126: Ziggy Starsmith shows me his house in Muir Woods

For quite a while now I've wanted to do a different kind of interview ... I meet a lot of people with beautiful homes, so inventive and clever and visually gorgeous, and very few people ever get to see them. There are plenty of blogs that will show you people's outfits but I think you might want to see their homes as well! So my friend

and fellow blogger Ziggy Starsmith agreed to try this out with me. You will find his blog, The Eyes of Ziggy Starsmith, in my blogroll to the right; I recommend it and will link you directly to it here. Ziggy calls 'em as he sees 'em and I love to hear him do it.

[19:07] Rusty Redfield: *click* the tape recorder is ON!.

[19:07] Rusty Redfield: And I'm here with Ziggy Starsmith who has kindly consented to do a new kind of interview with me -- we walk around his house.
[19:07] Rusty Redfield: thanks Ziggy!
[19:07] Ziggy Starsmith: you're very welcome
[19:08] Rusty Redfield: so as my readers will know, I haven't done one of these before -- bear with me, Ziggy and

everyone, please
[19:08] Ziggy Starsmith: :-)
[19:08] Rusty Redfield: just that I know people spend HUGE amounts of time and Lindens on creating beautiful environments and they deserve to have them seen!!
[19:08] Ziggy Starsmith: this is true
[19:08] Ziggy Starsmith: this is one of the smallest places I have lived

[19:08] Rusty Redfield: so we're outside at Muir Woods.
[19:09] Rusty Redfield: 1. What would you call the style of your home?
[19:09] Ziggy Starsmith: hmmmmm beachy on the edge of a forest I guess
[19:09] Rusty Redfield: LOL in SL, that makes perfect sense
[19:10] Ziggy Starsmith: lol
[19:10] Ziggy Starsmith: my old hobbit

hole got flooded
[19:10] Rusty Redfield: I know you've had some pretty big places in the past.
[19:10] Ziggy Starsmith: ;-)
[19:10] Ziggy Starsmith: yes from sims to Hobbit caves
[19:10] Ziggy Starsmith: lol
[19:11] Rusty Redfield: and now you're downsized --
[19:11] Rusty Redfield: but I bet you're

like me, thousands of pieces of different furniture in all different styles
[19:11] Ziggy Starsmith: yes I was actually living in a Linden home until I met this guy who lived here and I moved in with him, He quit SL so I stayed and took over.
[19:12] Rusty Redfield: A Linden home, wow, I haven't done that, I'm a prim whore LOL

[19:12] Rusty Redfield: did he build this himself?
[19:13] Ziggy Starsmith: that cured me of being a prim whore and now I am sparingly prim crazy lol. No this house is from the rented plot.
[19:13] Rusty Redfield: I get it.  I know you love to sail, is your boat in a diffrent place?
[19:14] Ziggy Starsmith: yes one of them

is at the bottom of the Blake Sea ;-)
[19:14] Rusty Redfield: oh my
[19:14] Ziggy Starsmith: lol
[19:14] Rusty Redfield: that sounds Titanic LOL
[19:15] Ziggy Starsmith: it was . I hit a sim crossing and was catapulted naked into a pirate ship.
[19:15] Rusty Redfield: O. M. G. That's more story than I have time for!!

hahahaha
[19:15] Ziggy Starsmith: it is trust me lol
[19:15] Rusty Redfield: <laughing>
[19:15] Rusty Redfield: I think you sort of answered my second question already, but I have OCD --
[19:15] Rusty Redfield: 2.    How long have you lived here?
[19:15] Ziggy Starsmith: 1 week tonight actually

[19:16] Rusty Redfield: let's walk around a little
[19:16] Ziggy Starsmith: ok
[19:16] Rusty Redfield: wow! You've done all this in one week!!!!
[19:16] Ziggy Starsmith: I did this in one day I am quick.
[19:17] Rusty Redfield: you know, I know what you mean, I have done a lot of places and can usually sum them up

quickly now
[19:17] Ziggy Starsmith: just finding the stuff in inventory kills the time.
[19:18] Rusty Redfield: I recognize this couch
[19:18] Ziggy Starsmith: yes I love it.
[19:19] Rusty Redfield: I've followed your blog for quite a while, and you've used it in -- all your other homes?
[19:19] Ziggy Starsmith: I used it in my

last 3 homes I think.
[19:20] Rusty Redfield: tell you what, show me the rest and then I would be honoured to sit on it <grin>
[19:20] Ziggy Starsmith: ok hahaha
[19:20] Ziggy Starsmith: the other room is the bedroom
[19:20] Rusty Redfield: wow, you've really scaled back -- but there's so much detail!

