Important Sacred Spaces Update

  Due to the recent days when Everquest II was unplayable, and to the schedules of several judges, the Sacred Spaces competition dates have been changed. We are extending the competition by several weeks. If you have already posted your Sacred Space on the leaderboards, you are welcome to remove it and make any changes you deem appropriate. Do not forget to republish! All homes must be published in order to be considered for judging.

• New end date for decorating: August 9th, 11:59 PM PST
• New start date for judging: August 10th, 12:00 AM PST
• New end date for judging: August 16th, 11:59 PM PST

All prizes should (barring real life conflicts) be sent out by August 24th. We will update the contestants if something happens to prevent their items from being presented by that date.

Happy decorating!

The Norrathian Punkocalypse Challenge

  Niboota Bloodyeyes (the woman behind the Evertour Entries) is hosting a decorating contest! Imagine a Norrath in which the gnomes and their technology have overrun Norrath... and then it all goes KABLOOEY! It's called the Norrathian Punkocalypse Challenge, and you can read more about it here.

  I highly encourage people to sign up. It looks like a lot of fun. (Plus the more people who sign up, the more neat houses we get to see!)

  Important dates:

• Started on: July 7th at 12 AM CST
• Runs until: September 7th at 11:59 PM CST (Please note that there is no deadline for entering the contest. You can enter your home on September 7th at 11:59 PM CST exactly, and still participate! Just make sure your home is done by then.)
• Appraisals (her term for the judging): However long it takes! No firm dates, since the appraisers have "real life."

Winners get:

The Grand Challengee

• Any giftable Daybreak Store items up to 2000DC.
• Your very own category on The Evertour Entries, and a video for every house you ever design from your winning moment on, as soon as it's complete.

The Efficiency Flanker

• One giftable Daybreak Store item up to 500DC.

The Presentation Princess or Prince

• One giftable Daybreak Store item up to 500DC.

The Feel Good Furnisher

• One giftable Daybreak Store item up to 500DC.

So what are you waiting for? Go go go!

Opening Commission Services to Antonia Bayle

  Good news! Homes and Tomes' very own Meeba has decided that it's time to open our commissions up to all of the Antonia Bayle decorators!

  Homes and Tomes is constantly receiving commission requests (you must be a member of our webpage to see the form, sadly). Unfortunately, we do not have enough decorators to cover them all, and commissions sometimes sit there waiting for months before one of our members has time.

  Because we've found our commission process to be easy on both the decorator and the homeowner, we're offering our service to the decorators of Antonia Bayle. (This service will remain for Antonia Bayle for the foreseeable future. Sorry, other servers, but Antonia Bayle is where Homes and Tomes is located.)

  The process is simple: You will submit your name and email address via email to homesandtomes at gmail dot com. Your name will be added to our commissions mailing list, and when we receive a new commission request, we will send out an email informing you of that fact. It will be your responsibility to check the Open Commissions for H&T! thread for commission details.

  Do not contact the homeowner directly! Meeba will coordinate with the homeowner. This way, we know which commissions are taken, and which are still available.

  We are happy to provide this service to you, free of charge. We're simply overwhelmed by the sheer number of commission requests we receive, and would like to ensure that people wanting gorgeous homes can have them built in a timely manner. Any platinum or Daybreak Cash items or codes you receive in the course of a commission taken through Homes and Tomes is entirely yours.

  With that said, we will not turn down donations. Platinum on our guild hall door (Homes and Tomes, Commonlands, High Keep T3) helps us to keep our crafting circle open to the public. If you prefer a real world donation, help us keep our website running! Simply go to http://homesandtomes.com/ and scroll down on the lefthand side. There you will see two links, to donate towards the Enjin upkeep and the domain name fee.

Guild news moves to Blogspot

  Homes and Tomes has moved its news updates to Blogspot; this allows the officers to easily post any news they may hear of, in a manner that will reach as many people as possible.

  Don't worry if following a new page isn't your cup of tea--all posts published on the Homes and Tomes news blog will be sent to Facebook, as well as showing up on the Homes and Tomes main website.

  We know this means an extra click for those checking news on the Homes and Tomes Facebook page, and we apologize for that. However, it means that more people will see the news posts on Facebook (because the more activity and interaction our posts create, the more people Facebook shows the post to. Yes, not everyone sees when we update the Facebook page!).

  Blogger allows RSS and Atom feeds. If you would like to include the Homes and Tomes news feeds, just add http://homesandtomesguild.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss (RSS) or http://homesandtomesguild.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default (Atom) to the feed reader of your choice. Please note the word guild in the URL; http://homesandtomes.com will take you to Jazabelle's gaming blog.

