Design Home

Home

and the designing thereof

        It's been an eventful year, this 2023; it's had its ups and downs. The major down, of course, was when we got kicked out of the place we've been renting for the past 11 years (he ended our lease, we weren't evicted) because the landlord wanted to move his granddaughter in there; you forget you're renting after that long, honestly, so it's an understatement to say it was a shock and a major upheaval in my life. This was the biggest of a series of tumultuous life events, and I don't plan to spend this blog post recounting them. I have been househunting, and I'd thought about making this blog post a recap of the best houses I looked at over the course of the year--none of which I got, but it was an interesting journey at least. However, I'd rather not dox myself by showing you all the houses around here I've been looking at, plus it would make for a rather dismal recounting given I didn't successfully obtain any of them. Perhaps I'll revisit that another time, if I manage to get a house in 2024.

        I have found another outlet for my household yearning, though. I picked up a mobile game called "Design Home" which is pleasantly realistic and a little addicting. So, I thought I'd show off some of my favorite designs on there from this year (well, I've only been playing for a few months, but this is my year-end blog post after all). I also want to grouse about how no one has any taste but me with regards to voting and scoring my designs, so brace yourself ;)

This was one of my first designs where I felt like I really had an Artistic Vision behind my design. The challenge was to design a rustic living room in West Virginia, and I wanted to mirror the Appalachian Mountains that were so beautifully displayed in the space's large windows. (From this point on I would like it noted that I have partaken in New Years' Eve celebrations and consumed alcohol, in the event that my prose is lacking. Or it might not be since alcohol mostly makes me sleepy and I got through half of my college essays half asleep.) I chose blue chairs and a soft purple couch to reflect the iconic colors of the mountains. In keeping with the challenge's stated rustic theme, I chose wooden accents--a distinctive large treecut table, log side table, and wood footstool. These also reflect the forests which cover the Appalachian mountains. The rug had been one I had bought for a former challenge, but I loved the smokey blue of it and the rivers of gold across it, which also reflected the Appalachian environment for me. Every aspect of this design was thoughtful and coordinated, and frankly I think the only reason I barely broke four stars was because people in this game fear color and creativity. 

Continuing on with my thesis that the controlling interests/voters/scorers in this game by and large fear color, as per modern societal trends, which favor beige, check out this impeccable primary color scheme I did in the industrial loft open house challenge. Open house challenges are probably my favorite as they let you pick the wall colors in addition to the furniture, and this one even had some decent color choices for the wall and the pipes--the blue and the yellow, which led me to come up with the primary color scheme. With a balanced amount of each color popping in this space, I think it was an excellent design and also deserved a much higher score than it got. Also the fox table is so cute. I still really love this design, it's so bright and bold and maybe not what I'd do in my own house but lovely. 

This was another open house challenge and it scored a bit better. I really like the purple bed/curtain pattern and the lively anthro living chairs there. I was also going to talk about how the furniture in this game is largely real from actual brands you can buy from and this is dangerous because a lot of it is very cool and tempting; however, I don't have a house and I'm trying to save money to remedy that and so I'm saved from too much temptation. Anyways I really like this one. It was going to be even more colorful but then I remembered open house challenges still have required design elements, hence the beige bench and nightstands I had to buy. 

This is definitely one of my all time favorite spaces, even from when the room was empty; I adore a good bookshop. But I loved getting to put in warm red furniture and cozy browns and also this adorable cat I bought, who came with the name Janie! I think it's pretty weird to treat an animal as a design element honestly but that's just the game I guess and I'm love her. It sucks that I can only use her 5 times and then she'll disappear--weird game mechanic, difficult to explain in universe tbh. Anyways this space turned out super cozy and cute and I also love the white poofy footstool by the fireplace; I'd cozy up on that for sure.  

These three designs are from a part of the game called "My Home"--or my homes, but this is the first one I unlocked. The options are still very limited, but I think my design sense, favoring bold color pops, still comes across. I'm less concerned with "good design" since these are my spaces nominally, but I do wish I could put more stuff in them. Less so with the kitchen, but more with the living room and the bedroom (the latter of which is as yet unfinished). I would've done dark wood with a warm red tone in my dream kitchen too, over the blue, but I did the best I could with the options. But I love the purple/yellow dynamic here. Also my design home is nominally in France, I just want you to know I picked that. I'm running out of time for this post I don't know if you've noticed but I'm really hurrying now, ten till midnight. 

I might not actually put a fuzzy stool in my bathroom but it was in the options it gave me so why not! You can perhaps also tell I was doing this one in October, hence the pumpkins. This actually might be the only space that's more cluttered than my real world house probably would be because I probably wouldn't put such large decor pieces on my bathroom countertop. But I don't actually have to brush my teeth here, so why not. 

I love the purple couch (originally purchased for the Appalachian challenge above) but my favorite element here is probably the book coffee table-- I had to save up several days of gems for that but it was so worth it. The peacock table also brings me delight. I wish I could've put Janie in here and also a bookshelf. 

This one's just very cozy. It's recent and not scored yet but I genuinely believe I should score really well in this one. Even for those who fear color, this challenge had to contain green, and I didn't go too crazy with the pallette, so it should get at least 4.5 I think, hopefully higher. Very cozy, I like it a lot. 

This was for rockstars and I think it's one of my most neutral/limited palette designs but I still think I used color tastefully and put together a solid design. I also like how the sharp lines of the couch and the plants complement each other. 

Another just pretty cute one.

I also really enjoyed celebrating Christmas with these Christmas design challenges. This green+gold train is very Lokicore and if I'd had a higher budget it would be even more so but I still think it's great. 

This is the classic Christmas palette, a little corny but I think it fits the holiday party vibe and the space's existing decor. 

This one makes me think of the Yule ball in Harry Potter. I think the turquoise serving cupboard on the left is what sunk me but I couldn't afford something that fit the room better; I still love this design.

        There are many more designs I could share with you and more commentary I could give on these but 2024 draws nigh. Beyond the Violet Mists, we seek home and seek to style places that feel like it with color and artistry.