What is your favorite house?

[Highlander]

I have a sim who has enough money to move into any lot in the game. I'm trying to figure out which house/lot is the best in the game.

My first thought is Hound's Head in Brindleton Bay. I like the fact it's close to a beach and it's a really large lot. But I haven't spent much time at many of the larger houses and I know nothing about houses on the Gallery. Just curious if anyone has a favorite mansion to live in.

[Heart Foam]

I've got a very grand house on Hound's Head, it was a rags to riches. The view is great, it's a good world. If you have seasons, the blizzards can really make winter feel quite long. The house better be exciting because sims won't be adventuring outside for long stretches of time. So it's a bit like real life. Does the climate matter? Does the presence or lack of amenities matter? The 50x40 lot in Newcrest is plenty big enough for a nice house, the kids monkey bars and jungle gym can be a plus.

I love the fame system in Get Famous, I use it all the time, but I do not like the houses or the vibe or the sunlight in expensive neighborhood. The sun is only ever on one side of the house, it's like the planet is tidally locked, or Del Sol Valley is in the arctic circle. I can't live with that. The front-facing windows will never see the sun, and it bothers me immensely. Okay, the back of any house there has the spectacular view.

The original big lots, Oakenstead and Affluista Mansion have pros and cons. I'd change the Landgraab house as I play. I'm not a fan. It's a rather inefficient layout, and a big footprint for only 2 bedrooms. I'd renovate or bulldoze it, but that lot has gorgeous lighting. No fishing, no bonus items. Then again, it's 50x50 and if a kid needs a jungle gym for the sake of an aspiration, there's probably somewhere to put it. Oakenstead is greener, has fishing, has food stall, has brick driveway that says "this is posh". I recently placed a grand 50x50 Landgraab house from My Save Game 2, circa 2014, on Wakabamori 2-5-1 from Snowy Escape, also 50x50. It's a beautiful lot for a big house. The river, the mountains, the trees, the elevation changes. (I didn't kick the Ito family out, it was a blank save.) It might depend on the style of the house, but right now that would be my first choice as a lot for a big house. I like Hound's Head. I like Wakabamori 2-5-1 more.

But my favourite houses, regardless of lot, are those I built over time. I have a rebellious, problematic mansion that I can't get quite right, no matter how long I play it, though it's really nice in parts. I have a few others that are great. One is at Hound's Head. One is at Affluista Mansion (which has a twin in Sulani).

I also like Nookstone. 20x15. I like adding a 2nd floor, adding a basement, adding rooftop entertaining. I've got more saves of sims living at Nookstone than any other lot, by miles. So that must be my favourite. Or it's a psychological anchoring bias. It's not the best lot, but it's the first one I played in Sims 4.

[Brian_Z]

It's tough, finding something on the gallery that strikes a balance between vast and empty, and cramped and cluttered.  There's lots of homes that were made by laying out the furniture, appliances, and decorations, and drawing walls around them.  They LOOK fantastic, until you want to change something.  Now there's no room to add anything.  Plus, your sims often have to walk 3 rooms away to find somewhere to have a conversation.
So build your own?  I can make something that works fantastic, but doesn't look like much.  Symmetry from the outside especially, I can never put a window where it should go because there's a wall inside there.  So people who can make a house that both works, and looks great, just amaze me.
Oh, and those enormous, luxurious mansions?  It's awesome living in one.  Until it's time for a new generation.  Waiting for toddlers to make their way around a huge house drives me up the wall!

[Simsanna]

Oh well, my personal favourite type of house is having the biggest one in the city. I really love luxory houses with pools, big rooms, guest rooms and so on. Pretty much everything which I can't have in real life. But my favourite part inside the houses are the kitchen which are in american style. In europe, the system behind our kitchen are completly different. I love the style of american ones.
 

