Keys To A Good Home

[SenPain]

Hi, my name is Senny Paine, feel free to call me Sen or Senny.

I love making homes.  I would say houses but we all know that there is a difference between Homes and Houses.  Anyway, I've made lovely houses, but I just want a few ideas as to what would make a good home for my sims?  You see, I've started this new legacy: the Ladro Legacy (Thick as Thieves).  The Ladro family trait is Kleptomaniac (don't judge, I thought it would be interesting) so I need something that fits that but also is creative in a way.  I found a few ideas online but I don't know how to make a basement and I was never good at manipulating roofs. 

Moving on: Are there certain things you, my fellow simmers, do to make better homes for your sims?
I know in some of my families where they love the outdoors or are neutral to it I add lots of windows to get a lot of natural light.  I also like big dinning rooms (though sometimes impractical).

Maybe you all could help me with this?

-Senny Paine, the Simmer.

[Pam]

I'm actually not a good builder.  I've seen some absolutely gorgeous homes that people build for the Sims 3, but I can only build boxlike.  However, one thing I can recommend is that you create plenty of space for your Sims.  If things are too small and crowded, they will walk all over each other while trying to maneuver around the house.  It gets really annoying to me.  Also, if you're playing the official Legacy Family Challenge, you won't have any money to build with for awhile.  I've got an 12th generation Legacy family who live in a huge three story mansion with every possible aminity.  I built it myself, but it started very small and simple.  I just added on and remodeled as the money grew.  And even though it's now huge and gorgeous, it's still not creative.  I really think I'm just missing the creative gene. 

My favorite Sims 3 builder so far is Bex and here's her thread in the official Sims 3 Forum:  http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/87628.page

[Arafel]

I can't echo Pam's post enough. Space is always a big deal to me when I build homes and with a full house pathing problems can creep up really quickly. Even though the house is ginormous, they still get caught up in the kitchen entrance whenever the household is called to a meal. So annoying!

And as she said, you won't have much money in the beginning but try to keep in mind as you start building that you may not be able to just bulldoze and start over if you end up not liking the home down the road. I wish I was more careful and thoughtful when building my Legacy family's home. I really don't like it, sure it's big and has enough room for everyone but I don't like the layout anymore. I've added to the home since building the first floor, so now, it is just too big to start all over. Perhaps in a few generations....or after the challenge.

Also, when I'm just in the mood to build, I search the web for floor plans and images of types of homes I like. Also, I've seen a lot of nice characteristics in the homes I live around that I'd like to incorporate into future homes.

[Pam]

I completely gutted the first floor of my legacy mansion when I needed big changes.  I had added two floors that were strictly the family's living quarters (bedrooms, study, bathrooms) and rebuilt the ground floor for guests and entertaining.  I put every object in the family inventory and tore down all the walls.  Then I built it again with large open spaces.  That floor now has a large formal dining room, a gym, large kitchen with informal dining, a double bathroom, and an open area with TV, foosball table, stereo, comfy furniture, etc.  In fact, here's a link to my blog with a tour of the estate:  http://spoopssims3world.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/the-dreamweaver-mansion/

[Arafel]

Yeah, I've thought about it, but honestly everytime I think about it, I just get discouraged and decide not to. I guess the home is not *that* bad...but I know I could have done better.

[SenPain]

I've completely bulldozed my Superbia Legacy's house four times and built from the ground up.  This last time I think its pretty okay.  I love making homes, I really do. 

Version One
Then the second and third versions I haven't uploaded.  Its on my to do list, the Second version was much like the first except tweaked for better outdoor movement.  I tend to redo the house on every third generation.  The third generation got a revamp, so did the 6th. 


This was the second version when Vanagloria was in charge, and then Belzebub with her daughters of the Grim Reaper.  After this version the house became darker, as you can see below. You can see that this house is drawn in closer for commute times to be lessened.  Sims walk so slow...


This is the version I have currently with a few more balconies since this is an old picture.  This one doesn't sit on water but I like it more than the others because I think it displays power.. 

Your tips are helpful.  I get caught up in creating things with function and beauty I usually forget the reason I started.  The Superbia's were supposed to be dark, evil, and everything that should be feared- their house turned out beautiful the first and second times but went completely against the ideals I started with.  You could say I get off track easily. 