  There are a lot of benefits to posting news on Blogspot. People wishing to search the news archives can easily do so, because each post will be labeled with all relevant topics. Sharing news has never been easier--if you would like to share a news post with your friends via social media, you can easily do so by clicking one of the buttons at the bottom of the post. There's even a button for email!

  This is also an easier method of news updating for the officers. We don't have to retype or copy-paste our messages multiple times, nor do we have to log in to a special account. We can even email news updates to Blogspot, so we can post news while out and about! (Not that I think any of us are quite that crazy, but... you never know. Maybe someone shares some awesome EQ2 gossip with one of us, and we just have to let the guild know!)

  And finally, Blogspot allows us to schedule posts, so we can write up the event posts early, then schedule them to post on the appropriate day! (Yes, I know Facebook does the same, but we always forget to use it there...) Hopefully this will mean that we get event posts out as soon as events begin, rather than shortly before or after, as we have been currently.

  We don't foresee too much of an adjustment period with the new news page, but please be patient with us if we fumble it a few times along the way.

Happy decorating!

Jazabelle
Maddest HaTter in Homes and Tomes (that's "leader," to those of you not in the know)

New Commissions (July 15, 2015)

We apologize if this is a duplicate post for some of you. We're testing out our new system.

Hellos again everybodies!!! *waves frantacially!* I, Meeba, has another commission for you all to take a gander at, and boy is it a biggun'! This time around the client would like their Thurgadin Grand Hall converted into a multi-level shopping mall. Yes, that is huge but they are willing to pay over 10k plat for it! Interested? GOOD! head over to http://bit.ly/hat-commissions (page 2) and check it out!! Also, Sirwillypete is still waiting on someone to takeup his Guild Hall request. I have had someone willing to talk to Sirwilliepete about his request! Thank you!


As always, please CONTACT MEEBA about the commissions, NOT the homeowner. This is to ensure that multiple people don't contact the homeowner, AND to allow me to keep track of which commissions are still open. If I am not in game (and I haven't been lately, as RL has become really really really busy and left me a frazzled maus) you can contact me here via Facebook or message me on the guild website. Attaching a message to Jaz or an officer and then throwing them at me also works!

Once I has informed you that you are the decorator on a commission project, THEN feel free to contact the homeowner. Remember, just because you have talked to the client and toured the home DOES NOT mean that you are obligated to take on the request! If you feel this is not a match for you then go ahead and decline, just make sure to let me know that the job is still open and also let the client know that Meeba will still be looking for someone to match them with.

Thank you again for all your excellent work! You guys and gals are awesome! *two thumbs up!*

Housing Rally 4-26-2015 – New Hall of Famers 3+!!!

Welcome to the April 26th 2015 Homes and Tomes House Rally – New Hall of Famers 3+!!!

We’ll start off in chat to let late-comers join up, and then switch to group/raid channel (if we need to) once everyone is on board!

I’m your host Kuerden Basajuanak, and tonight we’ll be looking at some new Hall of Fame housing! Take a look and see what is liked!

As we take a look at these houses, don’t forget to reward the designers by liking creativity and/or style! Try to wait until everyone zones in to LIKE a house though – otherwise the house can shift in the list and make it hard to find!

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!

So set your Leaderboard for Medium Homes/Newly Published and head to:

Caeley’s Portals and Crafting (#59 Hall of Fame/Newly Published) by Caeley

A three-room apartment…

Here we have a beautifully done three-room! I have to say I was quite impressed by both the cleanness of design as well as the lighting. I also give extra credit for using non-prestige housing!

As you look be warned there are many portals. The lighting using tuptan wall sconces is enhanced by the use of appropriately colored woods in the main room. The fishtank idea is interesting too!

The room to the right uses red/yellow lighting and some red tones to achieve a pink effect that is quite nice. Has some actors as well to give life to the room!

The final room is done in cool browns! All in all I really liked it!

Look a few and we’ll move on!

Gia Brewery Estate (#53 Hall of Fame/Newly Published) by Habbitt

Lavastorm Winter Retreat…

I wanted to show this house because it is a complete reskin of the Lavastorm – which is used to seldom despite the fact it offers a lot! Habbitt has completely covered the lava everywhere making the house look TOTALLY different.

Wander through the house a few minutes and see how the feel has been changed!

All-in-all a very nice job and a very creative use of the Lavastorm house! Don’t forget to Like It if you Like It!

