Tag: floorplan

Opt out

There’s something troubling me about SL events lately, especially weekly events. Once upon a time there weren’t as many of them as there are now, and every participating designer was able to meet the deadline and have his/her item(s) ready in due time. Now, there seems to be a new trend –or that’s what it seems to me– in that this kind of activity has become a way to drive people to stores with no intention of offering anything at all. All weekly events I try to follow distribute a list of landmarks to participating stores, and week after week for months on end now, there’s always a shop or two that either fall into the above description or aren’t really interested in participating at all, and event organizers add them anyway to –perhaps– pretend these creators support their cause, when the truth might be they do not. At least this is what I’m starting to believe is happening, I’m not saying it is actually the absolute truth. But perceptions play a leading role when it comes to understanding the –virtual– world around us.

So I have a few questions to ask each side. Designers: If you are so busy in RL or working on something else that interests you more than a mundane event, why don’t you opt out? You have that option, or are you obliged to participate every time you’re asked in order to be considered for a later time? Isn’t it possible to skip that week when you’re not ready and come back the next, instead of misleading your clients? Do you think that’s a good marketing strategy? What do you believe customers think when they TP to your store just to find out you’re once again late or not participating at all? Do you think those deceived customers will keep buying from you or coming back? Event organizers: Is it your idea, to include stores that aren’t really participating just to give the impression they are supporting your event? And if creators aren’t meeting your timeline, why do you keep inviting them after failing you time after time? Aren’t there more creators waiting for a chance to participate and promote their stores? Why don’t you invite those less known creators? Or don’t you know anyone else? It could be that you only organize events to favor a closed group of people, usually a net of friends; that’s perfectly ok. But can’t your circle accept new entries that may be more responsible and willing to meet deadlines? Do you think that by constantly including fake participants every week people will still support you? For how long? If organizing weekly events takes a lot of time (and surely that’s the case because all of us have hundreds of things to do in our lives), wouldn’t it be better to slow it down, say make them biweekly perhaps?

I also have a few questions to some particular stores:  What do you think is the purpose of these events? To help you make some money of course. Then, why don’t you realize that and respond in due manner? Aren’t you interested in building a loyal customer base, people that are inspired by your creativity and want to come back and keep buying from you in the future? So, why are you offering the same old product for months on end? Don’t you think buyers notice that? If it’s too much for your RL or SL schedules, why don’t you lift that unnecessary weight up and move on to what you really need or want to take care of?

Only the laws of nature cannot be changed… unless it’s nature itself doing it, I guess.

In the picture, a few of the excellent products some of my favorite H&G shops have offered in recent events. Probably they’re no longer at 50L, 75L or 200L, but should be available in their respective stores in case you want them. From left to right:

Ouchi-Ya House 6

A parcel that is no more

Today is the last day of my largest parcel (2912 sq.m.); tier will expire in a few hours (maybe even before I finish this post) and the land will revert to its pseudo-owner. From now on I’ll be trying to live in a smaller plot while I wait for a chance to get a decent waterfront parcel with direct access to the open seas in Nautilus… if ever that comes true. Anyway, here are a few shots of the soon-to-be former plot for the “family album”.

House

The house is #06 from Ouchi-Ya ++HY’s++, a small store and cafe based on Bay City. I’ve been a fan of their buildings for quite some time now since they design small structures with a low prim count. The buildings are mostly prim-based, though they have started to add mesh elements recently. In its original state, this one is basically a one-room, single floor house, but I modified it a little bit, and created four separate rooms to accommodate a living room, dining room, kitchen and full bathroom in the first floor, and a bedroom in an upper level.

Backyard

I wasn’t going to post these pictures since (1) they don’t include any new garden product, which is the main topic of this blog, (2) I’m hardly a decent interior decorator –not to be so rude with myself and say that I suck big time in that department–, and (3) I’ve been concentrating in other matters as to spend too much time on this subject, yet there are a few products worth pointing out, such as, in the picture above (from left to right):

  • Trompe L’oeil – Pallet chair (brown, with blanket)
  • Dysfunctional Designs – round garden bed with yellow flowers (group freebie)
  • PILOT – Potted plant shelves, Garden tools & Garden supplies
  • MudHoney – Standing pillows
  • Cheeky Pea – Sara picnic basket (spring)
  • Tatty Soup – Lowe rug (plum; Tatty Soup is no more, but you can find this designer’s stuff at her new store, Junk)
  • Alouette – Homemade tent (I think this was a Lazy Sunday release, but it’s on her store at regular price)

Bathroom

And here we have the most “unnatural” thing in SL: a bathroom (unless it’s for cybersex of course), but I love both that toilet and the shower, so why not put them out of my inventory? The toilet in particular, with all that decoration, is just 2 LI, so now you know why it’s a must show.

  • Dutchie – Vintage copper shower, bathrobe (white, modified to look blue-grey), classic medicine cabinet & bathroom mat
  • LAQ Decor ~ Toilet (white)
  • bitter vanilla – Disinfection bowl

Bedroom up

This is how the house interior looks like, with the improvised second level and bedroom.

