Doin' The...Kiiiiitchen!

Hi there Pigeons! 

So, now that we have our skybox renovations done, it's time to start furnishing. When I furnish a place, I try to put all the big furniture down first, before adding knick-knacks. This is especially important to do if you're on a small parcel, with fairly limited LI availability, as I am. It gives you an idea of what you'll have left for decor and clutter, once all the main stuff is rezzed. Because it doesn't do you much good to use 80% of your prim allowance on just two rooms, when you have five to work on. 

It let's you edit...is your kitchen too primmy? Do you have too many chairs in your living area? Is your bed's LI count ridiculous? You have a chance to select other items that might suit your LI availability better, and give you more leeway for decor. 

Today I'm going to concentrate on the kitchen. Since it's usually the most intensive room to put together, I like to get it out of the way first. As with your parcel, it's good to get a measurement of the available space.

As with buying a house, you want to make sure that if you're going for an "All-In-One" kitchen, where everything is included in one linked mass, or just a couple of pieces rather than being fully modular, that it will fit in your allotted space. Below I'll post some that I happen to have in my inventory that fit the area shown, to give you some ideas. But when you go shopping, remember to take a copy of this prim, so you can use it to "measure". 

This pretty kitchen is made with the following:

Dysfunctionality - Cozy Country Kitchen Sink & Cabinets (Kitchen 3 LI, Oven 1 LI)

Post - Marquette Monitor Top Fridge (6 LI)

  Both of these items feature color changeable options, and have a cute, early 20th century look. And Dysfunctionality is WONDERFUL about keeping the LI low, while keeping a lot of the pretty details. 

This more industrial looking set is made up of:
Vespertine - Small Spaces Kitchen (5 LI)
Balaclava!! - Tricia Shelf & Plates (2 LI)

  (Not on Marketplace, so here's a SLURL. Comes with a plain shelf and separate plates, too.)
ChiMia - Kitchen Trolley (1 LI) and Ladder Pan Rack (3 LI)

  I've used this kitchen in a more cottage setting, but it really isn't appropriate for an elegant Parisian apartment, but I figured I'd include it. Of course you'd want to find some more stuff to fill it up, this is just a very basic look. 

This cute kitchen is from:
Trompe Loeil - Timeless Kitchen in Teal (29 LI as shown.)
  (Also comes with a Cafe' Table and Chair - Not shown)
  I love this kitchen, and have used it A LOT. Trompe Loeil also has bigger, newer kitchens, too, so if you like this, you can check out the others. This has a more mid-century-modern feel to it, which again isn't the most appropriate for the space. 

Now, let's talk modular kitchens. Like RL kitchens, these give you most flexibility with setting up your kitchen space. They generally also use up more LI, but it can be worth it to get just the kitchen you want. They're especially great when they allow you to change colors on anything from the cabinets themselves, to the backsplash and countertops. I'm going to give you links to the ones that I have, but of course you'll need to do your own research and figure out what works best for you. 

Consignment - Catia Kitchen (Comes in White or Black)

  This is a VERY pretty kitchen, that goes with any number of home styles. This kitchen does have glass fronted upper cabinets, and remember...that means more decor is needed to make it look "full". But, this kitchen comes with custom, low LI decor items, which is a nice feature. 

Cheeky Pea - Cape Point Kitchen

  This is a great galley kitchen, that works with vintage and modern styles. I've even mixed and matched the upper shelves and cabinets from this set with the Vespertine set I showed above. 

Apple Fall Plantation Kitchen (Comes in other colors, as well.)

  (The Stove is sold separately, and is not on the Marketplace. Kitchen and Stove may still both be available at the Apple Fall store in the Outlet/Discount area.) SLURL

  This is a gorgeous set...it's from Apple Fall after all...so you know the textures and workmanship are exquisite. Again with the glass front upper cabinets, so keep that in mind. 

~BAZAR~ - Toronto Kitchen (PG)

  This is an older kitchen, but still great! Just note it rezzes with Full Bright turned on, so you'll want to turn that off. Also, it's a bit oversized so keep that in mind. It's wonderful in an industrial or cabin type space, being all wood and iron. I have the Dining Room set too, and really love it. I've used this one a lot in my more modern homes. 