A Vampire Mystic’s Armor Shoppe (#3 Medium Homes/Newly Published) by Gdoinye

A Three-room Acorm

Disclaimer – this is my most recent attempt, just published yesterday! I hate acorns – they badly need an update, as they are a misery to decorate due to their irregular shape.

Having said that, the three-room has some advantages… 1st, there is no ‘leaf’ to cover in the entranceway. 2nd, the ramps line up, making a stairwell possible. 3rd, it has reasonable headroom and size.

In the first room there is a Goahmari Meditation Pit, which gives off a lot of yellow light. That highlights the acorn orange walls nicely. The vent above gives a location for the smoke to go.

As the character is a mystic, this room is dedicated to meditation, with the statues, mirrors and banners to give a contemplative effect. Antonia is there because Gdoinye is one of the 8 Faceless Ones guarding the Crypt of the Bayles (another house).

The next level down is the Armor Shoppe, with assorted armor and weapons displays and a forging area.

The lowest level is T’Vien’s bed chamber (i.e. crypt). Gdoinye’s is through the vault door (another house).

I do want to mention the use of crude stone blocks here. In many irregular areas they can be used to give a rough-stone effect. I got the idea for the steps from an old movie called ‘She’ about an immortal. Pretty bad movie, but she had a set of stairs she’d worn down over time…

Lytlpox’s Manor and Market (#54 Hall of Fame/Newly Published) by Kamoj

A 6-room House…

Here is a neat home with an out-of-box element. There is a lot to see! Just ahead of the entrance is a portal to the rooftop garden, dock and marketplace. Take a look at them all!

There are quite a few actors!!! Note the drunken sailor on the dock!!! This house is a really neat example of a hybrid in-box and out-of-box approach! I’ve always enjoyed Kamoj’s work!

Take a look for a minute and don’t forget to like it if you like it!

Vagabond Knight’s Unpublished Giant Bar

We are going to have to wing this one! Strings suggested it and it’s a great example of issues with scale! Originally a BB day joke, I thought it was thought-provoking with regard to designing multi-species homes.

First we’ll visit the Vagabond Knight’s Bar (The Spider) at 4 Bayle Road to see the original size, and then head for the Giant Size version of the same thing! Bear with us as we try to get everyone here and there!

That’s it for tonight folks! Come back in two weeks for our next Rally!!!

Good Night Everyone!

Housing Rally 3-15-2015 – Newly Published Houses 3!!!

Welcome to the March 15st, 2015 Homes and Tomes House Rally – Newly Published Houses 3!!!

We’ll start off in chat to let late-comers join up, and then switch to group/raid channel (if we need to) once everyone is on board!

I’m your host Kuerden Basajuanak, and tonight we’ll be looking at some new Hall of Fame housing! Take a look and see what is liked!

As we take a look at these houses, don’t forget to reward the designers by liking creativity and/or style! Try to wait until everyone zones in to LIKE a house though – otherwise the house can shift in the list and make it hard to find!

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!

So set your Leaderboard for Medium Homes/Newly Published and head to:

A Very Special Potato Birthday Party (#Medium Homes/Newly Published) by Koural

New Halas 3-room

Here we have a small tavern, that looked cool – but I couldn’t check it out as there was an active RP birthday party going on there earlier. Looked like they were having a lot of fun though!

Take a quick look at this and then we’ll move along.

The Deadly Poisons Tavern (#2 Medium Homes/Newly Published) by Kalleih

A three-room apartment

Here we have a nice little tavern that I thought was quite nice. You can tell by the placement of the seating that it is intended as an RP location – room has been left for people to sit.

The back room is a patio (look up) and again is set up for RP use. The third room is a very nice small stage for performances. I liked it a lot. It is just the right size for a small audience.

All-in-all a very nice job that is very functional for RP.

Wander a few minutes and then we’ll go on to our next house. Don’t forget to Like It if you Like It!

A Vampire Nystic’s Armor Shoppe (#3 Medium Homes/Newly Published) by Gdoinye

A Three-room Acorm

Disclaimer – this is my most recent attempt, just published yesterday! I hate acorns – they badly need an update, as they are a misery to decorate due to their irregular shape.

Having said that, the three-room has some advantages… 1st, there is no ‘leaf’ to cover in the entranceway. 2nd, the ramps line up, making a stairwell possible. 3rd, it has reasonable headroom and size.

In the first room there is a Goahmari Meditation Pit, which gives off a lot of yellow light. That highlights the acorn orange walls nicely. The vent above gives a location for the smoke to go.

