For the Laurence home in our imaginary RPG I envisioned a Georgian house as explained in Part I, and took inspiration from period rooms as well as classically-inspired spaces in the homes of today; a collection can be found in Part II.
Finally, here in Part III we arrive at the 3D visualization of the…formal dining room. Why the dining room? As far as I can remember, there were no particular scenes in the book Little Women that occurred in the Laurences’ dining room. But whenever I model a house the first room I work on is neither the living room nor family room, nor the kitchen, but the dining room (Maybe because I love to eat more than anything?). Many families today with larger houses only use the formal dining room for entertaining–the kitchen with a breakfast nook and/or counter is used for daily meals. But I could imagine Grandpa Laurence and Laurie sitting in a richly-appointed formal dining room, eating (a somewhat lonely) dinner together, struggling to carry on a conversation.
I imagine that parquet flooring, Neoclassical columns and French doors decorate their dining room. A Palladian-style door opens to the entrance hall.
Instead of the well-known Georgian green or blue tone for the walls, I chose a reproduction of an Italian Renaissance weave: a damask wallpaper showing a pomegranate, the apple of love of medieval times. Venetian marble paneling is used for the ceiling and door frames. Limestone brick make up the focus wall that houses the beautiful antique display cabinets and valuable Meissen plates.
For the furniture I took inspiration from a Georgian cabinet, a set of chairs with Queen Anne and Chippendale features, and a French Louis-Philip table. The unique vanity sink I built by shortening a classic Corinthian column and adding a basin.
The rug is an antique 19th century Isfahan from Central Persia. This sumptuous piece has a grand, sweeping arabesque palmette border and smaller accent borders that provide a framing effect. Fine leafy tendrils, detailed palmettes and small flowers fill the interior. Below are the textures used, with acknowledgment of their sources.
Many thanks to Karlfucious at Google 3D Warehouse for the original model of the beautiful Corinthian column, Fredo6 for the lovely chandelier and vase, and Vickey for the Palladian-style door. See below for links to sources.
Up next post will be the drawing room!
So, what do you think of the dining room? Please share your thoughts in the comments area below. I would love to hear from you!
Related Links
Alcott’s Little Women: A Role Playing Game? Part I – what this is all about.
Alcott’s Little Women: A Role-Playing Game? Part II – historical background and sources of inspiration.
Alcott’s Little Women: A Role Playing Game? Part IV – my 3D visualization of the formal living room.
External Links to Sources
Corinthian column by Karlfucious – from Google 3D Warehouse.
Chandelier by Fredo6 – from Google 3D Warehouse.
Vase by Fredo6 – from Google 3D Warehouse.
Palladian-style door by Vickey – from Google 3D Warehouse.
CGTextures.com – source of the textures used here, unless otherwise indicated.
Patrick Hoesly at flickr.com – illustration of Venetian marble panelling texture.
Nazmiyal Antique Rugs – source of the antique Isfahan rug in the dining room and Shirvan rug in the hallway.
Plantation Hardwood Floors – source of the parquet floor tile for the dining room.
Schots Home Emporium – source of the star-patterned parquet floor tile in front of the study.
Unmistakably Mark Wilkinson – source of the kitchen photograph.
ooooh, super duper gorgeous! was wondering why it was taking u so long……but totally worth the wait! luuuuv it! so 3D game-ish, whatever dat means!
Thanks, Krissie, I’m so glad you like it. I’ll bet game developers will tell me that it’s too detailed and would be too heavy to actually use as a 3D backdrop! 🙂
Beatiful! Would the cabinet have been japanned and decoupaged?
I think the landscape seen from the French doors is too much like a park than a garden… I have the impression that there were neighboring houses beside the Laurences although maybe there shouldn’t be otherwise they ought to have been mentioned.
Thanks for the comment! The cabinet is made of solid, polished oak and has floral marquetry in maple. I could easily imagine it being japanned and decoupaged, as European Chinoiserie was popular during the late 18th century. It would have been covered in black lacquer and decorated with a landscape of pagodas, Oriental trees and stylized birds. Since the Mr. Laurence was involved in East Indies trade I could imagine their home having an exotic piece or two. I did consider a lacquered piece for this project but Chinoiserie/Japonais gold-leafing is complicated and would taken me a much longer amount of time to finish (not to mention the model becoming heavier in terms of data size). It would be a great project someday, though!