PRESTIGE HOMES by Ballinger

Second Life, the amazing virtual world created by Linden Lab, has been a haven for creativity and innovation since its inception, where imagination knows no bounds. It`s true that creating in Second Life can be full of challenges. Learning to use complex systems and tools, keeping up with constant changes and overcoming various impediments can be daunting. However, the rewards are above price. The satisfaction of seeing how your creation, your dream comes to life and the community’s appreciation and support make it all worth it.

I met Edward Ballinger when he was recommended to me as potential member for Royal Orchestra, a project i founded in 2020. He is reliable, committed and dedicated to evey project he is involved in, and a very talented builder – the main reason he joined Second Life years ago. Being a Consultant for a company headquartered located in Bermuda, Edward is sharing RL with his long-time partner. As many of us, he also had a dream, so he brought his real passion and skills to Second Life, and built it.

“When I joined Secondlife, back in the Dark Ages… I decided to see if I could accomplish here one of my favourite RL hobbies, that is designing houses. It took a while to find my way around the vagaries of the system and it was far more difficult back then: the largest Prim you could create was 10m cube, as opposed to 64m now; there was no such thing as mesh, so we relied on prims and sculpties; I didn’t know how to create textures, so had to rely on sets that I bought from various creators.” Edward Ballinger

Edward gradually learned to master each step, each process, adapting to changes and updates Second Life experienced so far. He learned how to use GIMP to create textures, to work with mesh and to replicate homes, many based on real houses he visited, or at least seen.

“SL increased prim size to a maximum of 64m, and mesh was the new “Thing” that added a great degree of realism to everything. The one drawback I found to Mesh was that it was inflexible; if you had a wall and wanted to change the size, or if you wanted to change the texture and the repeat, it didn’t work well. I know I could have learned to make my own [and probably Should], but I’ve found excellent designers who have made windows, doors, stairs, columns, and other details that work well. I now use those mesh pieces, but continue to use Prims for basic walls and floors, so that I can get the Scale that I want. I grant you that the walls don’t have 3D baseboards unless I add them, which adds to the overall Land Impact, so I use them sparingly.” Edward Ballinger

When I told Edward about this idea of ​​having a unique event in Second Life inspired by the extraordinary “Downton Abbey” series, and that I would love to have a location that would represent their setting, Edward came up with the solution and created, in record time, the wonderful Downham Grange, a faithful representation of one of the UK’s well-known grand country houses.

The house is simply faboulos. From the Vestibule, you move into the Foyer and straight into the Great Hall with its iconic Staircase. To the left are the Large and Small Libraries, with the hidden door that leads into the Music Room. That room has a Tower Room attached, as do the Small Library [which in RL is used as a loo], Smoking Room and the much-used Dining Room. [this is set up to be a Breakfast Room if you wish.] Between the Music and Smoking Rooms is the Green Salon. The Service Hall, Kitchen and Back Stairs connect to the Dining Room [though these are not like the set used in the series.

Upstairs, a Master Suite with 3 rooms, 2 Guest Suites, 5 further Bedrooms and 2 hall Bathrooms encircle the arched Gallery that overlooks the Great Hall. A large area at the head of the stairs can be used as a Lounge.

Downham Grange hosted an wonderful performance and its now for sell on Marketplace, alone with many other so close to reality houses. Like this one, for example: Ballinger’s Villa Pompeii, based on the late style of houses in the fabled city of Pompeii, but also suitable as a home for someone in the modern era.

Or Ballinger’s Lady Crawley’s House, another amazing peace of art based on Byfleet Manor, which was used as the home of the Dowager Countess of Grantham in the series Downton Abbey. Keeping as close as possible to the real house, the exterior textures are taken from it. The interiors, while not from the rl, follow as much as possible those of the manor house.

“I enjoy creating these homes, most of which have textures I’ve created, some from RL. I hope others enjoy them, too.” Edward Ballinger

Edward opened his in-world shop called PRESTIGE HOMES by Ballinger that allows anyone to scroll through an assortment of the houses he built so far, rezz the ones they like and stroll through them. The store can be found on Marketplace too, with many pictures to help residents who do not have the necessary time or opportunity to visit the store in-world, to chose the right house they need. You will find a lot more on MP, including some very large ones that are listed only there, like a version of Versailles and Belle Grove Plantation in Louisiana [the largest antebellum house ever built].

Teleport inworld to Prestige Homes By Ballinger

Teleport inworld to Prestige Decor By Ballinger

See PRESTIGE HOMES by Ballinger on Marketplace

 

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