As the character is a mystic, this room is dedicated to meditation, with the statues, mirrors and banners to give a contemplative effect. Antonia is there because Gdoinye is one of the 8 Faceless Ones guarding the Crypt of the Bayles (another house).

The next level down is the Armor Shoppe, with assorted armor and weapons displays and a forging area.

The lowest level is T’Vien’s bed chamber (i.e. crypt). Gdoinye’s is through the vault door (another house).

I do want to mention the use of crude stone blocks here. In many irregular areas they can be used to give a rough-stone effect. I got the idea for the steps from an old movie called ‘She’ about an immortal. Pretty bad movie, but she had a set of stairs she’d worn down over time…

Library of Ancient Antiquitiese (#1 Small Homes/Newly Published) by Maeltrom

New Halas One-room

Here is another very nice SMALL home. The small library is well laid-out, with the librarian’s apartment upstairs complete with bathroom!

This house shoes how much you can do with a very modest non-prestige home. I found the layout of the bookcases particularly good.

Take a look for a minute and don’t forget to like it if you like it!

That’s it for tonight folks! Come back in two weeks for our next Rally!!! Don’t forget to rate it if you like it!

Good Night Everyone!

Housing Rally 3-1-2015 – New Hall of Famers 3!!!

Welcome to the March 1st, 2015 Homes and Tomes House Rally – New Hall of Famers 3!!!

We’ll start off in chat to let late-comers join up, and then switch to group/raid channel (if we need to) once everyone is on board!

I’m your host Kuerden Basajuanak, and tonight we’ll be looking at some new Hall of Fame housing! Take a look and see what is liked!

As we take a look at these houses, don’t forget to reward the designers by liking creativity and/or style! Try to wait until everyone zones in to LIKE a house though – otherwise the house can shift in the list and make it hard to find!

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!

So set your Leaderboard for Hall of Fame/Newly Published and head to:

Simplicity (#1 Hall of Fame/Newly Published) by Alexai

Personal Dojo

Here we have a beautiful Hua Mein themed dojo that I thought was a neat effort. Again, this shows the Dojo to be a tremendously versatile home, whose small size and shape lends itself well to custom decoration.

The front room features a portal gallery, stone lanterns, and extensive wicker and Hua Mein décor. The back room features a Spartan bedroom and a bathing/reflecting pool.

Some appropriate plants and sumac, white marble and cloudy tiles complete the effect!

Wander a few minutes and then we’ll go on to our next house. Don’t forget to Like It if you Like It!

Villa Sizes (#3 Hall of Fame/Newly Published) by Ocarinah

Tenebrous Refuge

I thought we’d stop here because it brings up an important concept – scale. Here we have a small, medium and large ‘villa’ appropriate for the size of the occupant! I see many houses that are actually too large for the race of the owner. Just something to think about!

Take a quick look at this and then we’ll move along.

Shimmering Serpent Mens Lounge (#4 Hall of Fame/Newly Published) by Dawnstriker

Personal Library

I found this to be very creative! I’ll have to take another look at this house. By raising the floor and reskinning, this gives the house a completely different – and very nice -- look.

The colors also were neat. The use of Kromzek furniture and dark wood furnishings give the house a 19th century study appearance. Creative and beauthiful. Take a look at the ceiling mirrors as well!

Don’t forget to rate it if you like it!

The Sweet Shoppe (#5 Hall of Fame/Newly Published) by Nefariaa Darksoul

Personal Dojo

I’ve really enjoyed Nefariaa’s efforts! Here is a sweet shop built on the ever-versatile Dojo. It has a fabulous look – it’s really hard to see the dojo at all!

This house has it all. Actors, displays, a register and ice cream! Wander a bit and check out this place!

That’s it for tonight folks! Come back in two weeks for our next Rally!!! Don’t forget to rate it if you like it!

Good Night Everyone!

Housing Rally 2-15-2015 – New Hall of Famers 2!!!

Welcome to the February 15th, 2015 Homes and Tomes House Rally – New Hall of Famers 2!!!

We’ll start off in chat to let late-comers join up, and then switch to group/raid channel (if we need to) once everyone is on board!

I’m your host Kuerden Basajuanak, and tonight we’ll be looking at some new Hall of Fame housing! Take a look and see what is liked!

As we take a look at these houses, don’t forget to reward the designers by liking creativity and/or style! Try to wait until everyone zones in to LIKE a house though – otherwise the house can shift in the list and make it hard to find!

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!

So set your Leaderboard for Hall of Fame/Newly Published and head to:

The Plantation by Nafariaa Darksoul (#6 Hall of Fame/Creativity) by Nefariaa

Tenebrous Refuge

Here we have a beautiful scratch-built plantation, complete with barn, windmill/gristmill and manor house – all very nicely done.

