Building a Royal Estate - Part 3

Here's part 3 of my series of 6-8 weekly blog posts, sharing the progress as I build a huge home for my royal family, House of Luxe-Hamper. You can follow the progress as well as getting a first introduction to this family and some of their traditions.

In case you missed the previous articles; if you see some CC of interest, just drop me a comment and I'll look up credits and link. I have too much CC to give links as we go. 

Queen Evez and Prince Consort Clempus won't reign much longer, but they don't know. I created a huge family tree and this couple is only the parents of the current monarch. To gather some paintings and family photos, and allow them to influence on the interior, I had them around while building.

Chateau Peak is located at The Pinnacles in Del Sol Valley. Some of the exterior was already adjusted, but this series will focus on what's inside. I'm used to much smaller households, and it is quite a challenge planning for the biggest household I ever had. Making it playable is more important than to look like awesome royals, besides this lot is already lagging as there are 2 more floors to go...

First two blog posts focused on first floor. Rooms are grouped by purpose, and I have tagged each floor ROYAL (1st fl.), NOBLE (2nd fl.), PRIVATE (3rd fl.) and SERVANTS (basement). 2nd floor is not as split as 1st floor, so today we'll just check out half of it (right side). While first floor was all about publicity and royalty, 2nd floor is still quite formal but more suited for smaller events. 2nd floor also has more rooms that the household might use frequently, although their private domain is on 3rd floor.

Above is a floor map:

A. Grand Mazaloom Hall (going 2 floors)
B. King's Tea Salon (with access to balcony in front)
C. Hunters' Nook (gaming)
D. Bird Room (dining room)
E. Consort Office
F. Medieval Dining Room
G. Youth's Hang Out
H. Wellness Wing
I. Chief Attendant's Office
J. Royal Chamber
K. Library
L. Chapel Balcony
M. Grand Suite Duchess Olexa
X. Staircase towers used by staff only. They connect underground.
1-5 Passages and corridors

I'm not focusing on toilets while playing my royals, but there are a couple small facilities on each floor.

I'm still enjoying my project, but I must admit that it's more fun equipping the first few rooms, than dining room number five. Some interior feels rather temporary, but the main goal now is to get this building functional and ready to go.

First a quick stop in the Mazaloom Grand Hall, which spans two floors. There's some nice murals up there, and I created some Coat of Arms including the one that was used by the previous royal House de Froux. On both sides of this huge room there is a passage gallery leading to King's Tea Salon.

Below you see a line up of some of the Coat of Arms shields I made. These are actually in use in my game, I pretend these are quite old from a certain storage that was discovered long after this kind of battles no longer existed.

Well, let's move on:

2B. King's Tea Salon
This quite spacious room has a bar, a grand piano and several sitting groups. There is room for more if needed, and this room can get busy at times. It connects to the frontal balcony, yup - that's where the royals might step outside to wave at the public. It's tradition at coronations, weddings and major birthdays, but of course also at birth of the main heir.

Queen Evez like having her tea at this round table, and sometimes the household eat their dinner here, too.

Some paintings show actual ancestors. The little framed portrait on the table all to the left shows late Queen Anna. These small portraits are created to decorate the condolence protocol table when a central royal dies.  

Moving on... The tea salon has no main entrance, but is accessed from either side passage (1 and 4). In these passages Her Majesty intends to vary the art items on display. I imagine there is a storage in the basements where they store all previously received gifts and valuable heirlooms that are not on display.

Another hallway (2). The curtains over there partly hide the servants access. That is where they bring the food whenever the household eats on this floor. All dining facilities are located on this side of the building, which is the same side as the Throne Room and the kitchen.

 

In this hall way there is a little nook. The painting shows Queen Evez' late father, King Tybe.

More rooms to see...

2C. Hunter's Nook

This is actually a gaming room, but it turned out rather chaotic, so I might adjust the theme later.

Hunter refers to hunting trophies like the mounted bear heads on the wall, and the fur on the floor. The man in a green coat is a distant relative who was a dedicated Hunter. Those bears were hunted by him, and his collection was inherited by Queen Anna long ago.

Hunters' Room is also intended as a waiting room while dinner is prepared in one of the two connected dining rooms.

2D. Bird Room
This is a dining room that serves up to 10, so it can be used for most small parties. There is a piano for entertaining (or practicing) and the theme is tropical birds. 

I just had to place a couple pink flamingos in there, to match with the mural and a huge flamingo painting (not pictured). 

It's not particularly formal, but perfect for family dinners etc.

2E. Consort Office
Accessed from the Bird Room is the Consort Office. This is intended for a Queen, but right now the consort is male. Prince Consort Clempus did not bother to redecorate the rather feminine room, but he added a few elements from his Military career.

There is one more dining room near by:

2F Medieval Dining Room
This one appears a little more formal, with good daylight and easy on the colors. Children of the house prefer calling it the Butterfly Room, due to the small butterfly collection on display. 

The Medieval name comes from the big wall tapestry that is from the original Mazaloom Castle, today some ruins in Britechester.

The rest of this right side of the 2nd floor is of more private character, but also intended for guests to enjoy:

2G. Youth's Hang Out

So, whenever there are teenagers in the Estate, it's good for them to have a dedicated area of the building, instead of staying in their rooms all night.

This room has a dance floor, a bar and a ping pong table. I know there are more game equipment that could be good in here, but I did not want the room to get too packed - as it is also the access to other facilities. 

The two single doors lead to two staff bedrooms. I think the Butler might get to stay there (3), I just did not yet decide whether s/he should get the entire section (both rooms). It might be a bad location with teens partying next door, but let's face it - royal teens will not use this room every night.

The double doors above leads to the Wellness Wing, which definitely is a silent neighbor:

2H Wellness Wing
This is not a gym, but a quiet corner of the building intended to gain strength and build wellness skill. 

I actually cut out parts of the wall down to the Orangery, making this room feel much more open. I imagine the Queen frequents this wing almost daily, and it might also be a popular stop bringing a visiting friend or two for some meditation before lunch.

The Wellness Wing includes a main room for yoga and meditation, a massage table, a bubble machine and showers. There is room to add temporary facilities as desired.

That's all for now. In a week we'll have a look at the left side of this 2nd floor of Chateau Peak, including the library.

Prince Consort Clempus found no books when he stopped by last week, but soon this will be worth a visit for sure.

Part 1
Part 2

Royal Family tree