Designing a non-creepy lab?

[fenris]

So, I decided that I want my basement to be a sort of naturalist's laboratory/study. I want to have lots of books, houseplants, live specimens, and a few flowers from around town.

My only problem is that most of the science-y furniture is sort of... creepy. It's got a definite mad scientist vibe, and that's not what I'm going for, especially since I decided to switch from rustic to fairy tale for the main house. What I'm shooting for is basically the workspace of an amateur biologist, not the den of some mad genius who wants to splice a horseshoe crab and a tarantula together.

My ideas so far:

Wall - (???)
Floor - (???)
Music - K.K. Synth (I know some folks find it creepy, but I find it relaxing. It's very much the kind of thing I listen to while working.)
Chalkboard
Homework set (I'll have a few of these scattered around)
Houseplants
Non-native perfect fruit (probably perfect cherries - I'd like to grow cherries in my town)
Hybrid flowers
Oarfish or coelacanth
Other fish
Insects (will likely include a golden stag and possibly a tarantula)
Deep-sea creatures (nautilus, horseshoe crab and/or giant isopod)
Blue certificate
Cool globe
World map
Science table

Do you guys have any suggestions? Specifically, I need to pick walls and flooring, something to display specimens on, and get some ideas for the specimens themselves.

 

[piske]

What about like the modern wood set? That has a natural and "den" type feel but it's not creepy. That would also match the desk (if you pick that up) as both woods are darker.

 

[CrossAnimal]

How about the exhibit wall and floor you buy at the museum?

 

[fenris]

What about like the modern wood set? That has a natural and "den" type feel but it's not creepy. That would also match the desk (if you pick that up) as both woods are darker.

Oooohhh. That's a nice possibility. They might look good against a large bookshelf, too... my only worry is that I don't want it the room to be too dark and somber-looking, despite it being a basement. It's going to be full of live plants and animals, after all.

- - - Post Merge - - -

How about the exhibit wall and floor you buy at the museum?

The floor's nice, but I'm not sure about the wall.

At the moment, I'm considering either the neutral floor or the exhibit-room floor. Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[piske]

Oooohhh. That's a nice possibility. They might look good against a large bookshelf, too... my only worry is that I don't want it the room to be too dark and somber-looking, despite it being a basement. It's going to be full of live plants and animals, after all.

- - - Post Merge - - -



The floor's nice, but I'm not sure about the wall.

At the moment, I'm considering either the neutral floor or the exhibit-room floor. Thank you for the suggestion!

OOH OOH use the gas lights or, AHHH I can't remember what they're called!!! They're wall hanging lights and they add a really nice warm glow. That could be your light source and help keep it look less somber! :>

 

[fenris]

OOH OOH use the gas lights or, AHHH I can't remember what they're called!!! They're wall hanging lights and they add a really nice warm glow. That could be your light source and help keep it look less somber! :>

Sconces? I really love those!

I may add some in the rest of the house, too, come to think of it.

 

[piske]

Sconces? I really love those!

I may add some in the rest of the house, too, come to think of it.

YES YES THE SCONCES <3

 

[Nayab]

There's a microscope that isn't creepy at all, and could accent your room.

 

[Dorian]

I used to have a town that had an awesome lab room. I was inspired by Stein from Soul Eater. It had all the lab furn, the hologram machine made over to alien, the three stages of physical breakdown: skeleton, anatomical and internal circulatory model. It also had the editor's desk and chair.Ooh, and two mannequins dressed in the doctor and nurse uniforms. I also used the robot lamp because it gave the room a wonderful glow. Then I just added beakers, the letter set, candle and a few additional knickknacks. Rather than finding it creepy, I found it intelligent and sexy

 

[fenris]

I used to have a town that had an awesome lab room. I was inspired by Stein from Soul Eater. It had all the lab furn, the hologram machine made over to alien, the three stages of physical breakdown: skeleton, anatomical and internal circulatory model. It also had the editor's desk and chair.Ooh, and two mannequins dressed in the doctor and nurse uniforms. I also used the robot lamp because it gave the room a wonderful glow. Then I just added beakers, the letter set, candle and a few additional knickknacks. Rather than finding it creepy, I found it intelligent and sexy

Duuuuuuuude. That sounds rad! I wish I could've seen it.

What I have in mind is a little less high-tech, though. Originally, it was going to be a space for showcasing unusual specimens, but then I thought about the fact that the museum kind of covers that angle already... and it occurred to me that if I actually lived in Matcha, the local ecology would weird me out a bit. I mean, you can have cedar trees growing in the north part of town, and then not ten yards away, coconuts growing on the beach. Not only that, but the different kinds of fruit trees require all different kinds of soil consistencies/mineral levels/climates... and then there's the normal geographical distribution of all the different fish and insects. You can catch a gar and a piranha from the same river. It's so weird, I'd need to study it.

 

[Mookie]

Here's some suggestions:


http://moridb.com/items/furniture/medicine-chest
http://moridb.com/items/furniture/florence-flask
http://moridb.com/items/furniture/star-globe
http://moridb.com/items/furniture/globe

http://moridb.com/items/wallpaper/library-wall
http://moridb.com/items/wallpaper/arched-window

 

[fenris]

Here's some suggestions:


http://moridb.com/items/furniture/medicine-chest
http://moridb.com/items/furniture/florence-flask
http://moridb.com/items/furniture/star-globe
http://moridb.com/items/furniture/globe

http://moridb.com/items/wallpaper/library-wall
http://moridb.com/items/wallpaper/arched-window

Oooh, the medicine chest and Florence flask look like they'd be perfect. Thank you!

I also didn't know there was a plain globe. It'd probably be a better fit than the cool globe.