Let’s look at the Mill first, since it has some very interesting construction. Let me know if you find a way inside!

Next check out the barn – again, nicely done.

Finally, let’s look at the manor house.

Don’t forget to look at the carriage if you didn’t at zone-in. Wander a few minutes and then we’ll go on to our next house. Don’t forget to Like It if you Like It!

Grand Temple and Gardens of Erollisi (#7 Hall of Fame/Creativity) by Kaian

Felwithe Estate

As we enter, note that this is a standard house decorated largely by adding tree and shrubbery.
Proceed forward and look at the lovely fountain, surrounded by golden marble columns. Expensive but very beautiful!

The trees and other vegetation give the illusion of being outdoors, despite the dome overhead.

Moving straight ahead and continue to the shrine of the bow.
This area has beautifully arranged landscaping, again giving a very tranquil effect.
Looking up the standard dome above just adds to the effect.
Continue on to the temple. The use of Vigilant Screens for some neat geometric effects can be seen here. Ahead you can see an open-air bedroom, again beautifully landscaped, with a kindof creepy Antonia Bayle Fay Plushy… You’ll see her other places as well.

Turn around and go back to the dome. Use the teleport pad to visit the Red and Blue rooms.
I’m a particular fan of novel lighting effects, so look at the scratch-built bath in the red room. Note the use of flickering Braziers of Hatred to give a blue-white light, and an Acropolis feel.
The blue room uses the natural waterfalls and Purple/Blue vegetation to give a darker effect. A few bright green plants set of the darker colors.

Let’s move along now to one of the great ‘undeveloped’ tracts available! It has wonderful possibilities because there are NO structures that come with it!

Botanical Garden and Conservatory (#17 Hall of Fame/Creativity) by Twinklin

Tenebrous Tangle

I found this to be very creative -- and yes we did briefly visit it before to look at the construction techniques used in the Conservatory.

Here I want to focus on the landscape. Take the circular path that runs arounfd the island – which by itself is something to check out. Can you see how it helps to channel visitors through the outside gardens?

Wander the paths and check out the exhibits! Note the use of stone and varied plants to give visually interesting areas.

Be sure to check out the Butterfly garden in the Conservatory as well.

I like this effort – it gives a very bright and happy feeling, and a real effort has been made to make everything just be lovely!

Next we are going to look at a RP Themed Garden. This is near and dear to my heart, as most of my own houses are designed to enhance the roleplaying aspect of my characters!

That’s it for tonight folks! Come back in two weeks for our next Rally!!! Don’t forget to rate it if you like it!

Good Night Everyone!

Housing Rally 1-4-2015 – Pubs and Things!!!

Welcome to the January 4th, 2015 Homes and Tomes House Rally – Pubs and Things!!!

We’ll start off in chat to let late-comers join up, and then switch to group/raid channel (if we need to) once everyone is on board!

I’m your host Kuerden Basajuanak, and tonight we’ll be looking at some social housing! These are the places people intend for RP socializing, and are always worth a look!

As we take a look at these houses, don’t forget to reward the designers by liking creativity and/or style! Try to wait until everyone zones in to LIKE a house though – otherwise the house can shift in the list and make it hard to find!

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!

So set your Leaderboard for Hall of Fame/Newly Published and head to:

The Overlords Crown (#23 Hall of Fame/Creativity) by Arquenniel

A Uncanny Estate

Here we have a Lucan-themed Pub aand Club! On zone-in you are presented with lots of reminders of the big guy! Features a stage, a gambling den, distillery and Pool room.

Don’t forget to Like It if you Like It!

Keylie’s Shining Blades (#22 Hall of Fame/Creativity) by Keylie

Residence of the Blades

I popped in here and while it’s not really intended as a pub – I liked the look!!! Lots of space to mingle and enjoy society! Very reskinned!

The left door leads to a really lovely bath, and the right to the kitchen!

Head upstairs, and you’ll see areas that would work well as Clubhouse. Very well done and detailed!!!

Wander a few moments and we’ll continue on! Don’t forget to Like It if you Like It!

Our next house is:

The Wing and Tail Pub (#34 Hall of Fame/Creativity) by Sifters

A 4-room House

Here is another design for a Pub! This place is smaller and more intimate, which is a nice touch!!!

Take a few minutes and wander. Like It if you Like It!

That’s it for tonight folks! Come back in two weeks for our next Rally!!! Don’t forget to rate it if you like it!

Good Night Everyone!