[19:21] Ziggy Starsmith: oh I need detail
[19:21] Rusty Redfield: I totally agree.  I tell people, it's easier to really DO a small place
[19:21] Rusty Redfield: rather than something like a mall where you can only afford a prim here and there
[19:22] Ziggy Starsmith: yes I found out I wasted so much Lindens and time with big places that no one ever uses or sees

[19:22] Rusty Redfield: right.  "And this is the servants' dining hall" type of thing
[19:22] Ziggy Starsmith: hehehe or the washroom ;-)
[19:22] Rusty Redfield: <grin>
[19:22] Rusty Redfield: well, I actually have a washroom but I couldn't resist
[19:23] Ziggy Starsmith: hahahahaha
[19:23] Rusty Redfield: so this segues nicely to question 3 --

[19:23] Rusty Redfield: 3.    What’s the most difficult thing to learn about making a great-looking home?
[19:23] Ziggy Starsmith: I nade an effort to scale waaaaay back
[19:23] Ziggy Starsmith: not to lag it out with scripts and prims but to make it look full and lived in and cozy.
[19:23] Rusty Redfield: I agree.  I don't feel comfortable in those huge places,

and they're not really personal.
[19:24] Rusty Redfield: I'm sure many things in here have stories for you.
[19:24] Ziggy Starsmith: yes
[19:24] Ziggy Starsmith: the TV set alone
[19:24] Rusty Redfield: hahaha
[19:24] Rusty Redfield: yeah I think I have some of those movies ROFL
[19:25] Ziggy Starsmith: stuff on there from SL 2007

[19:25] Rusty Redfield: not QUITE in focus for me which might be a good thing, I'd lose track ROFL
[19:25] Rusty Redfield: oh my
[19:25] Ziggy Starsmith: there is sex going on in some of those channels ;-)
[19:25] Rusty Redfield: you know, I'm not even sure if it's polite to ask this question, but how many prims am I seeing here?

[19:26] Rusty Redfield: if it's none of our business, we can stand to hear it LOL
[19:26] Ziggy Starsmith: I am using 348 prims out of the 741 available.
[19:26] Rusty Redfield: wow.  To me that indicates a lot of mesh stuff?
[19:26] Ziggy Starsmith: yes most is mesh
[19:27] Ziggy Starsmith: Before I would have used all 741 prims instantly

[19:27] Rusty Redfield: yeah, tell me about it
[19:27] Rusty Redfield: I keep getting "just an extra 100"
[19:27] Ziggy Starsmith: lol
[19:27] Rusty Redfield: "to really make the place look TIGHT"
[19:28] Ziggy Starsmith: I usually prim out with trees and birds
[19:28] Rusty Redfield: Okay, here's one

of my prepared ones -- 4.    Did you design or create anything we see?
[19:28] Ziggy Starsmith: um the mural on the wall.....the horses...I stole the pic from the internet and made the mural hahahaha
[19:29] Rusty Redfield: I've done that too, god help me if Andy Warhol's estate ever chases me
[19:29] Ziggy Starsmith: lmao

[19:29] Rusty Redfield: and I kind of recognize the big picture behind us, I've seen it somewhere before
[19:29] Rusty Redfield: all the nice-looking guys flying through the air
[19:30] Ziggy Starsmith: the Man Battle? I got that as a gift from my friend Damiax Thor back in 2008
[19:30] Rusty Redfield: I should know the artist's name, but <facepalm> no such

luck
[19:30] Ziggy Starsmith: It is the one thing that has been in every home
[19:31] Rusty Redfield: are you a gardener in real life? Or a bird aficionado?
[19:31] Rusty Redfield: there are beautiful plants everywhere here
[19:31] Ziggy Starsmith: both. I have been a landscaper and worked in an

endangered animal sanctuary
[19:32] Rusty Redfield: 5.    Who’s your favourite designer/what’s your favourite store?
[19:32] Ziggy Starsmith: hmm hard question and a good one....let me think...
[19:32] Rusty Redfield: I'm not sure if I could answer that question, but I hope you can LOL
[19:32] Ziggy Starsmith: I think Botanical

