“Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train, it was sunny
Her saltbox house on the coast took her mind off St. Louis
Bill was the heir to the Standard Oil name and money
And the town said, ‘How did a middle-class divorcée do it?'”
Taylor Swift – the last great american dynasty
I don’t think anyone has ever accused me of being an interior decorator, and if they have, they clearly haven’t seen the state of my inventory. Most of my time in Second Life is spent putting together outfits, finding interesting places to photograph, or coming up with ideas that probably sounded a lot easier in my head before I actually started working on them. Decorating an entire room around furniture isn’t something I do very often, but I’ve always enjoyed finding new ways to be creative, even when it means getting a little outside my comfort zone.
That brings me to Scafall, the newest addition to my little corner of the blogging world. I’m excited to welcome them as a sponsor and have the opportunity to work with their creations. It’s also a chance for me to do something a little different with my photography, focusing more on interior spaces, decorating, and the details that go into bringing a scene together. I can’t promise I’m suddenly going to become an expert in interior design, but I’m certainly willing to give it a shot.
For my first post, I decided to work with pieces from the Jawhar Collection, created by Gianna Marques. The name Jawhar comes from Arabic and refers to a jewel or the essence of something, which I thought was an interesting choice considering the overall style of the collection. There’s a mixture of contemporary design, geometric shapes, warm colors, and softer materials that work really well together. It has a modern feel without looking like the kind of furniture you’re afraid to actually sit on.
The dining table was one of the first pieces that caught my attention. I really like the way the legs interlock underneath it, giving it a distinctive look without being overly complicated. The chairs have that same balance between design and comfort, with their thicker velvet cushions and thinner brass frames. We mixed the upholstery colors rather than keep everything identical, which gave the room a little more variety without making it feel mismatched. Between the table, chairs, and rug, we already had a pretty good foundation.
What makes this scene a little different is that it isn’t just something we put together for a photograph. This is actually the dining area in the house Mackenzie and I have in Second Life, so we’re using the furniture as part of our home. Mackenzie had a huge hand in helping me arrange everything and bring the room together. She’s got a good eye for this kind of thing, and working on the space together made the whole process a lot more fun. It’s nice when something I’m blogging is also something we get to enjoy after the camera is put away.
We also incorporated the Jawhar Painting and Linear Pendant Light. The darker textures and gold accents in the painting work nicely with the furniture, while the pendant light adds something simple and contemporary above the table. I like that the collection has plenty of personality on its own but still leaves room to make the space feel like ours. Of course, giving us a beautiful dining room and expecting us to do something completely normal with it was probably a little optimistic.
Somewhere in the process of getting everything arranged, we ended up with two skeletons having dinner. He’s wearing a top hat, she’s dressed up in her pearls, and neither seems bothered by the fact that they’ve been dead for who knows how long. I figured if they were going to make the effort to dress nicely, the least we could do was put together a decent meal. Honey baked ham, mashed potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, fresh rolls, and enough alcohol to make the evening interesting. We even brought out the good china, although Granny’s choice of dinnerware probably wouldn’t be appropriate for every occasion.
The oversized SPIRITOR marquee letters were an obvious addition because, well, it’s me. I liked how they looked against the painting, and the lighting gave the wall a little extra character. Between the playing cards, shelves, plants, bottles, and everything else we added, the room ended up with a mixture of styles that somehow works. Not everything matches perfectly, but I don’t think it needs to. A home should have some personality, and ours has never been particularly short on that.
I think one of the things I enjoyed most was not having a completely finished picture in my head when we started. With most of my photography, I generally have some idea of what I’m trying to accomplish, even if that changes a dozen times before I’m finished. This was more about experimenting with different pieces, seeing how they worked together, and making adjustments until we were happy with the result. Having Mackenzie involved meant we could bounce ideas off each other instead of me sitting there trying to figure everything out on my own.
It was also interesting approaching photography from a different perspective. I’m so accustomed to having my avatar as the focal point that I don’t always think about how much work goes into creating the spaces around him. This time, the furniture was the focus, and I had to pay more attention to how everything was arranged, how the lighting affected the materials, and whether the room felt complete. I wanted the Scafall pieces to stand out, but I also wanted the scene to feel like part of our home rather than a display created solely for a photograph.
