by Phoenix, HSM team writer

For years now, Home residents have fantasized about having updates to the Harbour Studio — the very apartment you start your Home life in. This iconic space has seen a few updates that were so subtle you may have missed them: the light switches, the brighter sun through the skylight…just small enhancements. But for the most part the space has remained as alluring and pristine as it ever was.

Many liked it this way and did not want Sony to change the space at all. Some even figured that if they did change it, its new reskin SKU would come at a cost. These people weren’t so sure about paying for a redo of a space that you got for free just because it had some kind of update. So what was Sony to do?

Well, it seems they did the next best thing: Sony created a new Harbour space, but this space is free if you completed the challenges in time. The top prize for this season is the Rainy Day Apartment. There have been other free apartments in previous challenges, but for me this one holds my attention. Somehow, Sony managed to keep the je ne sais quoi about the space.

In the original Harbour Studio, your mood is buoyant and vibrant. The sunshine, though virtual, has a way of working on your frame of mind. The same goes for the new space. The apartment is the same, but the atmosphere is rainy and yet golden. There is a feeling of thoughtfulness that comes over one in the space. The virtual sunset in the downpour is magical. I appreciate the way the rain falls on the surface of the ocean, in gentle moving patterns, just as the rolling clouds move overhead.

As with most spaces in Home, when done right, the lighting changes appropriately with the atmospheric enchantments.  So it does here. The sky — with its sunset colors, darkening clouds, and spots of blue sky — is realistic in its portrayal.  The aesthetic is similar to that of the Tropical Bungalow space. Some may find this space gloomy or dark, but for me it gives the apartment another dimension. It adds to the layers of attraction already in place. Everything that the original Harbour Studio was is still there, only enhanced by the rainy day, right down to the drops of rain on the glass doors, puddling on the balcony patio. The open space for any floor design you want and the beautiful glass door on the balcony, the port of call of some desirable destination, is still a possibility.

Sony got it right with this one, in my opinion. They did just enough to keep the integrity of the space. No more, no less. The Harbour is, as I’ve said, an iconic space for Home users. Though I wanted to see something more done with the space, I was afraid it might lose something if it happened. I’m very glad it didn’t. Oh, I know there may be one or two dissenters out there in the Home universe that don’t like it, but here’s the thing: you don’t have to have it. It doesn’t come as a replacement to the Harbour, nor does it come as an update to the Harbour. The Rainy Day Apartment is its own space: a reskinning of the original space, but with its own personality and allure.

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