Need Guidelines About Newbrooke "Mid-Century Modern"

[Rufferta]

What restrictions are there? I like this mid-century modern remodel in Seattle (except for the exterior color), but is the outside landscaping too extreme? (top image)

Should I instead be looking towards the "California modern' exteriors of this Eichler houses?(bottom image).

Confession: I've been accumulating vintage and modern Japanese furniture for years, and I would like to have a sorta-Japanese garden out back, but I also want to fit in. I already realize that I probably won't get away with a huge blossoming cherry tree, but what about a koi pond?

Perhaps Bellisseria needs something like a 'building inspector' who could OK your remodeling plans before you make a major remodel?

 

Edited March 9, 2022 by Rufferta
Found Eichler image

[Nika Talaj]

What, are you kidding?  You seriously think LL is policing plants now? Or is this a passive aggressive protest? 

I noticed someone has a lovely Japanese garden in Seldom Scene.  And why not a cherry tree, if it's normal tree-sized?  Good lord.

[LittleMe Jewell]

I agree with Nika -- please tell me this is not a serious concern of yours.

[Eirynne Sieyes]

Well, according to a post, Patch personally returned a really lovely and low- key roof enhancement. So, who the heck knows? You gotta laugh.

[syndi Pearl]

The only restrictions I am aware of for Newbrookes are those in the Linen Homes covenant. Additionally, we have observed that sloped roof add-ons may be returned. There is a suspicion that changing the roof texture from the "asphalt parking lot" is frowned upon. However, flat rooftop deck add-ons may be allowed. Ditto for a rooftop garden. If you wanna park your car up there, please add some stripes.

Edited March 9, 2022 by syndi Pearl

[LittleMe Jewell]

4 minutes ago, syndi Pearl said:

There is a suspicion that changing the roof texture from the "asphalt parking lot" is frowned upon.

Unless it is a rooftop garden.  That was specifically stated as being okay.  And it was mentioned that a rooftop deck would be okay, and in that case, one should be able to put down wooden planks or something like that because the asphalt rooftop would be way to hot for anyone to hang out on.

However, since we have had glowing neon trees in every Theme since the beginning, asking about outdoor plants seems like a passive aggressive or trolling post.

Edited March 9, 2022 by LittleMe Jewell

[Eirynne Sieyes]

Unless there is history I'm unaware of, I don't see the trolling. Won't be the first time.

[Rufferta]

10 minutes ago, Nika Talaj said:

What, are you kidding?  You seriously think LL is policing plants now? Or is this a passive aggressive protest? 

I noticed someone has a lovely Japanese garden in Seldom Scene.  And why not a cherry tree, if it's normal tree-sized?  Good lord.

You are right, I tend to be passive aggressive, but I meant it as a serious question. 

 

[Eirynne Sieyes]

So this wasn't as funny as I first thought, but I'm glad to see Rufferta taking responsibility. 
Rufferta, I think consensus is that your design is likely to be a go unless you make roof changes that are not a roof garden.

Honestly, before doing all that work, why not ask a mole?

Edited March 9, 2022 by Eirynne Sieyes

[Myntz Mysterious]

4 hours ago, Nika Talaj said:

I noticed someone has a lovely Japanese garden in Seldom Scene.  And why not a cherry tree, if it's normal tree-sized?  Good lord.

Me maybe? 💚 You may have even IM me Nika, well someone did complimenting me but I forget who exactly. 😊And the OP made me almost have a panic attack... But then I came to my senses. 😅

My zen garden in Seldom Scene

 

Edited March 9, 2022 by Myntz Mysterious

[Trinity Blakewell]

LOL, maybe we need a Homeowners Association that can bug you if your fence is the wrong color or something (I would say, "Mailbox is the wrong style" but since most of the home types use a Mailbox as the controller, we all have the correct style). Seriously, anyone who has IRL lived in a neighborhood with one of those covenants, especially with picky types on the committee that oversees "compliance" can tell you that it can be a major headache.

But seriously, I understand that there is an educational component to all this. Especially for those who are less familiar with the home styles (let's not forget the confusion over why the Chalets were called that but looked nothing like Swiss Chalets). 

Maybe there is a place for something like a Wiki where more detail can be shared about these home styles, and examples of things that go against theme (not to point fingers, just to educate). For example, an exterior shell that turns a Traditional into a Victorian (even though they existed and were sold in the Marketplace), wouldn't be considered in-theme for Traditional neighborhoods. As another example, gingerbread-style flourishes, even though not included in the Victorian models, would be an in-theme addition to those homes, because it is an accurate detail that was included on many Victorian homes in real life.

