I (almost) recently re-decorated my mansion and was able to add the final piece a few weeks ago - so I decided to share it now (...even though I'm not really sure if anyone is actually going to take a look at this mountain of pictures here on the lodestone, but hey!)
Before getting to this mountain of pictures, a few notes to how I decorate. Personally I dont get much joy out of making houses look like homes that someone actually lives in - for small houses thats still kinda okay and can be some fun, but for medium ones and specially mansions it just never feels right to me (theres just to much space and how many tables do you actually need?). Previously my mansion was decorated more in a "someone is living there"-style, but already with some liberties, like no kitchen etc. And while I admire the amazing things that some people come up with when decorating "homes", I also always kinda felt like the initial idea of kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, libary is a bit "unimaginative", even though the execution is often stunning and much better than anything I'd be able to create (I just dont have the patience for extensive glitching...) I also always felt like houses should be used to "show off", so I finally decided to make my mansion a museum!
I'm also not a fan of blocking huge parts of the house off, so I tried to actually fill the whole space - I could have added a lot more details would it not be for the damn item-limit, but I'm still quite happy with the result! (And only blocked off minor parts in the basement - and even that mostly to hide some big furniture that I only wanted to show parts off)
Nighttime outside view - I was thinking about making the outside look like some sort of museum-park already, but ultimatly I wanted to many ponds and lights to fit the dinosaur-bones in anywhere.
Right (or rather left) at the entry you get the chance to hand your coat to this lovely elezen lady, while already getting a glimpse of the "technical" exhibit.
This exhibit shows anything related to Magitek, Alexander and the Allagans - I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get similar busts for the upcoming weapons so that I can replace the Ultima-Weapon and the little Magitek Reaper with appropriate busts.
Now on the actual right side of the entrance you'll find this little staircase leading up to the ocean exhibit, with a display of primals below. Lets go upstairs first!
Here you can see a couple of different types of fish (I tried to pair them in a way that relates to their natural habitat), aswell as fish prints - a full view of them can be seen in my previous blog.
Right below the ocean exhibit I made little showcases for different primal statues, with the pairs of Diabolos&Scathach and Zurvan&Sophia in the middle, illuminated by snowman-buttlamps and then primals from Stormblood and Shadowbringers around the outside.
Susano, Lakshmi and Tsukuyomi - each displayed in a fashion that fits the respective primal.
Il Mheg and Amaurot are represented on the shorter side of the exhibit
The sliding doors behind Diabolos and Scathach lead to the Doman area of the museum (which can also be seen from above in the ocean exhibit)
The area includes a small indoor garden with a bench to take a rest, a display of traditional clothing and a representation of local Kami.
Lets go upstairs!
While decorating the little place in the middle of the staircase is one of my favorite things to do in our FC mansion I had to make a compromisse here due to the item-limit, so its a bite bare-bone with only a Matanga-lamp
...which still seemed fitting well enough into the area designated top the display of the culture(s) of the Azim Step, including models of houses, traditional furniture and garments. (I really wanted to use the rocking chair and though its obviously not from the Azim Steps it seemed to fit in well enough! The two little sheeps are meant to represent the importance of sheep for some of the tribes)
The other side is dedicated to the dragons - going from Bahamut, to Shinryu in the middle to Ishgard with Nidhogg and Hreasvalgr (I really wish they'd make an actual model of him, not just this little plushie).
Now only downstairs is left! Here you're greeted with the option to relax a bit on a sofa while looking at two displays:
The first is this Titania-themed fountain (with a Raging Vortex Couch hidden in the wall for extra sparkle)
The second is this collection of - admittedly - slightly creepy stuffed animals. But hey, those belong in museums, right?
Going through the archways you'll enter an art-gallery - inspired actually by the artgalleries they put up during the FanFests!
The posters for the various Stormblood patches are on display in the middle, while the sides are lined with all the portraits we currently have, sorted by the categories "Ishgard", "GC-Leaders" and "Scions" - even Minfilia made it in, despite me not liking her.
In the back is just some fancy art-display with another fountain.
On the left and right are seperate rooms, dedicated to two dear departed NPCs
The right room belongs to Moenbryda - one of my personal favorite NPCs. I wished she could have been with us longer... (I also wish we could get a portrait of her...!)
The left room is dedicated to Haurchfaunt, complete with portrait and gear display - I tried to get as close to his actual gear as possible here.
...and that concludes this little blog-tour. If you're intrested to check it out in person, its on Odin, ward 15, plot 30!