The Dreamweaver Mansion is breathtaking!  It's so extravagant and the way it fits together floor by floor is just amazing!  Oh, I'm so green!  The Blue Diagonal Suite is such a lovely idea!  I honestly can't help but gush when I see this.  I can understand much better about open spaces once I see this.  The Superbia's don't have much open space but they usually don't even get together for family meals any more...  What a grand design. 

(You would honestly think that I'd expect to see grand works of art in homes, I do take Interior Design but my teacher's an old bat and rambles about how pretty the color blue is.)

*_* And how many money trees. 

(Did I get off topic?  I think I sort of did, spite.  Anyway, what help!  *_*)

[Pam]

Thanks, Senny!  I'll admit that I'm proud of the Dreamweaver Mansion, especially since it started as a tiny cabin with only two rooms.  I brought the founder back to life after the challenge was over so that she could live in the house her descendants created.  It's pretty cool having her around.

[Honeymooners]

Senny your houses are great!  I hate building and only do it when I have to.

[igzigpuff]

Sen your houses are amazing, I especially like the look of the house in the second pic.  I don't build much in Sims3 as my computer seems to crash when I'm in CAS and Build mode....so I end up losing my homes before I can save.    I only started to get into building toward the end of TS2, but it is fun seeing what you can come up with.

Happy Simming!

[SenPain]

I love building but sometimes my designs have major flaws and I can't fix them without screwing something else up.  Which is why I posed this question; so I could eliminate those flaws before they become major problems.

[RCHaynes]

I like to use some of these to help in 'traffic flow' and happy living spaces for sims

• double doors to eliminate the 'logjam' effect of many sims entering a building at the same time
• only erect walls for areas that have to be private like bathrooms and bedrooms
• use arches instead of doors in interior spaces(again, 2 full tiles wide) except bedrooms, where you usually have only 1 or 2 going at any time
• reduce or eliminate hallways
• where that's not practical, or desireable from a design wish, make them 2 wide
• make each bedroom not more than 1 full tile bigger than it needs to be for the bed up against a wall
• give each bedroom a little 3/4 bath with a toilet and shower
• create islands for food prep instead of lining the walls, especially of the one where there's a stool on the other side
• custom tint everything I can in a sims' personal space to match their favorite color so they get the Beautifully Decorated moodlet
• have multiples of high demand items like computers, potty chairs in a house full of little ones etc, to ease contention for resources
• extra and extra-wide staircases between levels (I usually design with 1 or 2 double-wide in a central foyer, and then extra ones near the edges of the building)

And I have to agree, those are some amazing exteriors!

[SenPain]

I like to use some of these to help in 'traffic flow' and happy living spaces for sims

• double doors to eliminate the 'logjam' effect of many sims entering a building at the same time
• only erect walls for areas that have to be private like bathrooms and bedrooms
• use arches instead of doors in interior spaces(again, 2 full tiles wide) except bedrooms, where you usually have only 1 or 2 going at any time
• reduce or eliminate hallways
• where that's not practical, or desireable from a design wish, make them 2 wide
• make each bedroom not more than 1 full tile bigger than it needs to be for the bed up against a wall
• give each bedroom a little 3/4 bath with a toilet and shower
• create islands for food prep instead of lining the walls, especially of the one where there's a stool on the other side
• custom tint everything I can in a sims' personal space to match their favorite color so they get the Beautifully Decorated moodlet
• have multiples of high demand items like computers, potty chairs in a house full of little ones etc, to ease contention for resources
• extra and extra-wide staircases between levels (I usually design with 1 or 2 double-wide in a central foyer, and then extra ones near the edges of the building)

And I have to agree, those are some amazing exteriors!

The Beautifully Decorated Moodlet has been gotten by my sims because of all the decor; in the houses I showed the entrance way is flanked on either wall with pedestals and plumbob gems. 

Thanks for this!  I'll try to keep these points incorporated into my designs.
(And thank you, I love building more than playing, so right now I'm in love with CAW.)

[Ceipshine]

Maybe you could go the different countries, and collect gems. When you get home, buy the cabinets and show off your array of gems. When I see criminal's houses in my head, I see many extravagances, bigs TVs and such. Deep reds and blues, to make the house look rich.