ROOST - Palm View Kitchen Set

  This one is fairly new to me, and I've only used it once, but it's wonderful in a big, modern, airy house. The big island is great for additional seating, and to use as a divider of sorts if you have a multi-use space. 

So now...(drumroll please) let's get to the kitchen I'm using for my space.

Muniick - Wickman Farmhouse Kitchen Cabinet Set v2 (PG)

  Optional Decor Package (Also available as separate items)

I chose this kitchen because I like that it has four different colors of cabinets, and the light or dark countertop is a nice feature. It has a nice European type look to it that I thought would be perfect in this space, and I've bought some other items from Muniick, so I knew the quality would be good. I did get a few individual decor items, but skipped the whole set, as I already have a ton of kitchen decor. The picture below shows the different available colors. 

So, how did I set it up? Let me show you!

Figure 1 - First, I set the corner cabinets. I suggest NOT resizing these, and putting them down first, to set the base for your kitchen. 

Figure 2 - Next, I add the other major items, here being the sink, range, and refrigerator. (Note: The fridge and fridge cabinet in this set are ginormous, so I did size them down to make them fit the space and my avatar better.)

Figure 3 - This is where you can fill in space with the individual cabinets. I added another lower cabinet to the right of the stove to give it a finished look, and a set of drawers next to the sink. Generally with these cabinets you can fiddle with the size to get them to fit properly. In this case, I stretched the drawers to fit the space between the sink and the corner cabinet. 

Figure 4 - Lastly, I added the upper items, in this case the range hood, a couple of corner shelves, an upper cabinet, and the fridge surround. 

Below, is the finished product. 

I did make a couple of changes to the range hood. I wanted full tile for the kitchen area, so I did an "Edit Link" on it, and made the pot faucet transparent. Since the partial backsplash contained the script for the light, I made it transparent as well, and moved it so it would be in front of my tile wall, thereby still accessible. I thought the Art Nouveau tile suited the space well, and I tinted the cabinets a bit, as they were still a bit bright for the space. 

All in all, I'm pretty happy with how it came out. It's about 30 LI as shown, and I think I can live with that. But you never know...things could still change, but let's hope I can keep it. 

 I did start work on the dining area, but as this post is already pretty long, we'll get to that in the next one. Take care, and see you soon! 💖

Renovation Time! (edited)

It seems like no matter how perfect a build is at first glance, there always seems to be a few things that you want to change. I rezzed my new skybox on ground level, got it situated comfortably on my parcel to allow me space on all sides, then I sent it skyward. I had already done my homework to find out where in the sky I could put it so that there wouldn't be all kinds of neighbors around me, and I did that by checking out odd elevations. 

A lot of people will go for even numbers up in the sky. So instead of checking at 1000 meters, 1500 meters, 2000 meters, etc., I chose an odd number of 1320 meters. It was perfect, so that's where I sent my new place. 

As I take my own advice, I then put some landscaping down on ground level, to get that out of the way, and ensure that I wouldn't overdo my skybox and run out of LI before I had a chance to do it. It's not amazing, but it does the job. 

I then tp'd up to the skybox, and figured out what I wanted to fix. The first thing was the doors to the room where I wanted to put the kitchen and dining area. They had to go, because I wanted that room open to the living area. To do that, I clicked "Edit" on the skybox and checked "Edit Linked". I selected the two doors, and clicked the "Unlink" button, to unlink them from the rest of the skybox. As I planned to repurpose them, I didn't delete them, just moved them out of the way. 

(Edited to add...When unlinking pieces/parts from a build, it CAN cause issues. If you unlink the root prim, and there are any scripts or anything in it, it can cause things to stop working. Unlinking in mesh creations can also mess up the physics of the item. Always make sure that anything you adjust is copy/mod, so if it blows up on you, you can rez a new one. Testing first is important!)

Here's the Before and After:

Once that was done, I went into the bed/bath suite, where I wanted to ADD some doors. Right now, the two doors I was going to repurpose opened out, and I wanted them to slide, as I planned to make them pocket doors. So I went to the Marketplace, and found a cheap and easy script to use. I then edited each of the doors, went to the "Contents" tab, and deleted the script that was in them, and replaced it with the new sliding door script. 

