this “meta game” so enticing. I am so glad you tapped into this idea in your article
This was a nice read. I LOVE decorating my spaces, doing things outside the norm. It’s fun visiting others to see what they have done with their spaces. You definitely get some great ideas, and as a bonus can see certain items in use BEFORE having to buy them (with the chance of being rather disappointed). I saw the Essence of Tides for the first time and got it as soon as I could. I’ve enjoyed swimming in my Blueprint ‘Ocean’ (or giant fish tank) ever since ^__^ And, thanks to everyone for giving me even more ideas!
-- Of all my decorating so far, the trickiest thing I’ve had to do was get those Southern Hideaway ‘Fish Chairs’ onto the newly-added balcony of the Private Hideaway
If you have these, try it and you’ll see what I mean.
Decorating in home!
I love it! And i love the article strom!!
I also have seen burbie’s wooden shack. At first i thought it was hay from the prairie but hay or wood it was extremely awesome. The story u included was a riot and i’ve probably could have been the one to blame to because i think i wanted to go there with the oil lamp as well.. Lol. Nevertheless the shack is truly a sight to behold and the patience to build that must’ve been through the roof. For me it was quite scary and i know thats not burbs style so i loved it even more. Slenderman awaits almost feeling. The horse through the window was disturbing And Totally creepy. Totally what i enjoy.
Those shelfs mae has made are very clever and its things like that.. Items that others might ignore and all a sudden see to have another use for. And then Give those items a chance. Bobs theater is also awesome but i think it needs a stage for a comedy act. By bob himself. Theater or comedy. Everyone can make whatever one wants and see plenty of uses from what they created. And sometimes see different uses for their set.
Loved the article strom and i love the chance that sony has given us on behalf of this wonderful service And the tools they are constantly giving us. With the variety that is available today and the creativity behind everyone providing these items home is quite a big playground and everyone really can always bring something unique and beautiful. And a taste of what they like and are about.
I love decorating and i love those who enjoy it as passionate as i do.
LOL Strom. I had a lot of fun building that, even though it also took a lot of patience too. I just wanted to prove it could be done to myself more than anything. Thinking outside the box when decorating in Home is a lot of fun, I have seen several spaces that do that, some of my friends have a very different view of things when it comes to decorating.
Now I will move on to another space, I like to readjust things when I get new furniture (tools) to play with, so I have been redoing some spaces with the new Granzella kitchens. Good article as always.
I remember a time when we could back up our apartment layouts to mitigate the damage from the oil lamp catastrophe.
Oh yeah, that time was just last week. What a useful feature that was!
Hey Liza, maybe we’ll get that feature back as another Plus exclusive! ; )
Good read this, I’ve used furniture in weird ways myself in the past and I’d say the “space boxes” from LOOT are very useful for creating room dividers or structures. My Harbor Studio currently has the Creek Falls bed facing the door so the shelving on its back becomes a wall on the other side, which is also enclosed with stacked “space boxes” to make a room within the room. The bonus of the space boxes is that you can use their compartments to display ornaments and trophies too.
I also used them and some MiniBots walls to make a bar area in my Sodium Lounge. But one of the funniest creations I’ve ever seen in Home was an old friend of mine who’d used all 50 slots (yeah, that long ago) to “build a miniature robot army” in his Summer House!
I used all hundred slots to build a pile of gold PS3’s on the bulls eye at Darla’s Den. Sometimes I just have too much time on my hands.
Haha! I remember that! You musta posted a pic of it at some point in the forums or something, I ain’t stalkin’ you, honest! LOL!
Really good article as always Strom. And thanks for allowing me to be a part of it. I also love that song “Crash into me”, by the Dave Mathews band. Their one of my favorite bands from the 90’s and of all time. How fitting a theme song too considering what you did to burbie’s fort lol. I love your fort too burbie. I have those items also, but I never even thought of using them that way. I may have to steal your idea. *wink*