[19:33] Rusty Redfield: it's okay to not have one.  I tend to go through styles
[19:33] Rusty Redfield: I did a complete deco house at one point, and a Victorian one, and a grunge place
[19:33] Rusty Redfield: but I guess you will always need plants!
[19:33] Ziggy Starsmith: ohhhhh me too and then tried mixing the two hahahaha
[19:34] Rusty Redfield: haha we call it

"eclectic"
[19:34] Ziggy Starsmith: yes or a mess from a schizo lol
[19:34] Rusty Redfield: my inventory is like an episode of "Hoarders" LOL
[19:34] Ziggy Starsmith: mine also lol
[19:35] Rusty Redfield: it's part of the deal for being here a few years
[19:35] Ziggy Starsmith: and moving a lot with copy items

[19:35] Rusty Redfield: yep
[19:35] Ziggy Starsmith: 2,000 deck chairs lol
[19:36] Rusty Redfield: ahhahaha I have like 85 of the same Adirondack chair LOL
[19:36] Rusty Redfield: 6.    What’s your favourite piece of furniture?
[19:36] Ziggy Starsmith: exactly and who wants to go through it all

[19:36] Ziggy Starsmith: my fav is the couch I think
[19:36] Rusty Redfield: I sort of was betting the couch, yeah
[19:37] Ziggy Starsmith: lets have a seat btw
[19:37] Rusty Redfield: sure!
[19:37] Rusty Redfield: haha I feel honoured
[19:38] Rusty Redfield: not much more -- thank goodness this is a small place LOL
[19:38] Ziggy Starsmith: lol
[19:39] Rusty Redfield: one more big question.
[19:39] Rusty Redfield: 7.    What advice would you give to someone putting together their first home?
[19:39] Ziggy Starsmith: ok
[19:39] Ziggy Starsmith: fill it with your very favorite things so when you look around you can smile and have memories.
[19:39] Rusty Redfield: I've met people who have never had a home here, and it baffles me
[19:40] Ziggy Starsmith: that can be fun too though and I have done that.
[19:40] Rusty Redfield: yes! things that have meaning from context, and associates with people
[19:40] Rusty Redfield: I have done it too -- but to never do it, I think you're missing one of the crucial SL experiences
[19:40] Ziggy Starsmith: indeed
[19:41] Ziggy Starsmith: besides dressing up then decorating is the next fun thing
[19:41] Rusty Redfield: That's all my prepared questions, but I usually offer people a chance to sound off -- philosophy? complaints? suggestions?
[19:41] Ziggy Starsmith: I suggest we light up a joint and celebrate this experience hehehe
[19:42] Rusty Redfield: ROFL!
[19:42] Rusty Redfield: you know I'm from BC, home of the BC bud ROFL
[19:42] Ziggy Starsmith: thank you man this was fun
[19:42] Rusty Redfield: my pleasure -- and thanks for making it easy
[19:42] Ziggy Starsmith: indeed we are canafian eh?
[19:42] Rusty Redfield: yes, folks, we are the Canadian mafia here, eh?
[19:42] Ziggy Starsmith: sorry for my spelling
[19:43] Ziggy Starsmith: take off you hoser!
[19:43] Rusty Redfield: I know you well enough to know that you'll change houses some time, so I hope we can come back if and when that happens
[19:43] Ziggy Starsmith: sure but I think this is it for me now.
[19:43] Rusty Redfield: in the meantime, thanks for welcoming me -- and my readers -- into your home
[19:44] Ziggy Starsmith: your very welcome. Peeps are welcome to drop in for a laugh but call first ;-) lol
[19:44] Rusty Redfield: I'm so not publishing the SLURL, believe me
[19:44] Ziggy Starsmith: hahahahaahhaaha
[19:44] Rusty Redfield: thanks and -- let me find the damn button here -- *click*

Thanks again, Ziggy. I'm not sure how much you can tell about a person by looking at their house, but I guarantee you, Ziggy has an eye for detail and knows how to make a place look comfortable and lived in. It was a pleasure to see his place and it makes me think there's more interesting interviews to bring you if people will show me/us their homes -- so get in touch if you're proud of your home!