LISP Summerhouse

And this is part of the”backyard”, with LISP’s Persimmon Summerhouse and Cheeky Pea’s Deconstructed chairs dominating the scene. Other elements:

  • Cheeky Pea – Bowl planter, Deconstructed side table, Ansel wall art frames & Ansel console table
  • MudHoney – Melissa drink tray
  • The Loft – Wagon table (bleached)
  • Culprit – Heirloom rug
  • Trompe L’oeil – Steampunk lamp (gacha)
  • M&M Deco – Calathea #3
  • 22769 ~ [bauwerk] – Fabric lamp (ceiling mounting)
  • what next – Vintage poster (Libraire) & Row of books
  • keke – Summer bottle
  • MonkeyWorks – Potted plant
  • Anaconda S – Pot plant #7
  • LISP – Ygritte reclaimed divider (natural mirror, modded to add transparency effect)
  • Tartessos Arts – Panorama telescope

If I were normal like most people, I would keep this house and plot for a long time. But no, I couldn’t stay in the same plot for more than three months… The hell!

Au coin de la rue

Lionheart Kiara is getting street names, and there’s already one labeled: Route 1, Atoll Coastal Road. This is the old pavement way that connects Kiara with adjacent Vitani and Kopa, to the east. Mine has no name yet, so I’m living au coin de la rue… The first one runs parallel to the north of Route 1 and ends at the sim’s emblematic Harry Potter-like Wizard’s Tower; the second one runs perpendicular to both and ends at the sim’s northern edge.

House in Kiara

The house is a modest structure that only has room for the basics. It’s the Little Getaway from Designer Prims. The only modifications I made were resizing and adding a second door to the back of the house, so I could access the backyard easily. Though it looks simple (and it is), it comes with several floor and wall texture options, door locks, and shutters that you can show or hide from view. I also added a car for the first time because I heard that LL worked on sim crossings recently, and that now it’s a little bit easier to travel from sim to sim without being sent to Mars on the try. I hope that’s true, and it seems so because I’ve seen several neighbors enjoying a ride lately.

{ Other items} Nature: 3D Trees: Banyan tree. Botanical: Mesh Mediterranean Cypress. Buddhabeats: Birch (2012). Frog’s Garden: Ivy. Heart’s Garden Center: Harmony grass (short). Organica: Bristlecone Pine (3). Yoneya: Poplar.  ||  Etc: Barnesworth Anubis: Garden fence (white). Haru Motors: HM VW BT M (Black). lame: Mia’s Pergola. PILOT: Larkin Set – Hanging Chair. we’re CLOSED: Awning white (painted red). Zacca: IshiDatami (Shadow).

Au coin de la rue 1Au coin de la rue 2

There’s not much about originality inside the house. I’ve used most of the items before –maybe with some rearrangement– except for Breno’s colorful Cardiff Petal chairs and Second Spaces‘ Eure Drafting Stool (in red) turned into a table, with Dutchie Glass vase with yellow flowers on top of it. Special mention goes to Trompe Loeil‘s Hanging Tri-Planter (yellow one, below), available at Collabor88 event. It looks nice with XED Designs Green phormium (significantly resized for a proportionate look), but I think any other hanging or small size plant will do; actually, adding any other items that may fit in will be more than ok, or even keeping the pots empty, as most people do.

Trompe Loiel hanging

{ Other items} Nature: Dutchie: Aloe vera. #NuLL: Koke bonsai. Tatty Soup: Tall lily vase (white). Xed Design: Potted dracaena (terracotta); Rubber plant (terracotta).  ||  Etc: Aria: Nina pendant light. [*Art Dummy!: For winter contemplation (silence in black); Idle (pompom flowers and vase). Bazar: Arizona – Black board. bitter vanilla:  Stepladder (red). Cheeky Pea: Hutton table (worn, resized and darkened; this item is from The Men’s Dept‘s May event). Culprit: Zen stone candles (from FaMESHed‘s first birthday event). floorplan: Pallet couch (burnt). lame, Kyle’s rug (Sunsplash). ililo (renamed +ilo+): Ind lamp (red). MMGraffiti’s: Wall decoration – Picture frames (blue). PILOT: Miller positive words A to C. POST: Afterburner occasional table (large). SFW Industries: Texture changing rug (Currents). Trompe Loeil: Bamboo ring lamp (from The Arcade gatcha Spring 2013 event); Pallet Lounger. what next: Flyaway wall art (dandelion, black). Zigana: Rug (Mahavra).

Au coin de la rue backyard

Hell, that was a lot of items! And I thought I had kept things homely. The backyard, fortunately, is definitely more simple. There’s only a couple of lame’s Angel’s Hanging Chairs (in white) “attached” to Botanical’s Wooden arbor with ivy. That’s the way they have them on display at the store, and I loved how they looked, so I’m just repeating the same concept at home. The wooden arbor were originally available at The Garden event, but now that it is over you can find them at Botanical inworld store, as well as in the marketplace.

Au coin de la rue pond

The parcel’s east side holds the main garden area. Again, it’s pretty simple: Studio Skye‘s Enchanted pond (available from the marketplace) surrounded by some vegetation. There’s also Cheeky Pea‘s Alice Pergola (another item from The Garden event).

Au coin de la rue side yard

{ Other items} Nature: 19 Motorcycle (EDO Japan): Willow tree. 3D Trees: Triple Beech. Botanical: Cattails; Pond style dragonflies. Culprit: Lotus plants. Garden World: Hosta Corfu Lily. Organica: Lotus leaves. Tiki Tattoo: Papaya tree.  ||  Etc: +ilo+: Garden set. Studio Skye: Wooden Bridge (old mossy).

Suddenly, I feel tired, lol. Furnishing a house isn’t easy for sure. Next time, I’ll rezz a canopy and a toilet, and that will be it. Or hire someone to do it for me, hehe.