I've got a few quick reviews for you today, as I try to catch up on my blogging to-do list. (Seems I'm always catching up, doesn't it? I may suck at this.)

GM Nikolaidis, former SL clothing designer, has turned his creative attention to houses in his new venture, ::HomeKraft::. Currently only available on XStreet, GM is offering a few prefabs along with some fireplaces and a pool. He sent me a copy of his Fremont Home for review -- and for some reason, it just wouldn't rez properly for me, so I'm not able to really give you much info on that house. I can say, in what rezzed for me, that I saw some original and creative architectural elements using glass plates. I liked it!

GM is working on that rezzer issue, and in the meantime, sent me a copy of his Woebegone Cabin...which totally sounds like a house name from The Sims. :) Dear readers will know that I love smaller prefabs, especially when they're cozy and rustic - and that's what we've got here!

It's simple, which I like, and although it's on the smaller side, there's still plenty of room for distinct zones - living, dining, and bedroom - or whatever you'd like to have in there. I really like the touch of having grime on the windows - it's a fun detail. :) Personal preference: I would rotate the texture on the windows so that each one isn't an exact grime copy of the others. I'd also like to see more shading and depth in the wall/floor/ceiling textures -- you guys know how I am about that. ;) Overall, though, this is a very cute little cabin, great for a smaller plot and really a blank canvas for some awesome shabby chic, vintage decorating. I also love that you can see thru the logs in some places - it's drafty, but I like it!

See all of ::HomeKraft:: on XStreet, right here!

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Froukje Hoorenbeek of Dutchie sent me her Small Picnick Table set to check out - it's a simple, cute little dining set, perfect for indoors or out. She's made good use of sculpts with the slatted details - the chairs are just 5 prims each!

I like the little coffee set - again, simple, but just a really cute touch of realism. I do have a concern with the scale (and therefore the name) of this set, though -- I'm a pretty average-sized avatar - I think my height is around 6'7" or something...not average for RL, but seems to be average for SL. However, I look about 4" tall in this chair, with my feet dangling quite a bit above the ground. :)

I've been to the Dutchie location before, and decided to make another visit since Froujke was kind enough to send me this set.  Something she offers that I've seen mentioned a few times on plurk or blogs, is a houseboat. I love this concept - it's not a yacht, but truly a houseboat. Great idea! :)

Personal preference again: the textures are quite flat to me. The living room furniture has no shading in the cushions, and looks a bit outdated as a result. I'm not a fan of photorealistic textures on furniture, so the cabinets don't work for me. I love the idea of the unmade bed - would just love to see some shading there, too. Overall, this is really put together very well - I think with more shading and depth in the textures, this could be quite awesome.

I also found this campsite set at Dutchie - again, some more shading (around the campfire and the log especially) would be great, but I really like the tent, and the clothesline is a cute touch.

Dutchie Furniture [SLurl]