Housing tips and tricks & Winter Wizardland

I am asked all the time about decorating houses and to give ideas. This segment is all about tips and tricks that will help. Decorating is all about placement. Look on the internet for images,  I search all the time to find the area I want to recreate.  For this house I searched winter scenes. Once you find your image buy everything you need to recreate the image, everything except wallpaper and flooring for your in-game house. The bazaar is one of the best places to find all your housing needs.  


I have learned from decorating a splash of color helps in every design. Let’s take this ice school house, it’s full of blues, grays and white.  Without adding that splash of color your items would just fade into the background.  Snowy maple trees make the perfect splash for me in this house. I try to make houses look as natural as possible. Everyone has their own unique style of decorating.  Be yourself, show your style.

First 5 Steps

1. Gold, I always start off with 100k or more. Never fails I find something I want and did not have the gold for it.
2. Pick the right house for your need or theme.
3. Item count - know how many you can use for both inside and outside. The item count goes really quick when decorating.
4. Craft any items you want to use in the house.
5. Any crowns item you want. Get those first by purchasing or farming for them.

Landscaping
When placing trees remember, trees all don't grow around the edges. Trees can be in groups or place alone. You want a 3 dimensional feel to your house.  Walk under, around and through as you place trees. If all your trees are in one place or in one line you can lose the effect of your world being more than a image on a screen.  Same for the other items like rocks, snow, frozen items, and statues.  Don't forget that splash of color. ;)

The living house
Bring your house to life by adding pets, mounts and plants. One thing to keep in mind though is if you are creating a theme, as in this winter house I created, you will need to have items that represent that theme. Who would want a fire bush in a winter theme? You could even ask your family or friends to help you create a special area for ice skating or a dinner party, just have them dress up.


Inside Decor
Rooms-plan your layout
Decide what room you want to be for what, kitchen, bedroom, hallways, or just a place to view special items. For museums or show places make sure to count for platforms in item counts. Especially if you are making mazes all those pieces for each turn take up that item count really quickly.


Details,Details,Details
Details are the items that show what the room is made of.  Let's say you are creating a kitchen, okay well you need kitchen details:  shelving, food, pans and tables. Even the little details count. The more you give your guest to check out the more they like it.


Big rooms
All big rooms have a focal point. Like this ice school house the main visual point is the ice coming up through the floor. I found it so easy to decorate from that focal point out. I wanted that splash of color which was the green bamboo I in circled the ice with. Even if you are not creating a themed area like this house you should start with a focal point and work out from there. Focal points can even be a piece of furniture you really like. One thing to remember you do not have to completely fill the room for it to look great. Sometimes less is more.

Basic floating ,mat covered with snow pile.

Flooring and wallpaper
Now time to buy flooring and wallpaper. I know how hard it is to find that perfect floor or tile, let alone get them to look great together! This is usually because not all spaces are the same. The red brick floor I have in the mid-level rooms did not look so great in the main area of this winter themed house. Try lots of different styles. One tip I can give: keep one of each type of flooring and wallpaper in an attic. I do this so I can test each type in the room I am creating. I always place my floor and wallpaper last. It never fails if I place it first it won’t go with the decor I decided on for that room.


I hope this segment of tips and tricks answers some of your questions. Until next time, Happy House Decorating!


Your friend,
Paige MoonShade




Special thank you to Cass for the amazing video.

Raven's Hoard Pack!

Raven's Hoard Pack the newest of hoard packs out in Wizard101. This pack gives with 7 cards, a variety of items. You can receive anything from weapons , pets, a raven mount to furniture for only 399 crowns. What a great deal! 

feathered wall hanging

I have found some really awesome furniture items, my favorite is the hanging feathers , as seen in the image above. There is also frozen bears and wolves, snow piles and basins, there is even some snow covered rocks and stones.  The trees are amazing, just what I needed for some frozen housing ideas I have been working on. 

Misc trees

When I first saw the animated breakfast pan I about died , looks like one of my dreams had come true. This pan shakes as it is cooking and then flips eggs and bacon in the air. Simply Awesome! Then I saw the stuffed animated owl, faints. The owl turns it's head and flaps it's wings. I do believe KingsIsle is trying to make me go crazy . ;) I'll do my best to show animations in the images below.

breakfast pan

breakfast pan animated

stuffed owl

stuffed owl animated

Some other really great furniture items include a platform, frozen weapons and  frozen totems. There is even a tall wooden shelf I really like, I'll post that image below. There is a really great guide being made over at Wizard101 Central :  Illustrated Guide to The New Raven's Hoard Pack  operated by Jonathan RedFlame, lots of really amazing items in this pack. Hope you enjoyed this weeks segment. Until next time, happy house decorating.

Your friend,

Paige MoonShade

Tall wooden shelf

Housing showcase: Elijah StormHeart

Elijah's royal playhouse shows much care in decorating. From the beach front swimming area to a hidden teleporter inside the waterfall. When I first came to Elijah's house I first saw the swimming beach front area. He detailed the water area with rocks and a fountain placed just in the right spot, even has the wooden walk pier to jump off of. On the beach were rugs placed to look like beach towels and torches with hay ontop of each for the umbrellas.

Once inside he offered me some tea. ;) and then I saw this wonderful kitchen nook with a cupboard for food supplies. That was when I asked may I take pictures. I always look for that special decorated area that make me go Wow! Oh and if you notice that plate of cookies and milk is missing , yeah that was me . ;)

Great place to have tea.

This last room  is where you ended up after going through the teleporter under the water fall. It is a pleasantly decorated music area and rootbeer bar. The only way out is through the other teleporter. I do hope you enjoyed Elijah's Royal playhouse as much as I did. Until next time, happy house decorating.

Your friend,

Paige moonShade 

Stormheart - make slideshow