[Brian_Z]

@Simsanna So I googled how European kitchens are different.  Interesting- I would find that setup rather depressing.  In America most of a family's interactions happen in the kitchen, and usually the dining room- if you even have a separate dining room- would only get used when company was visiting.  And a washing machine?  In the kitchen?  Get your dirty drawers out of here, we EAT in this room!  Laundry goes in a dedicated room, or the basement if the house has one, or a back hallway or something.  The size of Sims refrigerators is accurate, we typically buy food once a week.
Some things I've seen elsewhere:  You won't find an electric kettle in most American homes.  Mostly, because hot tea isn't very popular here, only little old ladies seem to drink it.  You would find a coffee maker instead.  Also, egg cups.  I read a whole hilarious rant by someone who was astounded that most of us don't have them.  Then someone pointed out that we don't have them, because we generally don't have soft-boiled eggs.  So then he thought we HARD-boil our eggs.  No, we fry them.  No need for funny little accessories with fried eggs...  And leaving eggs out on the counter.  We wouldn't even consider doing that.  You can tell me all day that they keep just as long, but I still don't trust that raw animal protein won't spoil in a matter of hours sitting out at room temperature.

[scoed]

@Brian_Z European eggs, and home laid unwashed eggs will keep as long on the counter, buT Americain commercial eggs, and washed eggs will not. All American commercial eggs are washed which removes a thin layer from the outside of the eggs making refrigeration necessary but more sanitary, as unwashed eggs can have chicken waste and dirt on them, but shortens shelf life and mandates refrigeration after. It is a trade off. I raise chickens as pets and eggs, and personally I wash mine as I am an American and have an American mentality on such things, but both sides are valid.

I have a small house with a washer in the kitchen. It makes it cramped, but beat the laundry mat. I also have an electric kettle for coco in the winter. Don't own a coffee maker as I don't drink the stuff. I guess have an European kitchen. I prefer a more American kitchen style having lived in both styles of kitchen. My sims always have an American style kitchen if I bother with washers at all. Well sometimes they don't have a house to live in at the start. Having a house, starting cash or anything takes all the challenge out of the game. As is if wanted I could minus cheats other than to delete starting funds, I can max a sims bank account in less than one sim week by becoming a caster. Money is too easy to get in the game.

As for my sims homes, I build 90% of them, customized  to  my sims needs, wants and plans. 70% micro homes with the appropriate lot type, 10% mansions, 15% fantasy or sci fi theme often with the haunted house lot type once it was released, and 4% of the time I move into a in game premade or a gallery house. and on rare occasion I embrace outdoor living.

I don't think there is a perfect house to be had as needs vary from game to game. My last major build of a cemetary house was cool for my ghost family but to keep the outside looking like a cemetery it lacked practicality in some respects. The bills would bankrupt a starting sim if not focused on cash. It also could not meet the asperation requirements as it lacked windows. But it looked like a cemetary with a crypt, with a portal to an underworld house. Looks great but not perfect. It also has CC so I didn't load it to the gallery. Besides as the tombstones were of actual sims I created and killed for the build, it would lack some of the haunted flavor and work I built in.

Anyway I spent weeks building it and outside of this one save, it isn't what I would want. @Highlander there is not best house to be had. Player created lots are usually better the Maxis created ones as Maxis can't build. Just shop the gallery until you find one you like, or build your own. Don't worry about perfect or best as each save will have it's own needs. A sim family 0f 8 sims need a very different house than a single sim. That said, my favorite is the shipwreck one the came with Island Paradise as it is unique and actually has no major flaws in design.

[reggikko]

My experience with both Maxis lots and downloaded lots is that they will need tweaking, either way you decide to go. I would choose a lot based on how much you like the exterior of the build, with the idea that you may have to redecorate and/or gut it to get a layout you're happy with. This is what I do with downloaded lots because I'm not good at designing interesting exteriors and I'm too lazy to learn any nifty building tricks. Having said all of that, I'm not one for big lots or huge houses. My two favorite lots, location-wise, are Daisy Hovel and Slipshod Mesquite. Both have a good number of dig sites and fishing locations and they have excellent walk-by traffic. I also really like Potter's Splay in Willow Creek. The lots up on the hill in Strangerville offer great views, but only one fishing spot and one dig site, which is lame. If I were choosing a very large lot, I'd probably go for Oakenstead. It's a pretty site and, again, a good number of fishing and dig sites. One other consideration is that many of the larger base game Maxis lots aren't weather-proof, which can be a HUGE hassle to fix.