BDP10: Forest Residence
Posted by CapnRex101,
Voting for the BrickLink Designer Program Series 10 is open and today's model showcase explores the idyllic Forest Residence created by fourstud:
Hi everybody!
My name is fourstud, and I’ve been designing LEGO playsets for a little over a decade now. Today I am very proud to present my latest entry in the Bricklink Designer Program, the Forest Residence.
This model is inspired by contemporary homes located in the woodlands. Included are two minifigures, a man and a woman, and their orange-yellow car that can pull in comfortably into the garage.
Ground Floor
The first story is built on a terrain base surrounded by foliage, rocks, and pine trees. There are twin staircases leading to the back patio and the basement. Upon entering, you’re presented with a LEGO studio and office, complete with small builds of models including references to former BDP builds of mine, such as the Creative Corner, the Juice Bar, and the Haunted House.
The main concrete steps are removable and reveal a secret party hosted by a squirrel! This fun detail was my solution to not wasting space underneath the staircase build.
Middle Floor
Up the concrete steps you enter the house and walk into the main living room, complete with a two-way fireplace, couch, shelf, and other little details. There’s a full kitchen with an island, a fridge with sticky notes, a sink and an (obscured) oven. There are two sliding glass doors leading to the front balcony and the rear deck. On the back deck is a hot tub and garden inspired by one I have at home.
Top Floor
The final floor includes a bathroom and bedroom with wardrobes, bathroom facilities and a second balcony that overlooks what is presumably a beautiful nature view. All of the rooftops are removable, as well as the bedroom wall, for full interior access. The studs on top were a fun detail to cement this home in the LEGO world and are all skylights to provide natural lighting inside. There is a fun detail with the bed that has a shirt laid out on top.
The dimensions of this model are:
12.9 x 13.7 x 12 in
32.8 x 34.8 x 30.4 cm
41 x 43.4 x 38 studs
Development
To commemorate the 10th series of the BrickLink Designer Program, I decided to revisit my first entry from 2023, the Modern Forest Home (included as an easter egg in this model!) I’ve always wanted to revisit that concept and this felt like a good opportunity. One of the main reasons I enjoy BDP is because it challenges me to design things I otherwise would not, mostly at larger scales which can be difficult for people like me who usually design smaller models.
During a quick build burst, I mocked up a little 6x6 diorama of what I thought the final model could resemble. Another day, I whipped up a rough two-story mockup as another idea. Throughout the process, I explored integrating bits of nature such as rockwork and a stream, but ultimately could not justify elevating the space without wasting the interior of those builds. I iterated on two story homes, settled on three, and tried to add some dimension by adjusting the heights and depths of different rooms, much like real contemporary homes.
Showcased above are several phases in the development of the model where I explored different configurations, trees, and layouts of floors. I wanted to do something interesting with the rear side other than just having a flat wall with windows, so I reconsidered integrating the aforementioned rockwork area but again, the question of what to fill the space beneath caused me to change directions. Looking at my reference material, I wondered: what if I added an angled patio and pool? There is not much special angularity in my work, so I figured it would be another nice challenge.
I had so much fun designing the trees - I designed a 10-level system for the perfect pine trees that capture the triangular shape ranging from 12-wide to 1-wide branches. I only ended up using the first four levels and will likely use the rest in future builds.
Another aspect I love is figuring out ways to make basic furniture and appliances very creatively. This is prominent throughout the whole build, whether it be the bedroom furniture, the garden, or even shelves. As I stated in my last article, I think BDP should be a celebration of fun building techniques. There are other small details like an opened window by the entrance on floor two and a trail of acorns leading to the squirrel’s secret hideout.
Ultimately, I am very proud of this model and aim to hopefully purchase the pieces to build it someday!
I want to thank Brickset for once again allowing me to share a bit of my development process and my work with all of you. I hope you enjoy the Forest Residence as much as I had fun making it. If you want to see this become a real set, please give it your “Love it!” vote at the link here.