One thing I appreciate about the Jawhar Collection is that it doesn’t really limit what you can do with it. I could easily see these same pieces in a much more elegant dining room, something minimalist, or a completely different setting with a brighter color palette. The designs are distinctive enough to catch your attention without forcing the rest of the room to follow a specific look. We went with two skeletons enjoying what might be the longest dinner party in history, but that’s hardly the only direction you could take.
There’s a little bit of Taylor Swift’s the last great american dynasty in all of this, too. A beautiful house, some rather eccentric characters, and a story that probably makes more sense to the people living there than anyone looking in from the outside. I’m not suggesting Mackenzie and I are quite on the level of Rebekah Harkness, but considering we’ve got two skeletons dressed for dinner beneath a giant illuminated SPIRITOR sign, I’m pretty sure we’re able to take some creative liberties with our dining room.
I’ve been blogging in Second Life for a long time, and I still enjoy finding something new to try. I don’t want everything I create to look or feel the same, and sometimes that means taking on something I haven’t done much of before. I’m sure there will be a learning curve as I spend more time working with decor and interior scenes, but that’s part of what makes it interesting. I get to play around with different ideas and hopefully put together some photographs that are worth sharing.
I’m grateful to Scafall for welcoming me to their blogging team and giving me another opportunity to expand what I do here. I’m looking forward to exploring more of their creations and seeing what kind of scenes Mackenzie and I can come up with. Whether that means something elegant, unusual, or completely ridiculous remains to be seen. Knowing me, it’ll probably be a little of everything. As for our dinner guests, they’ve been sitting there for quite a while now. The food’s probably cold, nobody’s touched the wine, and I’m starting to think the conversation has died. At least the dining room looks good though. We’ve got a lot of new coming up that I’ll be talk about soon, until then credits for everything can be found below…
“The wedding was charming, if a little gauche
There’s only so far new money goes
They picked out a home and called it “Holiday House”
Their parties were tasteful, if a little loud
The doctor had told him to settle down
It must have been her fault his heart gave out”
Taylor Swift – the last great american dynasty
Credits:
Light: – Scafall – Jawhar / Linear Pendant Light ~ Gianna Marques
Painting: – Scafall – Jawhar / Painting ~ Gianna Marques
Chairs: – Scafall – Jawhar / Dining Chair ~ Gianna Marques
Table: – Scafall – Jawhar / Dining Table ~ Gianna Marques
Rug: – Scafall – Jawhar / Rug ~ Gianna Marques
Letters: tarte. marquee letters ~ Alessandra Dallas
Cards: 220ML – Suit Card Board – Spades/Clubs/Hearts/Diamonds – Black ~ Jonas Acanthus
Place Setting: Apple Fall Autumn Place Setting ~ Apple Cinnamon
Skeleton Female: [Merak] – Lady Bonevivant ~ Ana Belle
Skeleton Male: [Merak] – Lord Boozeworth ~ Ana Belle
Truck: [Merak] – Truck Figurine RARE ~ Ana Belle
Rolls: dust bunny . sunday dinner . fresh bread rolls ~ Noel Bunny
Mashed Potatoes: dust bunny . sunday dinner . classic mashed potatoes ~ Noel Bunny
Ham: dust bunny . sunday dinner . honey baked ham ~ Noel Bunny
Brussel Sprouts: dust bunny . sunday dinner . roasted brussel sprouts ~ Noel Bunny
Planter (L): dust bunny . retro planters . smiley fern . purple ~ Noel Bunny
Frame: KraftWork Dachshund Decor ~ NODNOL Jameson
Planter (R): dust bunny . retro planters . smiley fern . yellow ~ Noel Bunny
Bottles: [Merak] – Home Bar Alcohol ~ Ana Belle
Wine Bottles: Dahlia X MADRAS – Praiano – Wine Bottle ~ June Fallon
Plate 1: Aardvark : Granny’s Not So Best China – Stop Camming ~ Dash Pixels
Plate 2: Aardvark : Granny’s Not So Best China – Home is where mesh is ~ Dash Pixels
Plate 3: Aardvark : Granny’s Not So Best China – My Standard Fatpack ~ Dash Pixels
Shelves: rotten {heartfelt shelves} ~ Hell Doll
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