In April of 2021, The Grove Country Club Estates in Second Life announced their 2021 Interior Design Throw Down competition. This was their first time doing an event of this type for designers. Residents around the grid and especially those residing at The Grove had come to know and love their annual Parade of Homes, so this was indeed a new competitive adventure.
Interior Designers of all skill levels were encouraged to bring our A games and apply to be a competitor in this inaugural competition. Each competitor would be assigned to a parcel at The Grove and would have two thousand prims to put a fully decorated home with landscaping to complete the look. The application process included filling out an online application and submitting photos of our work for the chance to be chosen.
I was tagged on Facebook regarding this competition and urged to enter by family and friends. I was leery about doing so at first simply because in SL over the years competitions of all sorts have been known to be popularity contests vs. actually earning a win based on merit. This one however, promised to be very different and that was a huge selling point for me. There would be a selection process from the applicants and then the competing would begin. There would be a panel of judges carefully selected from around the grids greatest professionals in home decor, sim architects, etc. The judging would culminate in a final round of five competitors from which one would emerge the 2021 Interior Design Throw Down winner.
After submitting my application and photos, I had pretty much put the competition out of my mind. Real life ups and downs are always the priority and that is where my focus as we all globally continued to embrace the various new normal ways of life in the Land of Covid. Loved ones got sick. Loved ones lost parents. Life continued and the competition was forgotten until one day in May, I received a random instant message from Viola Rookswood congratulating me on being chosen as a semi-finalist in the competition. To be honest, I thought it was a prank at first until I looked in her profile and remembered that I had indeed entered this competition!!! OMG!!! I was chosen as a semi-finalist!! &^T$$#%^& <<~~~ You can just imagine how colorful my vocabulary got at this realization. LOL!!!
Twenty semi-finalists were chosen from several backgrounds in this often under-appreciated industry. The journey began. We were split into groups of five for a total of four heats from which the winner of each heat would make it to be a finalist and one wild card would be chosen for a total of five finalists. I was in heat 4. Each heat lasted two weeks. The first week was build week and the second week was a torturous wait as the judges and the general public went through each of the five competitor parcels with a fine toothed comb. Even if this was not your round, it was pretty difficult not to feel the tension and anticipation of those in that round as we ALL awaited the results.
As with many competitions, there are disqualifications and withdrawals and this one was no different. We lost several along the way and had to make adjustments. I was asked if I would be willing to switch to the third round. At first I didn't want to, but after some consideration I agreed to switch. I competed against four other designers. In the parcel lottery I drew 14 Park Circle at The Grove. This parcel had great views of the ocean and a spectacular waterfall. What it lacked was a lower tier with built in pool or private beach access as the others had. Here are some before pictures:
This layout meant I would have to use my 2000 prim allotment very carefully to be able to add elements that were included on my competitors parcels while staying within the rules. It meant I had to make the difficult decision to not use a crucial part of my landscaping design...the classic !!OXY!! Mobster car from one of my sponsors Prestige Imports of SL. It is a blessing when your sponsors are understanding! Be sure to check out the Prestige Imports of SL Showroom for the absolute best cars and motorcycles for roleplay or racing. All music on the parcel was provided by IиF4м0υ$ EиT3RT4Iим3иT! Thank you very much IиF4м0υ$ DJ Skillzz aka Kr0nicl3 Serato!
A lot of my interior work was prepared off site and then delivered to the parcel and incorporated into the landscape shown in the photos above. I chose to go with the Redgrave Luton Manor (see photos below) to incorporate the Mediterranean aesthetic of The Grove and deliver luxury the way I saw it. It paid off exponentially when I emerged as the winner of Heat 3 with the highest score of all competitors up to that date and advanced to the finals! Real talk...it was quite overwhelming. [Photos courtesy of The Grove SL]
My color palette was chosen from the beautiful butterfly you will see see framed in the photos of the bedroom. Rich oranges, greens, deep purple, ecru and light brown were used throughout the entire build. The first item I decided to use was a mesh model I made a few years ago on the ceiling. Throughout the home you will see that honeycomb pattern repeated in subtle and not so subtle ways.
Meeting the amazing artist JudiLynn India in SL who is also an artist in real life during this journey was indeed a blessing. Judi was kind enough to be one of my sponsors when she saw what I was working on for this competition. You will see her piece called "Passionate" in the foyer photos. Please be sure to visit her Center Ground Gallery in Second Life. Thank you very much JudiLynn India!
Now on to the finals!!!
Love & Light,
乇мzz:::ƒιуαнѕтσям™:::qυαи
PS. This is post 1 of 3 dedicated to The Grove SL 2021 Interior Design Throw Down.
Comments