If you want to see more of my work, please follow my Instagram here @fourstud.
Thanks for reading! :)
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18 comments on this article
Excellent design and it looks like a build process that would be fun to explore. Thank you for sharing.
I wish they would do more sets on the classic 32x32 baseplate for better stability. Recently, while moving Thieves of Tortuga to another shelf, it almost fell apart.
Nice one!
Gives me certain Fallingwater vibes.
Nice but probably too similar to 21354 (Twilight The Cullen House) conceptually.
Huge fan of this set! One of my favourites from the series. Best of luck! -Lucas
@RUL said:
"I wish they would do more sets on the classic 32x32 baseplate for better stability. Recently, while moving Thieves of Tortuga to another shelf, it almost fell apart."
Strange the 2 Islands are pretty decent, it's the roofs and some other parts that are fragile
@RUL said:
"I wish they would do more sets on the classic 32x32 baseplate for better stability. Recently, while moving Thieves of Tortuga to another shelf, it almost fell apart."
I think this is because it won't fit on single 32x32 baseplate. It is actually one stud longer and wider than 40x40 baseplate. ANd if you want to stick to 32x32 baseplates in reality this would require odd arrangement of 32x32, 16x16 and 8x8 baseplates to work.
@Bricklunch said:
"Nice but probably too similar to 21354 (Twilight The Cullen House) conceptually."
Mountain neighborhood, go!
@Bricklunch said:
"Nice but probably too similar to 21354 (Twilight The Cullen House) conceptually."
Yes, the timing is unfortunate here, but the substance of Forest House is far superior as it blends with the LEGO world. Cullen house was just pandering to twilight fans while Forest House FEELS like it belongs in a lego layout, just in a forest theme.
Well done designer, I see your potential!
Screw it, every Lego set from now on needs a secret squirrel party.
Anyways, I remember seeing this one in my initial scroll-through. I’m sorry to say that I kinda just glanced over it. I loved Creative Corner, and that was eye-catching to me… but this one wasn’t as much. Guess it’s the weird Green hue with all that Brown. Now looking at it, this thing looks fantastic! For me, 90% of cars from the BDP just look like a joke. They do, they’re terrible in my eyes. And yet… this one looks really nice, so hats off to you for making that within the pallet restraints. Definitely some incredible techniques in here, and I really do love the shiftiness of it. The “asymmetrical” building design is really lovely.
Overall, fantastic work, voted!
Just for the hot tub, it is probably worth it. Up until the Death Star 75419-1, I do not believe any minifig has been treated to a hot tub - I'm pretty sure minidolls had their fair share of them though.
I do not buy BDP for some reasons (although I wish I had bought 910029-1 and I'm a space guy) but this seems well executed. Good luck to the designer.
Edit. Come to think of it, there might have been hot tubs in the Paradisa line.
This is the first BLDP set I feel I actually NEED.
@RUL said:
"I wish they would do more sets on the classic 32x32 baseplate for better stability. Recently, while moving Thieves of Tortuga to another shelf, it almost fell apart."
You could just build the models on baseplates. But I have encountered this issue, too. ':-)
This looks nice, but admittedly, I like the interior more than most of the exterior.
Love seeing the process images. My studio file looks similar. How do you do “white mode”??
@Denmark_Dragon said:
" @Bricklunch said:
"Nice but probably too similar to 21354 (Twilight The Cullen House) conceptually."
Yes, the timing is unfortunate here, but the substance of Forest House is far superior as it blends with the LEGO world. Cullen house was just pandering to twilight fans while Forest House FEELS like it belongs in a lego layout, just in a forest theme.
Well done designer, I see your potential!"
I totally agree. Forest Residence is the far superior design.
Give it a couple of years for the Cullen House to drop out of the current product line and then I think this would stand a far better chance of Lego wanting to make it.
Fantastic entry as always from Fourstud. Hope this makes it!