*Designer Reviews* Ambiance Furniture and O-Magine HomeWorks

Two quickies today!

Desiree Bisiani of Ambiance Furniture recently released the Athena Living Room, and it is gorgeous! Chock full of options and details, it’s perfect for a larger space, and it’s texture-changeable! Click any of the tables, the hutch, or the bookcase and you’ll get a menu option for 4 different color schemes; I used several for my pictures so you can see a sampling. The upholstered pieces are yummy, too – very plush texturing – and also packed with animations: singles, friends, and couples. I’m very proud to say that several of my furniture animations (available at Pulling Strings) are also included in the set, which makes it just that much cooler. 😉 Be sure to get over to Ambiance to see it for yourself!

From O-Magine HomeWorks, Omaire Abattoir sent me a review copy of the Astoria, a modern Mediterranean villa. From the outside, this looks like quite a large house – the inside, though, still feels cozy, not cavernous. I like that alot — there’s plenty of space, but not TOO much space that you’ll never be able to fill it up! The first floor has a nice, open gallery feel – great for little vignettes like a sideboard and chair, a bookshelf, large floor plants…lots of great ways to use a space like this, especially with the little nooks and rooms off the main hall. The back of the first floor is open to the back deck, as well, which is great to catch those ocean breezes. I love the tiled floor Omaire used in the gallery – and the wall textures are very nice, a sort of linen wallpaper feel to them, which is one of my favorites in RL, too. Upstairs is a very nice open foyer with an L-shaped bedroom off to the side, just the right size for a large bed and a cozy sitting area. I adore the little wall lamps that are included throughout the house, too. Very nice touch!

O-Magine HomeWorks

*Designer Review* The Higher Spectrum

I received a review folder from Nephre Nefarious a few weeks ago, and with the Home Expo coming up, and of course now in progress :), I’ve just now had time to really check out The Higher Spectrum. Totally worth the wait! Nephre has a great shop setup, a very large inventory to look through, and great style to all her pieces. Overall, the feel of THS is quite masculine, which I like. Remember, fellas, like I always tell you: chicks dig a well-appointed pad. 😉 Nephre’s pieces are on the large end of the size scale, very modern, so these aren’t things you’re going to want to put in your quaint New England-style cottage.  These items are great for the larger, minimalist-modern prefabs — which Nephre also has available. 🙂

First, a few of the review items — this is the Marcell Sofa, with the Brooklyn Living Room Coffee Table and Standing Lamp (on the right), and also the Floor Lamp2 on the left. I included myself in the pic because 1) I’m a camera hog and 2) I wanted to show the perspective, since these are really large pieces. The pillows on the sofa have great textures, and I really like the curve of the coffee table. There are many more pieces to the Brooklyn set – you’ll have to go see them at the shop. 😉

Next is the Gaile Erotic Bed and the Brandi Bathroom Shower. Clearly, these pieces aren’t meant to be together – I’m just saving on pic space. All of THS’ beds are packed with anims — for your couples time and your solitary time. 🙂 The shower comes with a steamy (see what I did there?) couples animation, too. I really love the little shelves on the outside of the shower – nice touch!

At the THS shop, I found so many things that I wanted to share! I tried to limit myself…but dammit, these are the things that make my heart swell! So here are some pieces that I love:

*Designer Spotlight* NOTsoBAD

I think it’s safe to say that I am a furniture geek. And a texture geek. And when great furniture meets great texture — well, there may be squealing involved on my end of the PC. I don’t even remember at this point how I found NOTsoBAD (henceforth known as NsB) – but I’m damn glad I did.

According to the latest NsB group notice, the design team behind the brand is Reda Bertolucci, Emilie Freund, and farahattah Shabazz. I love them all. NsB really doesn’t have a huge inventory, especially not compared to a lot of my favorite places — but what they do have really packs a punch! Without further ado…

Dinara Bed – most of what you’ll find at NsB comes in many color options, and it’s all amazingly lush. “Lush” is absolutely the first adjective that came to mind when I first saw the shop. I’m not sure I have any other words — so just behold the gorgeousness:

Chabba – So exotic – and did I mention lush?

You can see the board with the color options over to the left of each piece — in the shop, you can rez each color, too, to see it up close. You’ll also notice that both of these pieces are sexbeds — so, those of you who need the high style AND the options for gettin’ freaky (and you know who you are), then NsB delivers. Take a peek at the primary animation menu — we won’t even get into the sub-menus. 😉

Leon Antique Office – I just love this, absolutely love it. The desk is gorgeous, all on its own — but the details make this awesome beyond description.

It makes me smile everytime I look at the pics — not that I condone any of those vices, but still — it’s just so cool! There’s also a Scarface edition of the desk, complete with briefcase full of cash. 🙂

You know I love a great build, and NsB is gorgeous, very classical, with lots of light and shadows. They have amazing drapes (which are available for purchase) on all the windows, and I love their little shop desk, complete with sewing machine and bolts of fabric. I swoon for details like that.

