A brief description of the layout of the Eye, so that those joining will have a sense of place: The WestEnd Eye is an old flour warehouse near the harbor in WestEnd, not far from the remains of the old Oak and Ash. It is a four-story structure. Guests will enter from the side entrance off the street. For the evening, there will be someone at the entrance letting people in and directing them to the stairs. The family lives on the fourth floor.
First Floor
The first floor houses shop space. The windows are papered over and it is clear that something is going in - the 'what' is a mystery at this time. All the signage says is "Watch our development!" The backside of the first floor houses storage and loading docks.
The Stairway
Although there are elevators, guests will be directed up the stairs for the event. The stairway is decorated with ornately-framed artwork that rotates frequently as new masterpieces are received - all done by children from the various local orphanages and put on display by Fionna.
Second Floor
The second floor contains offices and additional space used by the shop.
Third Floor
The third floor, when it is open, houses Fionna's art studio, The Studio at the Eye. It also houses some space with climbing ropes, nets and boxing equipment the family uses.
The Roof
The roof contains a working garden, with a chicken coop and run, a small koi pond and places for meditation and for producing small amounts of food. Everything has been winterized, the koi brought inside, and like the other floors, it is closed for the party. A barricade of Yule greenery blocks it off, with a cheerful note that says, "Not a creature was stirring... the chickens need their sleep."
Fourth Floor
The fourth floor of the Eye is the family's home and the setting for the party. The general layout of the place is as follows. The setup of the hallways is a basic rectangle, with offices, library and shrine down a central column, the dining, kitchen and master bedroom and bath up the left-hand hallway as one enters, cutting across to the right hand hall that houses guest room and bath, the children's rooms and shared bath, and empties back into the central living area.
The party will be hosted in the areas comprised of the living room, dining room, kitchen and the guest bath between the two childrens' rooms. The doors to the shrine across from the nursery will be locked and inaccessible. The bedroom doors will be closed. An attendant will be on-hand to take guests' coats and hang them in the library.
The general decor of the open space is as follows:
The living room is a mish-mash of styles that work, but are out of the norm. A trid screen on the west wall is discreetly enclosed by a faux windowframe and painted shutters. Antiques and trash finds have been painted or turned into foundations for mosaic work Fio has done, and pepper the room.
In the center of the room, across from the Trid, is a deep blue sofa which backs against a long row of tanks that are the winter home of the koi from the roof. The rug is Persian, in earth tones. An old bronze astrolabe stands in one corner by the tanks; there is a scarred but sturdy set of tables on either side of the sofa and before it, and a leather chair draped in a quilt Fio has made. Additional chairs have been brought in for the event, and arranged in groupings throughout the large space.
Along the north wall, a bank of windows that slide open to a small balcony stand where the old overhead doors used to open for loading from the winch still affixed to the building. A large yule tree is gaily decorated and brightly lit in front of it. The corner of the north and west walls hosts a large fireplace, merrily blazing.
Three of her paintings ring the room - a portrait of Lirssa and Rekah, one of Lir and Raza, and a large landscape of the river and the city on either side, from the vantage of one of the watchtowers. In the northeast corner of the room, a glossy black piano watches over a cello on its stand.
The south of the living room opens into the dining room, where an antique table and sideboard are laden with food and drink for the evening. Another of Fionna's landscapes and a mosaic-framed mirror decorate the walls.
The kitchen is long and open, and the backsplash is a vitreous glass mosaic Fio installed in shades of rich greens with glints of copper and gold, and bits of mirror. The floors here, as throughout the living space, are the old wooden floors of the warehouse, which have been restored just enough to make them beautiful without erasing the signs of age and character.
