View Single Post in: MTS Official Contest: Foundations! (Round 2!)

Lab Assistant
#293 Old 23rd Jul 2010 at 9:39 AM
Default Ying Su by Mia138
Here is my entry for round two. No Custom Content. (Sure this time).

Part of what I'm loving about this contest is that its making me build houses totally unlike anything I usually attempt. My skills are such that I tend to stick to quite ordinary, boxy, suburban 3 bed detatched with garage.

For some reason as soon as I plopped this foundation down it said two things to me - Oriental theme and Starlet. The little room off the bedroom just looked like a dressing room to me and so thats the basis of where this whole entry came from.




Honey's agent, Frank, suggested that she bought a place in Sunset Valley with the proceeds of her first screen role. He told her he'd head rumours that big things were planned for the nearby City of Las Simlas. The whole place was going to be restructured with loads of new clubs and restaurants, and a whole heap of luxury lofts with superb penthouses were going to replace the rundown warehouses on the east side. It was going to be THE place to be for any up and coming Star - and HONEY was definately that!



When he first showed her the one bedroom, single storey building from the outside she thought it reminded her of her Grandpa's shack on the shore of the lake back home. Lots of wood and greenery. She asked him when the builders were coming back and he looked puzzled. "To take away the rubble they left out front?" she asked naively only to be told that the 'rubble' had been imported from Shang Simla and was actually very valuable architectural relics especially for the garden.

Inside was definately NOT like Grandpa's shack at all though! The whole place has a very asian theme, mostly black wood furniture with bright red accents. Frank explained to her that was why the house was called 'Ying Su' because that was the mandarin word for poppy.



The lounge, dining area and small kitchen were all one open plan room but still visible as definate areas. She glanced into the small kitchen are and Frank noticed her look " I know its small, Honey, but you wont be eating here often. You're going to be being wined and dined in all the BEST restaurants in Las Simlas!"

The dining area housed a small table and four chairs which Honey thought looked rather uncomfortable but when she mentioned this to Frank he laughed. "Like I said, Babe, you won't be eating here, its all for show. Those chairs cost $600 each! They don't have to be comfortable they just have to LOOK the part!"



The lounge are comprised two sofa's, a large bookshelf with more books than Honey had ever seen in one place before, a tv/stereo unit and a coffee table. Sliding patio doors led onto a small terrace with wicker garden chairs and lots of potted plants. She looked at the well tended garden and it reminded her of her Momma's garden back home. Maybe she'd have to give her a call and get her to come for a visit - Honey had always been hopeless at gardening and had driven her Momma mad when shed tried to 'help' and pulled up all the flowers and left behind the weeds..



Frank showed her the bathroom quickly before showing her through to the bedroom. She stood in the doorway, mouth open. It was like something off a film set. A large fourposter draped in rich oriental tapestry, beautiful orchids on the dressing table, a carved wood mirror and even a panda dressed in chinese clothes. Her little sister Katie would love that - Honey would have to hide it well when she came to visit or it would be snuck home in Katie's bags - she had no doubt of that! Two chests of drawers stood either side of the dressing table and she mentally transferred the contents of ONE of her trunks into the drawers and looked around the room worriedly. Where on EARTH was she going to hang her dresses? There was no space at all in here for ONE wardrobe let alone the two or three she would need.



Frank noticed her worried look. "Whats up, Doll?" She looked at him nervously not wanting to appear ungrateful "Gee, this place is lovely Frank but ..there aint no room for my clothes to hang and .." He put up his hand gesturing her to be quiet. "Thats why you have THIS!!" he said smiling broadly and thrusting open a door in the corner of the bedroom. She stepped forward and stuck her head through the doorway. She gasped. The small room was her very own dressing room. One whole wall was built with enough hanging space for all her dresses and some and over the top were cabinets for jumpers and all the stuff that didnt need a hanger. The wall opposite was a huge mirror and a small table in the corner looked perfect for housing her cosmetics and hair stuff etc..



She was still getting over the shock of having a whole room for a wardrobe that she didn't notice that Frank had disappeared until he called to her. "Come on outside. There's more to see here!"

And there was more. A large covered area with seating, a barbeque, a bar and a music system. Sweet smelling flowers hung from the wood lattice roof and she imagined how lovely it would be to entertain out here in the evening. There were a few mature trees and plant beds, all perfectly planted and weed free and filling the air with their scent.



Lastly, Frank led her over to a large square raised pool. A small fountain at one end burbled quietly and gave the whole space a very relaxed feeling. She peered over into the pool and spotted several large gold, white and black fish swimming around. Frank looked at her with a satisfied grin on his face. "See, Honey, you even have your VERY own Ornamental Koi Fish Pond! Isn't that perfect?"
She clasped her hands together in delight and nodded enthusiastically
"Oh yes, it IS perfect. Damn whoever built this house sure had some great ideas and they must have known I have a terrible memory!"
Frank looked at her quizzically. "Putting Ornamental Fish in a pond - now I don't have to worry about remembering to feed them!"
Frank shook his head slowly. Its a good thing she had those looks, she certainly wouldn't have made in on brains alone.