by Phoenix, HSM team writer

Re-skinning: a re-envisioning of something old.

More then one space in Home has seen new life breathed into it by being re-skinned and reintroduced to the residence of Home. Everything from the Plaza of old to the Podium of Move fame has had a second coming. Some have been interesting and fun. Some even for a moment felt like something new, before you remembered what it was before.

Some spaces seemed to have a lot of time and effort put into them to re-skin them.  When Pier Park was in its heyday it was re-skinned every holiday, and no one cared that it was still Pier Park. I for one looked forward to the change that took place there for each holiday celebrations. This year, Pier Park has been strangely silent: no festivities taking place, no winter festivals — no re-skinning for Pier Park.

 Enter Juggernaut’s Serenity Park. Juggernaut’s version of the old Plaza was re-skinned, so to speak, for Halloween. It was a huge success and is still found on the navigator.  The thing is, Juggernaut really didn’t do much to Serenity Plaza. The changes were noticeable, of course: they were for Halloween, bats, vampire, werewolves, and so forth. It seemed a no-brainer to change a bright and serene space into a foggy, spooky twilight space.

But when I heard that Juggernaut had re-skinned Cutteridge Estate, I initially wasn’t thrilled.

My expectations were…okay, if low. I couldn’t imagine Cutteridge Estate as anything but dark and gloomy, haunted and cursed. There was nothing that would change that ever-present feeling of foreboding that Juggernaut had captured so well within those walls. You can’t hear the name Cutteridge without thinking of Jasper and his cornfield. That creepy little ball that appears out of nowhere and bounces by you, or the ghostly little girl and the quick moving figure that you glimpse out the corner of your eye as it scurries past the windows, all come to mind at the mention of Cutteridge Estate. No way could any of that, be driven from my mind when I think of Cutteridge.  Not even the new name Juggernaut gave their space, “Hollyridge,” gave me any inclination as to what to expect.

Garnished with snow and a fresh coat of white paint, Juggernaut’s Hollyridge Estate was unveiled to Home residents.  A holiday offering of Cutteridge is what I expected. What I found instead was a large new Victorian Estate. Hollyridge Estate is so much more than a re-skinning of Cutteridge Estates, with a slight remodel of the exterior, that I’m hesitant to even call it a reskin. Juggernaut has re-envisioned the old frame of a dark and forlorn space, full of dark and desperate souls lost on a plane of despair.

Hollyridge is bright and enchanting — nothing spooky or eerie. Instead of cold and relentless bouts of rain, there are snow showers. The cornfields have
been replaced by fir trees blanketed in snow. A frozen pond, perfect for ice skating, where there was once a murky lake, sits by the small wooden wharf, snow covering the edges of the pond. A sprawling landscape of snow-covered hills can be seen outside the kitchen window in the field next to the well. These hills are the perfect place for sledging, or snowball fights. Juggernaut has included of both here for the owner and guest. The skies are crystal and blue dotted with snow clouds, changing the atmosphere dramatically.

Inside, was where I found the biggest of Juggernaut’s surprises that transform this old space into the new and vibrant re-skinned success for me. The house itself is customizable in this re-envisioned holiday treat. Juggernaut has given its Hollyridge Estate fifteen different wallpaper choices and six border choices. These choices can be combined into so many permutations that the old estate is long gone from my memory. The colors range from jewel tones of red, green and blue, to creams and buttery yellows. There are solid colors, patterns and florals. If that wasn’t enough, with this being a holiday addition of an estate from Juggernaut, they have included a decoration option with any number of combinations as well. There are wreaths for the house and the gates, lights for the house and the gates and fences that surround the house.  All of these decorations, a snowball fight and more. And, as you would expect, rewards in both the personal and clubhouse version for owners and guest.

I was so awed of the changes wrought in this space that I thought I knew so well that I forgot this was a re-skinned reworking of an old space. Juggernaut’s Hollyridge Estate is a new space. Period. To call it a re-skinned space, though it is, is selling it short in my view. There is so much more to enjoy here; if you think of it as just a brighter version of Cutteridge Estate, then think of it as the estate in its brighter and happier days before the darkness took the family. Think of it as a place full of joy and happiness, a place to share this holiday season with your friends. Hollyridge is day to Cutteridge’s night.

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