So I don’t know that I shared this after all my excitement about Empyreum housing, but I actually lost both my own bid and our FC’s bid for a new house in Empyreum.
I won’t lie, at first I was kind of sad about it because I’d worked so hard to be able to participate—but as I thought about it, I realized that at least we lost to actual people, not a bug, so it wasn’t so bad. There will be other chances!
And with that newfound optimism in my heart, I decided to clean out my apartment in the Lavender Beds and move myself to a new apartment in Empyreum. I loved what I saw in the apartments I’d been creeping, and I wanted to try out building in them for myself!
Working with natural features
I love the trim and paneling they created for Empyreum homes. I can’t say I’d ever wished I could move trim from one house to another, but now I definitely wish I could! There’s just something so classic about it, and it’s the kind of trim that I wanted to show off rather than cover up.
So for this build, I focused on creating an aesthetic that would fit the existing style.
Shakespearean influence
Maybe I was still riding on my wave of creativity after exploring dark academia, but as I thought about this design and considered what I could do to fit the style, I landed on trick bookshelf partitions. Originally, I wanted to use them to decorate the sides of the fireplace, but it didn’t take long for me to figure out they’d open through any walls I constructed, and that was no good.
So instead, I decided to turn them around, which got me experimenting with using them as framework rather than full partitions—and ultimately, I ended up with something that feels a lot like the trip I took to Shakespeare’s Globe in 2016.
Secret areas
I have always been a sucker for secret areas, probably thanks to my early exposure to Harry Potter computer games. I was excited about the possibilities as soon as I saw the trick bookshelf partition, and got to work with this build!
Though one secret is a bathroom that I’m sure most people would find, the less-obvious secrets are on either side of the fireplace, where the trick bookshelf partitions open up to a sunset view on a small Juliet balcony. Yes, another intentional nod to the Shakespearean vibe.
One thought on “Shakespearean studio apartment”
I know this post is almost a year old but I just wanted to let you know that I adore this build! You managed to fit so many secret areas into such a small space but still maintained an open feel.
I’m trying to work with the base Empyreum trim and paneling for my small; partly because I don’t want to eat up my item limit by making walls (when I’m going for a dark/gothic manor feel rather than modern/minimalist), but also just to try something new. I was worried that covering up the pillars in some areas, while leaving them exposed in others, would look strange—but those trick bookshelf walls turned out great!
Cute blog overall too! I’m not an instagram user but will definitely give you a pintrest follow. 🙂