I added some pillars from the Fancy Decor - Classic Wall Panel Kit to either side of the door opening to form the "pockets" for the doors, did my best to tint them to match the surrounding environment, and maneuvered the repurposed doors into the doorframe, and fiddled with them until I had them centered. With the new script, I set them up by clicking and holding on them until the setup menu appeared, and again fiddled with them until they opened up the way I wanted them too, and as far open as I wanted. 

Here's the Before and After (and After, Opened):

Now that I knew that my bathroom would have a little privacy, there was just one more simple change to make. While the bedroom came complete with a fireplace, the living area did not, and I generally prefer having a fireplace in the living area, as a gathering point to put the rest of my furniture around. So I decided to block the center window, and put the fireplace there. 

To do so, I used the Fancy Decor - Simple Wall Panel to block the window, stretching it until it fit properly. It also comes with a HUD to let you adjust the color some, so I used that, then edited it to get the color to (mostly) match. For the fireplace, I used the Scarlet Creative - Cordelia Fireplace. It's a gacha, so I won't link to any here, but I did find one on the Marketplace for as low as 119 L$. I honestly might swap it for the Dysfunctionality - Christine Fireplace, as that fireplace is lower in LI, and has a TON of different colors and textures, and controls for the fire itself. It's an amazing deal for the price, and comes in both a wall and corner option. 

And here's the last Before and After:

So for the next post, we'll actually get started on decorating! I'll be away for a long weekend, but hopefully I can get started on that next week. Bought a new kitchen set that I'll be featuring, so we'll see how that goes. 

Everyone take care, and have a great rest of the week! (And if you ever have any questions, or need any help, hit me up in the comments or inworld! My full name is Skye Donardson.) 

 

The Big Purchase

Buckle up kiddos, this is going to be a long one.

In the last post we talked about some of the prep to help with purchasing an SL home. For my workspace, I've decided on a skybox. So now that I've decided on this, I need to find one. Now, if you've done any shopping inworld or on the Marketplace, you know how freaking overwhelming this can be. 

Personally, I'll usually go out to the Marketplace to start, and to help narrow things down I'll put in the style I want. Even still, if you type in, say..."Modern", you're going to get a ton of results. You can start to narrow it down by going to Buildings and Other Structures -> Other Structures -> Sky Boxes, do 96 items per page, and sort by your criteria. If L$ is a constraint, set your range, then you can sort by "Newest First", so you can see the latest and greatest. Or if quality is important, you can sort by "Rating: High to Low". 

When you see one that looks promising, see if they list good details, like the dimensions, the Land Impact, and whether it's available to view inworld. Trust me, that last item is important. You're going to want to see it, walk through it, and determine if it's really what you want before you buy. What may look perfect in the listing, can end up being a dud once you're inside it. If it seems to fit everything you want, add it as a favorite, and keep going. 

Once you have your list of favorites, start checking them out inworld. I'm not going to lie...this can be a slog. For my skybox for this project, I went to countless stores, often more than once, nit-picking everything. Can I afford it? Does it have the space I need? Will it fit? Can I manage a higher LI for the one I want? Are the textures good? Now, you might not be that exacting, and that's fine. But I'm a picky bitch, and want it perfect. 

For my skybox, I wanted "Parisian". My home right now is VERY modern, and I enjoy a contrast, so I wanted this skybox to be the opposite. A little worn and shabby, but still classic and elegant. I had some that already fit the bill, but they were either too large, too new looking, or too small. I had to find my Goldilocks skybox, so shopping I went.

Below is a list of the skyboxes I toured/own, and at the end, the one I finally chose. 

