My New House - The Kitchen

Having been raised Italian, to me the heart of the home has always been the kitchen. I feel the same in SL, and the kitchen is usually the first room I decorate. I love a spread, so I chose to fill my kitchen island with goodies, for a simple weeknight buffet. The little cubbies in the Tegan Kitchen from Consignment provide lots of space for little plants and treasures, and help give this room its own sense of whimsy. 

Before:

After:

FYI...I'm going to be working the next five days, so it might be a bit before the next post. 😣

And now, the credits:

Apple Fall - Basil Sproutlings LI:1

Apple Fall - Cut Tulip  Arrangement - Creme LI:1

Apple Fall - Enamel Teapot - White LI:1

Apple Fall - Towel LI:1

Apple Fall (West Village) - Ginger Jar - Navy Toile LI:1

Atooly - Kitty light/black string .black. LI:1 - (No longer available)

Canape - Silver Stainless Steel Dish Rack LI:2

Canape - Stoneware Tray Set White LI:2

Chez Moi - Recipe Books LI:2

Consignment - Tegan Kitchen - (Various pieces and LI)

D-LAB - Spice shelf (gift) LI:1

Dust Bunny - kitchen clutter . canisters . white LI:1

Dust Bunny - kitchen clutter . cutting boards LI:1

Dust Bunny - kitchen clutter . paper towels LI:1

Dust Bunny - summer picnic . silverware basket LI:1 (gacha)

Fancy Decor - Water Pitcher LI:1 (gacha)

Fancy Decor - Glasses LI:2 (gacha)

Fancy Decor - Antique Tea Caddy LI:1

Fancy Decor - Ivan Salt and Pepper Shaker LI:1

Fancy Decor - Modern Toaster LI:1

Fancy Decor - Vintage Handled Vase LI:1

Fapple - Fortune Cat (gift) LI:1

Fetch - Lunar Wall Hanger LI:1

Granola - Heat Waves Planter. LI:3

Hilted - Little Droid Pack - 3 LI:1

KraftWork - Kitchen Rails - Magnetic Knives Strip LI:2 (gacha)

KraftWork - Runner Rugs - Boho Set . Beige Rainbows LI:1

KraftWork - Runner Rugs - Boho Set . Gray Ethnic LI:1

KraftWork - Runner Rugs - Boho Set . Red Geometric LI:3

KraftWork - Tube Hanging Lights - White/Aluminium Short LI:1

Kunst - Coffee jar LI:1 (gacha)

Lok's - Pet Bowl - Food (Color Change) LI:4

Marke - Panni Aceitera LI:1

MishMish - Ceramic Friend Oil Diffuser LI:1

Mithral - Alocasia Black Velvet (Pack A) LI:1

MudHoney - TV Tray - Gray LI:1

Muniick - Wickman Ceramic Dinner Plate Stack LI:1

Muniick - Wickman Stand Mixer LI:3

Post - Marquette Broom LI:1

Pitaya - Macrame plant hanger - White (dark leaves) LI:6

Soy - Art Milk Glassware - Basket LI:1

Vespertine - Mid century kitchen accents. - cooking bowls. LI:1

Vespertine - Rainbow fruit selection tray. LI:1

Vespertine - Teardrop succulent terrarium / type 2 LI:1

Vespertine - Woodland owly utensil jar. LI:1

What Next - Palisades BBQ Condiments LI:1

What Next - Palisades Burgers & Hotdogs Platter (dispenser) LI:1

What Next - Palisades Salad Bowl LI:1

What Next - Pothos Plant (stand) LI:2

What Next - Provence Picnic Cake LI:1

What Next - Camper Cooler (beer & soda) LI:1

Getting Started...the Layout.

Sorry this has taken me so long, but this next part of putting the new house together has taken a stupidly long time, and honestly still isn't 100% set in stone. You see, when I put a new house together, I like to put all the big furnishings out first. 

I like to ensure that the furniture I want to use is going to fit. I like to live with the layout for a week or so to make sure that I can get around inside the house without bumping into walls, that I can get around the couch, and in the kitchen without having to climb over any of the furniture. 

So here is where things stand. I won't be doing complete credits here - that will happen when the house is finished - but I'll try and list what I can remember off the top of my head. 

Here's the modified house on the parcel. I still need to tweak the landscaping a bit, but landscaping A. isn't my favorite, and B. is not my strong suit, so it will probably be done last. Again, the house is from D-Lab. 

Starting with the kitchen...this is the enclosed space I created in my last post. I really love how it came out, and was thrilled to find the "Tegan Kitchen" from Consignment. It has the sleek modern look I wanted for this house, and the slatted bits mirror the slats on the outside so well, it feels like it was custom made for this space. Which it sort of was, as it's modular, so you can set it up any way that you like!

The Living Room is next. The low slung boucle' couch is from Bazar, and the boucle' chair is also from Consignment. The style and texture of these is so puffy and cozy...perfect for sitting by the fire on a chilly ocean evening. The table and chairs from elev8 (A collab between Meshworx and Bazar) will be a space for games and puzzles, but obviously could also be used for dining. The slatted side tables (see a theme here?) are from Atelier Burgundy. 

The entrance hall is pretty basic at this point. It needs plants badly, and lighting. This hall is daaark. But I'll play around with it. The bookcase is from Kraftwork, the entry shelf and mirror are from Fourth Wall, and the stool is from Schultz Bros. 

