I thought I’d finally get round to telling you about my home, something that I’ve meant to do for a while but never had the time to. Better late then never eh? If you visit my Flickr photos on the right of the page you’ll see lots of snaps of my rather wonderful house:)When I downsized my land I realised that I needed a smaller dwelling. I’ve owned a number of homes, and my previous house,Heavenly Haven by AE Industries,  is a stunning place but alas, like most beautiful things in Second Life it is very prim heavy ( 602!!) When Amanda and Fukmi moved into Jasper and installed their new home I was very envious because it’s *stunning* and Fukmi spotted this and knew I’d love to see the others in the range so whisked me over to Botha Architects to bathe my eyeballs in some beautiful virtual property. I wasn’t disappointed. Even if you’re not in the market to buy a home go and see these, just go and look, because they are wonderful examples of virtual design. The sim is really beautifully laid out and makes you want to meander around the properties on display (there’s furniture too, but it’s property that I’m focusing on here) Each one of the prefabs available are just awesome, reminiscent of Tom Kundig and architects of equal calibre. There’s a vast range of designs on display here which are sure to appeal to the majority of customers, including huge properties ideal for living in and also using as stores..but I digress. Whilst I was wandering around Botha with Fukmi and Amanda one house seriously caught my eye….that is ‘The Aqua House’…and I’m now really pleased to call it my home. This is a three level property, constructed from concrete, steel and glass. It’s quite an angular build, except for a gentle curve on the roof, but the builders have taken real care to employ beautiful textures that offer a real sense of realism to this dwelling. I so wish I could live here in real life!! I’ve situated mine in the middle of my plot so that it’s surrounded by greenery, but it strikes me that this home would be great in an urban landscape, even with other dwellings either side. There’s a lot of glass in this build, which means that it feels really light and spacious-especially upstairs, but more on that in a moment. You enter through a sliding glass door into your main living area-this is an open-plan living space so there’s a lot of room. There are lights suspended above the main doors, and there’s also a very unobtrusive, almost cute little staircase inside taking you up to the other levels. ‘The Aqua House’ obviously incorporates water in its build,hence the name, and it does this to great effect with a cascading water feature and a huge, beautiful, built-in aquarium, accessible from the main living space. The waterfall effect is especially pretty, and runs across the whole length of one wall, making it an extra special backdrop for a dining area. There are discreet control panels on the wall at the side of the tank which enable you to change the lighting effects in and outside the house, and features such as security and privacy are accessed through the same. The menu is easy to understand, and a a particularly nice treat is the ability to change the colour of the lighting in the aquarium..perfect mood lighting:)There’s also another exit/entry point here, again another sliding glass door. Turning back and up the staircase you’ll find yourself upon the second level of the Aqua House. Again, this is really well constructed in an open-plan style, with a main living space (practically a mezzaine floor) and again, a glass door opening onto a quirky roof space. This is where it really gets clever, as you walk across the top of your aquarium across to a small sandy space, perfect for relaxing with friends- It’s practically a mini-beach! If the weather gets a bit nasty you can move undercover , where there’s a secluded area that lends itself really well to a corner sofa. This space has a glass floor so you can see what’s going on downstairs. You them move into a small enclosure, which I guess would make a great bathroom, but I’ve chosen to use it as my study. Back out onto the top of the aquarium, safe in the knowledge that you won’t fall in, and up the stairs onto the main terrace. This is a great idea and absolutely perfect for roof top entertaining. It leads on to the biggest single room, which I’m using as my master bedroom, and it offers wonderful views all around (so remember to use your shutters!) There’s also a very small balcony area. As I said before the roof is slightly curved and employs a lovely suede-brown coloured texture that is also used on the main wall of the bedroom ( I know that it’s not meant to be suede though I have no idea what it’s supposed to be..plastic? Nah..) Like the previous floor there are glass panels incorporated into the floor area which adds additional interest to the structure, and if you were so inclined you ‘could’ park your helicopter/hot-air balloon/space shuttle up on the roof with ease:) I’m really enthusiastic about this prefab because it’s so darn imaginative. It was a pricey investment, but in the few months that I’ve been living in it it’s given me lots of pleasure. I never get tired of the features because they are so practical and useful, and even the novelty of the colour change-aquarium hasn’t worn off. If I could change anything I’d like it to be just a tad bigger with a few more rooms to play in. Also, I’d like it to be easier to get into the aquarium because I found it a real chore when adding my fish etc..but that could be because I’m a tad vacant when it comes to stuff like that.
(Cleaning the tank will be a ruddy nightmare..Kitty grins:) .Anyways, Botha Architects. I declare myself a very happy customer, but don’t take my word for it dear reader, go and check them out, I’m sure you’ll *love* the place. ( In later posts I’ll be filling you in on the objects that I’ve used to decorate my home, and my garden. Ooh the excitement!)