A more detailed Wiki could also help with questions that tend to come up over and over. For example, Zooby baby, breedables, etc.

There is an element of "not pushing the limits" that is also simply based on consideration, and unfortunately not everyone has a similar understanding of what that means, and why that is important in community. As a community, we can try to cultivate that understanding, but you can force others to be considerate.  An extreme example is a neighbor I briefly had a while back in Logland, who had placed multiple nude "cardboard cutouts" on their lawn. I'll bet they thought that was really funny. Maybe they were pranking the previous resident of my house, or trying to get back at them for something. I didn't stay at that house for long.

 

[Paulsian]

It's prolly hard to come up with exactly what to word in linden covenant pre theme launch. I can appreciate their approach to launch the theme, let it unfold organically, and tweak the covenant as needed. Prolly be something about roof pitch with the newbrooke covenant addendum. If I was new and I was a builder and I moved into my first linden home and had no idea how to do anything, it would take me years to get to the point of seeing and comprehending the covenant. 

If the covenant was maybe built into the home controller (as I read in another topic suggested by another resident) as a required reading before home style could be changed, might cut down on the giant cubes and works in progress unfinished left to rest for awhile being super offended by intervention. aka new customer negative experience occurrences. 

As a community in some cases we have to not be so strict, especially with new residents. They don't know any better and when they get approached by neighbors and officials it can be a deal breaker. Hard to balance without totally alienating new customers.  If I was a new customer and a deck that was slightly too large was returned to me because it was not complete, I'd prolly not bother with the next month membership. I don't like month to month when I do SL membership because, I don't want to always ask myself is it worth it. I just want to be here and focus on something constructive. Getting to that point, to go annual premium with new members without totally turning them away should be handled extremely carefully in my opinion. New people are here to learn and should never feel like they are being ganged up on, that's not fun and no normal person would ever tolerate it. We should always keep them in mind. I would imagine for the LDPW that would be the most awesome position to be in is to help a new person, if they are ever reported, and if it is not cost or time budgeted it should be and should be priority over anything else. 

Edited March 9, 2022 by Paulsian

[Love Zhaoying]

Always make sure WHICH century is meant. 

[Kathlen Onyx]

How many of these threads to we need to open and have them closed after the "moles" have personally responded to them? 

Just decorate how you normally would and if it's out of theme or someone AR's it and it gets removed then you'll know.  I feel like everyone is going overboard now out of spite.

[JessycaJayne]

5 hours ago, Myntz Mysterious said:

Me maybe? 💚 You may have even IM me Nika, well someone did complimenting me but I forget who exactly. 😊And the OP made me almost have a panic attack... But then I came to my senses. 😅

My zen garden in Seldom Scene

 

Your garden is beautiful!!

Meebeee needs a few carrots doe ... just sayin. 

🐹

[syndi Pearl]

On 3/9/2022 at 5:30 PM, JessycaJayne said:

Meebeee needs a few carrots doe ... just sayin. 

Imma haz carrots

[Rufferta]

On 3/9/2022 at 4:08 PM, Sam1 Bellisserian said:

How many of these threads to we need to open and have them closed after the "moles" have personally responded to them? 

Just decorate how you normally would and if it's out of theme or someone AR's it and it gets removed then you'll know.  I feel like everyone is going overboard now out of spite.

 I didn't want to put in a lot of time and effort into a project that might get AR'd, and I really wasn't clear on what was meant by 'modern'. I notice that the Bellisseria covenant is much longer than it was when I first moved into Bellisseria, and I have faith that rules will be clarified in the future. Having said that, I have decided to hold onto all my Japanese/Asian landscaping items until (I hope) Bellisseria has a theme that it would better fit. 

[Abnor Mole]

Some of the confusion may be from the fact that the Newbrooke theme is not "Mid-Century Modern". I'm not sure where that idea originated, but as far as I know it was never from us. Thinking of it as just "modern" is problematic too since modern is a very broad category.*

The theme is actually best described as "Shipping Container Homes in an upscale planned community." Any modern or contemporary looking outdoor decor should go with that and there is plenty of it in Second Life. It's changes or additions to the style of the house itself that tend to bring it out of that contemporary theme... and perhaps that is where the confusion lies.

