Not everyday do you get hit by a creative cloud. In my case though it seemed more like a ton of bricks than the symbolic bright light bulb (with the slight sound of a chime hahaha). Like most people who can create wonderful things from a blank page, seeing a vacated condominium unit below the penthouse was no less the same for me. It was a perfect opportunity for me to creatively express and do one of the many things I love doing most: interior designing.
Back in the old days of yore when AutoCAD (Automated Computer Aided Designing) was still in its infancy stage. We were used to designing with our ever so reliable Staedtler Mars®Matic technical pens on Grade A Rotring drafting paper. God I love those things!
OMG Which reminds me, an old mate of mine borrowed the whole set and haven't returned them to me yet. Worse part is, I forgot her name.. (laughter). Those were given to me by my dad (pouts) and meant a lot to me, considering my dad hasn't given me that much hahahaha.
Typical empty tropical condo-unit with a 400 prim allowance. The main attraction of this property are its bay view windows and idyllic surroundings. A prime real estate even in RL standards.
Still the same floor area with an alternative design trip. One of the important points that inspired us to build a conservatory was for us to have a plausible pond for our (yep you guess it right) 7Seas fishing. It was a bit ridiculous fishing in the bedroom and in the seating area. hahaha
Same room... different floor and with a post modern-twist. Constant improvements have made us arrive to a point where in not much is left to do. Quite pleased with the outcome actually. What do you think?Kidding aside, Second Life has opened a lot of doors for creativity to grow. No resident needs a technical degree to be able to create such wonderful things. The SL platform has made 3D rendering easy for most of us to manipulate, explore and enjoy - devoid of all the technicalities that comes along with stereotypical and traditional methods.
So far I have become my own furniture builder and designer, and the thousands of textures available to us makes rendering more simpler. I've heard that real life Architects and Designers have set up their own virtual office in Second Life. Indeed SL could be a perfect venue to demonstrate an almost real life presentation of your work to clients, albeit even drawn to scale.
So what's with the blank condo space?
Well I just chanted Mumford's magic word: "Ala peanut butter sandwiches" (poof), and a vision of what to do with the condo came to mind. Perhaps we needed a buffer below the penthouse to protect our privacy? hahaha Well perhaps, after all having had a very strange tenant below us before was a bit hair raising. Imagine her "bottom privates" whispering kinky and at times "grossly suggestions" of what that part of her body wants to do (raises eyebrows), not to mention a very-very noisy cyber bed (did I say noisy already?... try to imagine that hahaha).
Bay windows needing a bit of a Midas' touch. What do you think will happen next? Well looking at the lower picture is what's going to happen next (laughter).
Beyond the pond. Think pink and white tulips, think Dutch! hehehe Just our little private sanctuary when you just want to sit, relax and chat the day (or night) away.
Where a lot of ideas were built featuring my personal (but Lizzy-inspired) creations: The Mornington Aquarium; 2-seater Breakfast nook (in which the lower compartment can be converted into another fish tank or a fireplace); a Japanese dining table (sushi-time! oishi, kampai!); a converted fridge (formerly a static fridge, but with the help of invisible prims and object giver scripts made it possible to modify the appliance to my own preference) which gives out various meals, snacks and desserts.While most tenants in the condo utilise the west-side as their bedroom, I thought a dining and kitchen would be more appropriate for this area which compliments the stairs leading up to the roof-deck and the mezzanine.
Nowadays, when I attempt to do designs (yeah coz' I don't do it as a profession anymore, I "is" retired with that hahaha... pardon the pun), it would take me a longer time deciding what to do next. I used to be faster and spontaneous in my younger years as a graphic designer. I guess I need some sort of a viagra for the brain then? hahaha
The last time I remember I had some sort of a designing breakthrough was when an investment brochure project came to my attention, about a year ago or so. Condo Unit 10 would be another one since then... and how good this one truly is. It's not everyday that you get brilliant ideas raining down from heaven you know.
Putting All The Pieces Together
The fun part was connecting the right pieces together: from scripted items, an ideal park bench down to flowering plants and the right type of grass. I was like a happy dog enjoying the fresh country air (from an open window of a speeding car) as I hop from one sim to another. Very adamant that I get that picture perfect vision in my head, presented in physical prim form... not satisfied until it would be good enough to live up to the name Lizzy's Secret Garden (smiles).
Another blank space needs a makeover! The condo's east-side, just the right size for another bit of magic. Like the rest of the condominium, huge glass panels gives it that fresh breezy feeling... something I would call "claustrophobic friendly" windows hahahaI do have a confession to make though... the whole project may not be entirely for my babes (sticks his tongue out). Two-thirds of the project may have been all flowery and feminine but I had the urge to add a bit more of brute force in the third that remained. Just balancing the yin and yang in the feng sui of designing. And there is only one thing that would be perfect for that spot, none other than my beloved Ferrari F1 2008. I wish there was a way I could make the car rotate while on display, but sorry it's no modify (sighs).
Something I would really want to have in real life, my very own Ferrari Shrine (hey Barbie-gal eat your heart out hahaha). A Ferrari F1 2007 that won Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) the Formula One championship. Posters of former world champ Michael Schumacher (Ger) and the ever reliable Felipe Massa (Bra) are on display as well as official Ferrari F1 helmets and an Acer Ferrari laptop (though IRL I am more of a Dell follower) that will actually lead you to this blog when clicked upon. Make sure you don't read my personal MSN-IMs in there, yeah? chuckles
Would you be surprised if i told you that this part of the penthouse is my favourite? You wouldn't, would you? My favourite command would also be /1 hide (hahahaha). Lizzy and I call this area the "snooker room", and to why we call it that way is just between her and I (sticks tongue out). Lots of personally modified gadgets in here as well. Also top secret (smiles)Now with the Ferrari shrine in place (as well as all the gadgets and gizmos to perk it up) and our secret garden built-up to appeal from all angles... I think it would be safe to say that my vision and mission is now complete.
Lizzy's Garden Up Close
Just to highlight some of the special features of Lizzy's Garden. All it took was putting together all the right flowering plants, textured materials and scripted objects. Now I've got something to really be proud of, I know Lizzy is too!
A bay window with a fantastic view. You can watch the sun rise from here, amazing even if it's just virtual SL. Sadly the last time Lizzy and I hung-out here was when a storm blew-up her router. Now that was one really nasty crash. Ugh!
Special features: Waterfall themed walls (with ambient water flowing sounds and water splash animation); Flexy fan-tail gold fishes (radial swim); Pond Japanese Koi; Flowing rock with 7Seas fishing server scripts (just transfer the contents of the official transparent server to your preferred object); and a Wishing Pond (utilising a Migizi North tip jar script).
What does this picture tell you? hahaha...a) Lizzy fell asleep on me because it was already 1:30 am in Oz
b) Oh babes, I have to be honest with you, I'm gay
c) Sorry babes, I grazed your knee
d) Damn, I declined that new SUR
e) Read my mind babes, hint: I'm hawt!
f) Ewwwww babes, you farted!
Well the real answer is: I wonder what I will be doing next? hahaha gotcha mate