The entirety of the Eye has been decked for the season in garlands of evergreens, ivy, holly and candles of every shape and size, mercury glass ornaments in bowls, wreaths, dangling from the rafters, glistening on the tree. This year, splashes of color and fragrance have been added with deep red Christmas roses. Sprays of mistletoe decorated with shimmering ribbons hang in all the likely places.
http://cfc.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/.sig/xwocaDuPSi1R6VWaVWnfA/cid/64593194/id/UB-_axZ3SSuXwT1DxgpKog/size/c600x558.jpg
First Floor
The first floor houses shop space. The windows are papered over and it is clear that something is going in - the 'what' is a mystery at this time. All the signage says is "Watch our development!" The backside of the first floor houses storage and loading docks.
The Stairway
Although there are elevators, guests will be directed up the stairs for the event. The stairway is decorated with ornately-framed artwork that rotates frequently as new masterpieces are received - all done by children from the various local orphanages and put on display by Fionna.
Second Floor
The second floor contains offices and additional space used by the shop.
Third Floor
The third floor, when it is open, houses Fionna's art studio, The Studio at the Eye. It also houses some space with climbing ropes, nets and boxing equipment the family uses.
The Roof
The roof contains a working garden, with a chicken coop and run, a small koi pond and places for meditation and for producing small amounts of food. Everything has been winterized, the koi brought inside, and like the other floors, it is closed for the party. A barricade of Yule greenery blocks it off, with a cheerful note that says, "Not a creature was stirring... the chickens need their sleep."
Fourth Floor
The fourth floor of the Eye is the family's home and the setting for the party. The general layout of the place is as follows. The setup of the hallways is a basic rectangle, with offices, library and shrine down a central column, the dining, kitchen and master bedroom and bath up the left-hand hallway as one enters, cutting across to the right hand hall that houses guest room and bath, the children's rooms and shared bath, and empties back into the central living area.
The party will be hosted in the areas comprised of the living room, dining room, kitchen and the guest bath between the two childrens' rooms. The doors to the shrine across from the nursery will be locked and inaccessible. The bedroom doors will be closed. An attendant will be on-hand to take guests' coats and hang them in the library.
The general decor of the open space is as follows:
The living room is a mish-mash of styles that work, but are out of the norm. A trid screen on the west wall is discreetly enclosed by a faux windowframe and painted shutters. Antiques and trash finds have been painted or turned into foundations for mosaic work Fio has done, and pepper the room.
In the center of the room, across from the Trid, is a deep blue sofa which backs against a long row of tanks that are the winter home of the koi from the roof. The rug is Persian, in earth tones. An old bronze astrolabe stands in one corner by the tanks; there is a scarred but sturdy set of tables on either side of the sofa and before it, and a leather chair draped in a quilt Fio has made. Additional chairs have been brought in for the event, and arranged in groupings throughout the large space.
Along the north wall, a bank of windows that slide open to a small balcony stand where the old overhead doors used to open for loading from the winch still affixed to the building. A large yule tree is gaily decorated and brightly lit in front of it. The corner of the north and west walls hosts a large fireplace, merrily blazing.
Three of her paintings ring the room - a portrait of Lirssa and Rekah, one of Lir and Raza, and a large landscape of the river and the city on either side, from the vantage of one of the watchtowers. In the northeast corner of the room, a glossy black piano watches over a cello on its stand.
The south of the living room opens into the dining room, where an antique table and sideboard are laden with food and drink for the evening. Another of Fionna's landscapes and a mosaic-framed mirror decorate the walls.
The kitchen is long and open, and the backsplash is a vitreous glass mosaic Fio installed in shades of rich greens with glints of copper and gold, and bits of mirror. The floors here, as throughout the living space, are the old wooden floors of the warehouse, which have been restored just enough to make them beautiful without erasing the signs of age and character.
The entirety of the Eye has been decked for the season in garlands of evergreens, ivy, holly and candles of every shape and size, mercury glass ornaments in bowls, wreaths, dangling from the rafters, glistening on the tree. This year, splashes of color and fragrance have been added with deep red Christmas roses. Sprays of mistletoe decorated with shimmering ribbons hang in all the likely places.
http://cfc.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/.sig/xwocaDuPSi1R6VWaVWnfA/cid/64593194/id/UB-_axZ3SSuXwT1DxgpKog/size/c600x558.jpg