*Edit: "Modern" is actually an incorrect term. "Contemporary" would be more accurate. 
https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/difference-modern-contemporary-home-architecture#:~:text=If you're in the,on the home buying hunt.

Edited March 11, 2022 by Abnor Mole

[Bonemouse Bukowski]

I think because they don't really read as "Shipping Container Homes" due to their shape, scale, cladding, and context?

Even the smallest homes like the Denver would have combined at least 12-16 shipping containers and retained none of their inherent structure to make that size and shape. It is really hard to get something to read as a shipping container in Second Life because of the camera distance. You just have to scale everything up for it to be easily navigable. And, shipping containers are, by their nature, specifically shaped and a bit tight. Because of all that, they read more generally modern to me and many others.

Also, shipping container homes in a planned community seems like an odd combination? Shipping container homes tend to be more of a niche home that stands in contrast to established communities. Or they are tiny homes set up on land that is not part of a planned community. So to me, the more the landscaping says homogenous, the less it says "shipping container."

To be clear, I'm not intending to rip on the design. I'm just trying to explain why they are reading differently than intended.

[Sparkle Bunny]

I don't get 'shipping container' either, unless you're using the metal cladding. With the wood or concrete, it's just upscale contemporary. The kind of place architects design for themselves because nobody else wants to live in a house with a flat roof, at least not in countries where it rains.

[LittleMe Jewell]

6 hours ago, Bonemouse Bukowski said:

I think because they don't really read as "Shipping Container Homes" due to their shape, scale, cladding, and context?

Even the smallest homes like the Denver would have combined at least 12-16 shipping containers and retained none of their inherent structure to make that size and shape. It is really hard to get something to read as a shipping container in Second Life because of the camera distance. You just have to scale everything up for it to be easily navigable. And, shipping containers are, by their nature, specifically shaped and a bit tight. Because of all that, they read more generally modern to me and many others.

Also, shipping container homes in a planned community seems like an odd combination? Shipping container homes tend to be more of a niche home that stands in contrast to established communities. Or they are tiny homes set up on land that is not part of a planned community. So to me, the more the landscaping says homogenous, the less it says "shipping container."

To be clear, I'm not intending to rip on the design. I'm just trying to explain why they are reading differently than intended.

 

4 hours ago, Sparkle Bunny said:

I don't get 'shipping container' either, unless you're using the metal cladding. With the wood or concrete, it's just upscale contemporary. The kind of place architects design for themselves because nobody else wants to live in a house with a flat roof, at least not in countries where it rains.

 

I did a quick 'Google Images' for "shipping container homes" and these are the first couple that displayed -- not very small and the second one especially could easily drop into Newbrooke.

 

 

 

 

[Nika Talaj]

5 hours ago, Sparkle Bunny said:

 it's just upscale contemporary. The kind of place architects design for themselves because nobody else wants to live in a house with a flat roof, at least not in countries where it rains.

Waaayyyy long ago in Seattle,  a subsidiary of Boeing rented Dad a "contemporary" home for a few years.  Flat roof, on Queen Anne's Hill, view of the Ballard locks.  The living room had huge plate glass windows nearly down to the floor, with an almost unobstructed view out to the horizon, but only small panels opened.  It really did seem to rain ALL THE TIME, but the house (built in the early 1950s) never leaked, and when the sun came out everything was BLUE and GREEN outside.  We put a little kids' splashy pool on the black tar roof of the garage.  It was a smallish house, but it was my favorite home ever. 

The guy who built the house lived behind us, and his Irish Setter spent most of his time with us.  Which was wonderful, too.

A family story from that time: I went to 1st grade while we lived there, and the teacher once asked us to paint a picture of our front yard.  I'm told I filled the entire paper with blue paint and held it up in front of my face until the teacher called my mom. 

I found a page covered with cracked blue paint in her things last year.

So ... not a mystery to me why people refresh and refresh and refresh to get a Newbrooke home by the water, even though there isn't all that much of it.  And if LL should take it into their heads to build some Premium Plus Newbrooke cliff homes on the coast, well, I'll need to buy another f5 key.

[Jabari Nightingale]

Patch Linden did just post an addendum to the covenant for Newbrooke.

[LittleMe Jewell]

9 minutes ago, Charlie Rowley said:

Patch Linden did just post an addendum to the covenant for Newbrooke.

Well, he actually did that about 8 hours ago.

[Raspberry Crystal]

While everyone was asleep, that is keen.
Has anyone read it yet?