VW: Second Life
Location: Ottawa, ON
Country: CA
Category: architecture
According to the Chateau de Versailles :
The Queen's great apartment has just reopened after several years of work. Marble, ors and crystals shine from all their fires, punctuated by a restoration punctuated by discoveries.
I've been following the restoration progress and it's really exciting to think that it's finally done.
Read more at Mille et une nuits chez la reine .
The bedchamber looks fabulous! I believe that all of the fabric was re-woven using instructions found for the original patterns.
Can you imagine hand-painting the ceiling ...
... or sewing the details back onto the walls!
Fabulous!
It took just over two years to construct the Eiffel Tower (January 28, 1887 to March 15, 1889). Given that the conception, planning, politics & design commenced around 1884, this cultural icon in the making was actually a "work in progress" for at least five years.
I'd like to think that Gustave Eiffel enjoyed at least part of this journey.
Though I've had abundant experience with real-life home renovations , my Second Life renovation record is rather spotty. When it comes to virtual homes I'd generally rather build them myself than buy them, especially because I know I just can't stop myself from remodeling my new purchase.
It was the same way back in my days of TheSims2. I'd download a brand-new abode and spend the next week (or two or three) ripping it apart and putting it back together. On the bright side, that destruction/construction cycle taught me a lot about architecture & 3D construction. I'd actually recommend it to anyone interested in honing their own skills.
This year with spring just around the corner, I was anxious to add a few new rentals to my Duch de Coeur regions. Being long on ambition but short on time, I decided that a purchase was in order and after much consideration selected a chateau from Never Totally Dead .
As you can see, the exterior fits right in with the 18th century Duch and the layout, with its generous rooms and considered traffic flow, is wonderful. This chateau just oozes charm & atmosphere!
Perhaps a little too much atmosphere inside for my lighter tastes.
For one thing, there is a story about the original owner falling on hard times and struggling to maintain the house. For another, you can expect a certain spooky vibe from a company called Never Totally Dead and they more than deliver.
I've been up to the attic twice now. Once when I was checking the house out and again for this photo. I don't think I'll be climbing those twisty stairs again anytime soon. Skye & I still aren't really sure what's in the room behind the locked door 
Which reminds me; on posting my first "Before" picture I received a number of comments identifying the house and recommending an exorcist might be brought in along with the painters & plasterers!
Thankful for all the great advice & support given from my friends at Royal Courts of Second Life , I rolled up my sleeves and got down to work.
One salon, one kitchen, one foyer (with grand staircase), two bathrooms, three bedrooms (including the master) and two studies later, I'm quite happy with the results! It was a lot of fun being able to use my favourite textures in a new setting.
I did leave the attic "as is" thinking it can be used for servants and/or relatives that have fallen out of favour but insist on coming to visit anyway.
Chateau Claire is now up for rent but you are welcome to visit until it becomes a private residence. Just check the rental sign at the front gate to make sure it's still available for a tour.
Please report back on your adventures there!
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My Chateau Reno by Tatiana Dokuchic on 2015-02-01 Though my Second Life renovation record is rather spotty I give it a go with this chateau!
Images: Tatiana Dokuchic (click to enlarge)
Find Tatiana Dokuchic on Google+
Originally published on Tatiana's Tea Room as My Chateau Reno
Hall of Mirrors' Ceiling
Just asmy glow from Chanel's "Versailles" Collection (see Chanel in Versailles: Seriously Frivolous ) was fading, along came some equally delightful Versailles related news!
Hall of Mirrors
Ange-Jacques Gabriel (October 23, 1698 January 4, 1782) was born into a family of great architects, succeeding his father, Jacques Gabriel, as the premier architect of France in 1742.
His love of symmetry and classical proportion is reflected in many of his creations from the minute French Pavilion (completed 1750) to the enormous Chteau de Versailles (including extensive palace renovations starting in 1735 & the addition of the Royal Opera 1769-1770).
For me, one of the many delights of re-creating his buildings are discovering the false doors which have been placed "just so" to maintain the symmetrical appearance of a room. Equally fascinating are the "secret" doors that are blended into the walls for the same reason. I stumbled upon this technique for the first time while constructing The Billard Room of the Petit Trianon.
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Continue readingon Tatiana's Tea Room - Petit Trianon: The Queen's Theatre .
Marie Antoinette's Salon Dor one of the four main rooms of her Petits Appartements in Versailles.
These small rooms with their concealed doors escaped the surveillance of spies and favoured love affairs and intrigues. To step through the looking-glass, just as Marie Antoinette used to do, is an extraordinary experience. The four main rooms, the Mridienne, the two libraries, the Salon Dor, their boudoirs and their bathrooms provide a perfect image of eighteenth-century France as we imagine it today.