Be sure to check out the DJ turntable and record collection, too. 🙂

I joined the NsB group when I was there, and yesterday I received a notice of several new releases. I haven’t been to the shop to see them in person yet, but I like the looks of them from the preview pics in the notice! Here are two of the new releases:

When you go to visit NOTsoBAD, be sure to grab the freebie just outside the entrance. Post-it notes (pack of 10). How adorable!!

*Designer Review* ::INside:: Interior Design

Hello, dear readers. I received a review request for INside weeks and weeks ago, and I’m just now getting to it. I am a bad blogger! Now, on to the review…

Kymbah Spicer is the designer behind INside, and her style leans toward contemporary modern. Mostly straight clean lines, very few curves – really quite minimalistic overall. Most (possibly all) of her items are available with color change menus, and all furniture is animated — plenty of adult poses are available in the appropriate pieces…you know, for sexy time. 😉 A few things that caught my eye:

Lexington Living Room: the couch really doesn’t do it for me. It looks like perhaps an older piece – note the poseballs, and almost all of the rest of Kymbah’s inventory is menu-driven for poses. However, the colors in the rug and painting really appeal to me — the table has a nice twist with the multi-level surface and the magazine rack on the end. I also really like the large vases with bamboo – that’s one of my favorite things in RL. Each vase is 20 prims, which is hefty – so someone out there needs to create a sculpty bamboo cluster, please! Overall, the room has a nice 70s retro feel, without being TOO 70s.

Petals Sofa/Chair: as I mentioned above, you don’t get a lot of curves at INside, but there are some, like this sofa and chair. It’s a nice art deco feel that’s also echoed in the Empire coffee table.  An elaborate crystal chandelier would be great over that table to really enhance the glam art deco feel. Ooh, and a zebra skin rug. Ooh, or leopard print!

Lover Milk Bath: I like that this is a milk bath (great for the skin), and I really like the added touch of rose petals floating in the milk. That’s just cute. 🙂 The tub comes with single poses AND with those aforementioned adult poses for those times you’re not in there alone. 😉

Kama Sutra sketches: Ok, these just make me giggle. Haha, boobies. 🙂

Kymbah also has a website you can check out for more pics of her items – http://www.insidefurnituresl.com – it’s a very nice site, so definitely take a look. If you’re looking for basic modern pieces, especially anchor pieces around which to build a room, I would say INside is worth a look-see.

Get there from here!

*Designer Review* My Own Worst Enemy

Today, I’m going to share a review folder I received last week from My Own Worst Enemy (MOWE). Roshelle Gustafson and Sleven Hathaway are the designers behind the brand, and I like what I’ve seen of it so far. I did go check out the shop — it’s in an ‘under construction’ status right now, but looks like it will shape up nicely. There aren’t many accessories – the shop is really focused on the fundamentals: couches, chairs, beds. Again, that may be due to their transition period – and their fundamentals are worth browsing. Let me show you what Roshelle dropped for me to play with!

Twilight Gazebo: This is a cute idea, great for an outdoor space and perfect for lounging. It’s fairly large — could easily fit 4-6 of your pals for a nice, relaxing beach get-together.

Trinity Sofa & Barbados Bed: Ok, these aren’t pieces meant to be together, I was just feeling lazy about the number of pictures I wanted to take. I really like the throw pillows on the Trinity Sofa — it’s a nice neutral piece to fit almost anywhere, and the pillows give it a nice bit of personality. On the Barbados Bed, I really like the detail of having drawers underneath. I can’t explain why, but I’ve always loved pieces with functional spaces underneath — drawers or pull-out baskets or anything like that. I want to tuck some extra blankets away in the Barbados Bed. Form and function – yes, please!

Orange Mod Set: That’s a very cheery orange. The color scheme reminds me of my Marie set (*cough*personal endorsement*cough*), and I really like the shape of the back cushions. This is just a nice, comfy set, great as your focal point around which to build the rest of your room.

Sierra Living Set: More orange, a bit more on the neutral side this time, and really warm and inviting when combined with the wood frames on these pieces. I really like the touch of the insets on the sides of the upholstered pieces, and how that continues in the table surfaces. I could see this set indoors or out, and I love that versatility.

One detail I really want to point out with this set — the lamp has a ring of light underneath it, just like a RL bulb would show. That’s a detail very often overlooked in SL design — I love that MOWE captured it!

Mission Sofas: These are my favorite!!! Again, I love the fabric insets on the ends of the wood frames, and I’m always goofy for a mission style piece anyway. Great texturing on the fabrics, especially on the charcoal and teal sofas – looks like chenille!

Like the Mission Sofas, many of the other sofas come in multiple colors. You can see them all in the vendors at the shop. One thing I’d like to see for MOWE is more animation options. It seems to be a standard one pose per cushion in their pieces right now – you can always add your own poses, of course. I think MOWE is fairly new on the scene, and I know animations were not my top priority when I first started building, so I’m sure more will come as Roshelle and Sleven expand their inventory. Either way, MOWE is a place to check out and to keep your eyes on – I can’t wait to see more!

**NOTE: there is a special event going down on the TabethaJane sim this weekend — on the 14th and 15th, there will be a sim-wide scavenger hunt sponsored by MOWE and the other shops located there! **