Welcome to the Homes and Tomes House Rally #9 – Dedicated to the SMALL HOUSE!!!
I’m your host Huell Kuerden, and we’ll be looking at some houses tonight that you started the game in!Remember your very first house? It was likely one like we are showing tonight! These homes are very flexible, and are often overlooked for more statuesque residences.
In addition to the standard in-game 2-bedroom houses, the
Comparing them to my first real apartment, they are larger, better lit, and lack the uninvited vermin of my first abode!!!
As we take a look at these houses, don’t forget to reward the designers by liking creativity and/or style! Try to wait though until everyone zones in to Like a house – otherwise the house can shift in the list and make it hard to find!
Don’t forget though! It means more people will visit and enjoy someone’s hard work!
For anyone new, we’ll be visiting houses via the Housing & Leaderboards selection of the main EQ2 menu. Sometimes the numbers have shifted a little, just ask if you can’t find it!
And now on to this week of Norrath’s Gold! Our first stop is…
A Basement Apothecary: Small Homes #4 (Creativity) done using the Personal Dojo by Rayvenna
This little place works really well! You zone into a small basement room full of stores. By reskinning the Dojo with Finished Stone dividers, Rayvenna achieves a nice basement look.
Also note the ‘beams’ – Narrow Dividers of Banded Sandalwood – which further add to the basement impression!
There are many little details that show a lot of thought into the room, from the clipboard to the Tradeskill Apprentice. The maps and widely assorted barrels and crates complete the room.
To the right is a small greenhouse featuring interesting mushrooms! I thought the use of the Dual Charge Station for artificial greenhouse lighting was neat!
Straight ahead is the apothecary’s office and workroom. The careful decoration of the cabinets adds a lot of visual interest. Note the pattern in the floor!
Next we have a small, twisted Frostfell-based take on Hansel & Gretel… Go to:
Gingerbread Witches Abode (Creativity) done using Personal Dojo by Orpiment
Here is another use of the Dojo, reskinned entirely using Gingerbread! The main room is a simple sitting room with Kobold, which adds a nice growling sound-effect.Turn around and look at how tiles are embedded in the exit door – you can often get unique effects this way and still have a working portal.
Looking to your left on zone-in is a small bedroom. Look at the construction of the commode – very nicely done even though the candy seat IS a bit creepy!
Going forward, you enter a small kitchen. The cages for dinner guests include Qho as well as others. Tough luck – probably was here harvesting candy apples!
Look at the work on the cabinetry, giving a rustic look using items all characters can make! I liked this since it shows even a down-at-the-heels adventurer just starting out could decorate something nice.
Our next place is one of the offices from the guild hall – again making use of the endlessly flexible Dojo. Note this is a Hall of Fame, not a Small House in the Leaderboards. Go to:
Men’s Room & Apocalypse Shelter: Hall of Fame #103 (Creativity) done using the Dojo by Kehhi
Here we have an attempt at a modern Men’s Room combined with a Guild Office. DISCLAIMER – this is one of mine! If you have sound on the whole place is quite gurgly!
Here the Dojo is reskinned in white tile, with white light provided by Icy Pedestal Tables from Frostfell. These cool little items give off a white, unwavering light that fakes fluorescents quite well. They are covered by blocks of ice to conceal them.
The fixtures are based on Titanium Pitchers, which have the benefit of having a water-effect in them. By the way, you can see in the ceiling a little error I made without noticing – the beams from the Shelter stick through – and I didn’t notice until now!
The large red button is on a sign that provides instruction. I’m not sure if the effect only catches the presser or if it is area effect! Volunteers?
Opening the cleaning closet door, you’ll see a second door. Open it as well. Go into the Shelter and check it out. There is an instruction manual on the control station.
Look left down the room and you’ll see a wall ventilator made with a gear and a rotated fan and round black tile.
Yes – this is where Kehhi thinks up his demented schemes. Here behind the washroom!
And next, we travel to… Another Dojo! And it’s one where for once it’s actually used as a dojo!!! Go to:
Bruisers Dojo: Small Homes #17 (Creativity) done using the Personal Dojo by Xaela
I was so surprised to see a dojo as a dojo I had to include it! Here we have a traditional room without any reskinning.
Lots of tasteful weapons displays make the room interesting – and no, I’m not sure about the fish… I guess if you teach Crane style a fish makes sense! Snatch the Salmon from my hand, Grasshopper?
Some interesting items are used as martial arts gear, take a look! I particularly liked the hanging punching bag using a Chandelier of the Ascent for a Chain!
In the next room is a bedroom, rock garden, and small indoor garden.
As you can see, the original dojo is quite attractive, and offers some nice options for people who want to decorate without going whole-hog and reskinning the place.
It is also one of the most geometrical houses, with everything mostly at right angles (the center panels are slightly off true).
Finally, we have a non-dojo to look at! Go to:
Another Stupid Acorn: Small Homes #3 (Creativity) done using the 2-room Acorn by Kamad
Here we have a standard two-room acorn, which I have to say is one of the hardest structures to work with. DISCLAIMER – One of mine again!
The leaf ramp at the entrance, and the (horrible) ramp to the second story are the main changes to the lower floor. The ramp (actually supposed to be made of rope and wood) is semi-circular and twisted along its length.
This makes putting in stairs very difficult, and here the effort was only partially successful! Around the perimeter are stained glass ovals, which brings up another point.
The acorns are actually multi-sided (more than a dozen). This means flat objects paced on the walls are occluded by the next wall section, making placement a problem. The walls are also not all the same size.
Going upstairs, many of the same problems occur. The round carpet penetrates the wall, and is visible outside through the window. Might be interesting to put a balcony outside.
All in all, Acorns are horrible to work with – but can give pleasing results! Just expect a wee bit more work to get them right!
Savina’s Freeport Apartment: Small Homes #27 (Creativity) done using the 2-room Freeport by Savina
Here is a straight-forward unskinned residence which features on of the great advantages of Qeynos and Freeport housing – the ability to ‘wall-paper’ the walls, ceiling and floor.
In this case, the walls have been redone using the fitted stone block appearance, which I find quite handsome.
By the way, the appearances are different between the two cities. I was disappointed when I noticed you couldn’t get the same block appearance in Qeynos.
The beaming of Freeport apartments offer interesting lost possibilities as well.
Now we move to the OTHER side. Go to:
A Monk’s Sushi Bar and Home: Small Homes #25 (Creativity) done using the 2-room Qeynos by Aileas
Can you believe this house has been up for nearly a year and only had one Like! The décor works really well, and again the walls, floor and ceiling have been papered using one of several wood appearances!
The back room is less ornate, and has been kept very minimalist.
And now on to yet another 2-room, this one in Gorowyn! Goto:
Wiol Ono: Small Homes #26 (Creativity) done using the 2-room Gorowyn by Altareth
This house is limited, but does give a nice clean, very minimalistic Gorowyn room which is clearly intended as simply a portal room. It provides all the basic necessities to make the game easier, and nothing more!
Having said that – I liked the simplicity! Anyone coming in can easily find the broker displays, as well as a guild door.
Whle this is small, the Gorowyn 2-room is very Large to work with, and offers lots of opportunities for multi-stories, lofts, etc. and while multi-sided remains easily skinnable. Maybe the best of the 2-rooms!
Avafia’s Galaxia Laboratorium: Hall of Fame #17 (Newly Published) by Avafia
Added and done ad-hoc! Highly recommended!
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