The Homestead system introduced player housing to Lord of the Rings Online for the first time, with no existing UI framework or design precedent within the game to build from. The goals were to give players a persistent personal space reflecting their character's identity, provide kinships with a meaningful social hub, and extend engagement beyond combat and questing. The system needed to feel intuitive for a broad player base while accommodating significant underlying complexity, including tiered house types, decoration inventories, storage, and shared kinship ownership.

As UI Artist and UX Designer, I owned the player-facing interfaces across the feature's core systems: the house browsing and purchase flow, interior decoration placement UI, personal and kinship storage, and kinship shared ownership and permission features. I also created many of the icons used to represent permission states. Throughout production I worked closely with engineering to ensure design intent translated accurately into Turbine's proprietary engine, treating technical constraints as a core part of the design process.

The Homestead system launched as one of LOTRO's most warmly received additions, resonating strongly with players drawn to roleplay, community, and self-expression. It gave kinships a shared identity and gathering place that deepened social bonds, and remained a fixture of the game for years with additional regions and decoration options added in later updates.