This little room was a conundrum. It was too small to be an office, too big to be a hall closet, so I opted to turn it into a half-bath. Speaking of dark, the walls and floor in here were all almost black, so I tried to lighten it up by adding the white tile walls and floor. The toilet and sink are from Bazar. 

Ah, the bedroom...my little nest. I'm sold on the bed and night tables in this room, but not sure on the rest just yet. The night tables are from What's Next, the bed is from a collab from Kraftwork, Atelier Burgundy, and Pitaya (The Nordic Cottage Collection), and the armoire is also from Kraftwork. 

The bathroom was fun to put together. The HUGE (slightly modded) shower is from Fourth Wall, the toilet, which is tucked behind the little privacy walls I put up, is from Fancy Decor, and the sink is part of the Gabor set from Consignment. I did add a prim to the floor with the same tile used in the half-bath above. Mainly because there was a drain in the floor that limited where I could put things. So I did it to make it cohesive, and so I could do what I wanted to with the space. 

Lastly, we have the little semi-enclosed outdoor area. I figure every beach house needs an outdoor shower and laundry area, so that's what I figured that would fit best here. The laundry set, including the rack is from Astralia, and the outdoor shower is from Soy, but I might be replacing it with another one I found at Fourth Wall. The (modded) cabinet next to the laundry set, which will contain toiletries, laundry stuff, and towels, is from the Thela kitchen by Your Dreams. 

"BuT SkYe iT's So MoNOchROMatic aNd BOrinG." Yeah, I know. Especially compared to the old house I had before which was light, bright, and very colorful. But remember this is just the basics, and now starts the fun part. The Decor. Adding all the rugs, plants, clutter, books, and artwork. THAT is what will make this house a home. I'll be doing it mostly a room at a time, and will dedicate a post to each, so that you can see it from all the angles, and get a view of everything. So stay tuned! 

Whoops, I Did it Again...

Hi! I do still plan on doing more of the One Room Challenges, but am taking a break from this because, "OMG NEW HOUSE!!!". 

A little backstory...due to circumstances that are not mine to share, I had to move parcels suddenly. I went from a four seasons sim in the middle of winter in February, to an "All beach, all the time" sim. My little winter cottage wasn't going to cut it on this parcel, and I decided I wanted something long, low, modern, and sexy to replace it. 

I rezzed every house I have, which is a lot, and nothing struck me. I went shopping, and didn't find anything that ticked all the boxes. So I put out an old standby in the meantime, the "St. Paul 2021" from Scarlet Creative, which is pretty much the antithesis of what I was looking for, but it was loved and familiar, so I was still happy with it. It is the height of bright, shabby Mediterranean vacation chic, as you can see below.)

Then, while wandering around this month's Uber (open through May 22nd), I found it. The "Sea Side Long House" from D-Lab. It was (mostly) everything I was looking for. I bought it on a whim, then had a moment of panic that it would be TOO long for my parcel, but it just fits. I'll have to swizzle around my landscaping a bit, but that's not a big deal. (On that note...home designers...PLEASE include the house's dimensions in your ads, and/or provide a floorplan cut-out demo that we can take with us to make sure your house will work on our parcels. Thanks!) 

Here it is! 

The front of it is spartan and uninviting to say the least, but from a privacy standpoint, it's great. But the back of the house is the real gem...all those windows...nothing but view! Upon going inside and walking the house, the main thing I noticed was that there wasn't really space for a kitchen, which for me is an issue because I adore kitchens. I wandered out to the patio area over on the left, tried a few things out, and decided to enclose it, and make it the kitchen. 

Now, the key to modding a house like this, is to try and make it look intentional. You want it to blend, you want the textures to match. You want to make it look like the creator themselves had done it as much as possible. 

When I mod a house like this, I tend to go to a sandbox, and rez two copies. The one I'm going to add to, and the one I'm going to unlink and rip apart for walls, windows, beams, doors, whatever I can scrounge and make work. When doing this work, it's best to do it in a bright, shadowless environment, so that if you have to tint things, you're seeing it a good light, and the chances of it matching are much better. 

After some (OK, a lot of) finagling, here is the finished product. I am incredibly pleased with how it came out. 

I won't detail everything I did, but I'll point out the main parts, to give you an idea. 

Do you see the slatted portion on the right? I wanted to mirror that on the wall of the enclosure.

Obviously, the kitchen wall needed to be solid, so grabbed a copy of the wall below where the orange arrow is pointing. It's lighter on the outside, but the inside matches the texture of other inside walls, so it worked out perfect.  For the sliding doors that lead out to the deck, I grabbed copies of two of the windows where the yellow arrow is pointing, and sized them to fit. I ended up having to remove the scripts in those doors, as when you would open them, they'd open up the living room doors as well. I very simply replaced that script with one I had in my inventory, and it works fine and there are no conflicts. 

This is the inside view...I am considering adding a tile floor, but haven't found just the right texture. I was unable to stretch the floor as it has baked-in shading, so I need to find something in the same spirit. I also edited the former outside doors to keep them back, and leave the walkthrough open. 

So, I think that's enough for now. There are still some fine tuning tweaks to make, but in the next post we'll be getting into the fun part...decorating! I hope you stay for this little journey, and have fun with me as I put it all together. Now to go inworld, take down the old house, and get the parcel ready to go. TTYL!