Norrathian Interior Design

What was your inspiration for this home?

After creating my upside down house, I wanted to do something really cool with layouts. I spotted the Norrathion Globe item in my guildhall and thought it would be amazing to be able to create a huge one, and so the idea was born!

What are your favourite materials to work with in-game to create certain effects (waterfalls, stairs, grottos, aquariums, etc)?

I very much like natural materials such as wood, stone and garden type ones. I like materials that can be used to create effects that weren’t what they were originally made for. I love the introduction of the cloudy squares with the cloudy movement on them – combined with the layout feature they open up so many possibilities. I also love the marble items as they have a lovely texture and reflect light really nicely.

How long did this home take?

In total this took 5 days from start of idea to finishing the project. By 5 days, I mean 5 days of constant working all day. I did waste one day as the globe was turning out too big so I had to tear it down and start again.

Did you plan it with a certain story in mind, or did it just grow out of what you had on hand or what your character would want in their home?

The story actually came last. I decided on the globe first then decided that it needed a story to go with it as well. Because the story located the globe within a dimensional pocket I realised I had to create that pocket and so built the enormous cube using white marble tiles. I have to say that player made books were invaluable for this project – even though there are only two of them, I think they add a great effect.

How many items did you end up using and was it hard to keep within the limits?

The house contains 549 items. I was worried about the item count at the start as the cube itself took around 220 tiles so I was concerned that I would run out of space for the actual globe, but it worked out fine and I didn’t even need to use an expander.

What decorating tips do you have for your fellow decorators (veteran or newbies)?

A couple really – buy an expander if you need more space. The escape key is your friend – if you accidently start to move the wrong item, hit escape and it will go back to where it was. Make friends with other decorators – use the homeshow forum a lot and also join the homeshow chat channel which is full of friendly people – use /join Antonia_Bayle.Homeshow or just /join Homeshow if already on AB. Don’t be afraid to experiment with using items in unconventional or experimental ways. Finally, a practical tip – if the house is going to hold sales crates, think carefully about where those will be. People hate hunting for a sales crate if they have only entered your house to buy something. For that reason, I always place my sales area where it can be seen from the door, even if it is through an archway in a separate room, as in this house.

What one thing would you like to be able to build in-game if you could have all the materials you wanted and item limits weren't a constraint?

I would love to be able to design a house from scratch, including size, layout etc. This would enable such creative houses to be built. For I house item I would love a water or glass tile without frames, a starry tile which looks like the sky with movement included on it such as a shooting star – like the movement on the cloudy squares and finally I would love a guestbook in which visitors could leave comments. While I am on the subject of what I would like – I would like to see the link between size of house and number of sales slots removed – as a decorator, I often pop into random houses to look around and all too often the big houses are just empty apart from sales crates. Alternatively an in-game feature where people could list their houses if they want visitors would be great.

If you change your decorations seasonally, what is your favourite time of year for decorations?

I love Frostfell but this house won’t change at all. I can’t face redoing it =O)

Who was involved in the decorating for your home, if you had help?

I did the decorating myself but need to thank Jesdyr for his layout program. I also need to thank Kearie who responded with a donation of teleporters when I asked for help in 1-9 chat. Finally I need to thank 2 of my fellow Fate guild members – Monkeymezza and Viracocha who donated the tokens that I needed in order to obtain that many white marble tiles.