Apple Fall Parisian Skybox - Beautiful, as all Apple Fall stuff is, but too small.
Apple Fall - West Village Belgravia Skybox - Peeked at this while at Apple Fall, but it too was too small. BUT IT'S GORGEOUS. 
Apple Fall - London Apartment - And one from Apple Fall that I already own, and while a favorite, it's just far too big. 
BA - Paris Loft Skybox - One from Barnesworth Anubis that I considered, but in the end was just a bit small.
BA - Paris Penthouse: Deluxe Suite - This skybox from Barnesworth Anubis is one that I have, and while it AMAZING, it was just far too large. But seriously. If you want the ultimate Paris penthouse, this one I highly recommend.
Trompe Loeil Margaux Skybox - Gorgeous, but too small. But ask me how many Trompe Loeil houses I have. (The answer is OH SO MANY.) 
NG-Designs - Life in Provence Skyloft - This one from NG Designs was cute with the outdoor terrace, but it just wasn't quite what I was looking for. 
Milk Motion - Paris Haussmann Apartment - Gorgeous skybox from Milk Motion, but too high in L$ an LI. 
Diamandis - Parisian Apartment Skybox - A pretty little skybox from Diamandis that was, alas, too little for me. (A new to me store, with really great skyboxes!)
Vespertine - Spring Rainy Days Skybox - I actually already own this skybox from Vespertine, and while I love it dearly, it was just a little too cramped. 
Tarte - Primrose Skybox - From Tarte...very pretty, but just didn't strike me.
Tarte - Autumn Attic Skybox - And another from Tarte...this one was actually one of my finalists, but I ended up not wanting an attic-y look, so I passed on it.

AND THE WINNAH IS...
Varonis - Lueur Skybox - From Varonis, a store I'd never heard of before, but OMG, their work is incredible. This apartment is nearly perfect, and I fell in love with it the second I landed inside of it. The LI is a bit high, but I can work around that. (Their other apartments are also incredible, so I highly recommend checking out their selection.)

What did I tell you?? I looked at A LOT of shops, and A LOT of skyboxes to find just the one I wanted. 

Sticking some pictures below of the new place. I'm so excited to get started on it, but that will be in the next post, as this one has gone on entirely too long. 

Let's Get Started!

So, I've rented a parcel - quite nicely neighboring my current home - which will be my workspace for this blog. What to do with it? Well, the first thing I usually do, is measure it. I do this because whether I choose to do a ground house or a skybox, I need to make sure that what I choose is going to fit. 

As shown below, for a ground house I'll rez a box, and stretch it to fit the AVAILABLE space that I have to work with. Just note, that this space might not be the full size of your parcel. It will be the open space you have to put a house and some landscaping down on. Usually this size will work for a skybox as well, as they generally tend to be a bit on the smaller size. I label it with the measurements in the name and take it into my inventory, so I have it handy as I go shopping. Why? Because sometimes you run into creators that for some reason fail to put the basic footprint size of their houses anywhere on their advertisements. 

So what do you do if you're not sure it will fit, and you can't rez your parcel footprint? This is going to sound silly, but go into the demo, and stand as close to the middle of the house as you can. Turn off your AO, get into a simple stationary pose, then attach the panel that you made to your spine, or your groin, or something central on your body. It should attach to that center point, and if you cam up, you should then be able to get a pretty good idea of whether the house will work. 

It looks stupid, but I guarantee you'll be happier doing that, then spending L$ on a house that's too big. Because keep in mind that putting a house that's too large on a parcel looks disproportionate. If you really need the room, it's easier to go up and get a multi-story house, then have it all spread out in a one level ranch that takes up too much space.

Unless, of course, you decide to go with a skybox. Then you'd probably have a bit more wiggle room. You just need to figure out what is going to work for you. I would suggest that if you're on a private sim, and decide to go with a skybox, do try to leave some LI balance to at least put a few trees and some grass at ground level. It keeps the sim looking nice. If you're on the Mainland, and doing a skybox more out of necessity? I generally wouldn't worry about it. 

I have decided for this project, that I'm going to concentrate on doing a skybox. In the next installment, we'll go through what I currently have, and possibly go shopping for a new one. Because one can never have too many, you see. 😉

Introductions...

Hello there! This blog is brand spanking new, and what I'm hoping to do here is share my adventures in decorating in Second Life. I am a notorious house buyer, and inevitably purchase lots of furniture and home decor to decorate them. My inventory is slightly nuts to say the least.  

I'm not a professional interior designer by any means, but I have a lot of fun decorating, modding things, and trying new stuff, so I thought I'd share them here, along with tips and tricks on how to feather your SL nest, and make your house a home. 

I hope you'll join me!