What order do you build in?

[thesweetestpea]

I've been finding recently that it's easiest for me to plan my rooms and where everything will go before I start building the house. I usually change the colors as I add things and paint the walls last. I want to know how the builders here do it - do you find it easier to plan the whole house or do you just have an idea and work with that?

[Ausette]

I never plan any of my builds outside the game, I just open up a fresh lot and dive in! I like to mess around with the wall and roof tools for a while until I find something that works. As for what order, it really depends what I want out of the build. Most of the time I'll build the shell first, working out the interior layout and colours as I go. The exterior is always the first part of a build that you see, so my efforts are focused on that. However, sometimes there'll be something specific I want to incorporate into the build like an indoor pool or a Showtime stage or a room of a certain size, so I have to build from the inside out and then make the shell look presentable. That method doesn't come as easily for me as the first one, but I've had some successes from it.

Cool thread, sweetest pea. I'm really looking forward to seeing other people's techniques. 

[mandamouse123]

I usually start with some research.  I think about what type of house I'd like, i.e. colonial, Mediterranean, ranch, and look at pictures on google of those styles to check out what important features they have.

Then I go into build mode and lay out my foundation/carpet, really focusing on how things are going to fit.  Do I want built-in looking tubs and bookcases?  My rooms need to reflect that, with little notches for those types of things.   I like planning from the inside out.  I can also make sure my hallways and rooms are all flowing and are the right size.

After that, I put walls around my whole plan, and focus on the outside, making sure it fits my style/theme.

Then I finish up my interior walls and head outside for landscaping.

And then I go back inside and place furniture, wallpaper, change colors.

And after all that work, I'm usually sick of working on the house and have to let it sit a while before I play test it!

[Decima]

I usually do the outside first, then think about the layout. I then move the outside walls around a bit to fit the layout I want. If I'm building to a budget I then put generic furniture in to see how much it'll all come to to see if I need to downsize or not. Then I'll do the interiors room by room. If I do the whole house's walls, then furniture etc it doesn't turn out as well as if I just do one room from start to finish and then move on.

Sometimes I'll do a couple of rooms and just hate it and start over trying out a different idea. The build I'm working on now I think is currently holding the record for most times that I've either sledgehammered the entire thing and moved external walls around. Now I'm working on the inside it's being just as 'difficult' and I'm struggling with keeping to my own theme. I think it's because my heart's not really into the theme... I may have to just give up and do my usual style of decorating.

[samoht04]

I never plan, I'm not one for Plans. To me it takes the fun out of the experience because ending up with something you are pleased with feels better when it came from inspiration I think.  I start with the outside, then do the inside and then landscaping.

[Twinmum]

I build a fair bit from real plans. For those builds, I start with the general shape and then just adjust it to work in Sims. Then I add windows and doors plus the roof. Then I finish up with the decorating.
For builds that I am doing from scratch, I often just start with one room (usually where the front door will be)  and just add on here and there. Of course, this method also usually means a lot of demolishing too 
No matter how I build though, decorating and furnishing usually come last, although, if it has a budget, I usually decorate with the most expensive wall and floor coverings as I go and place expensive furniture 'place holders'. Then when it comes to the real decorating and furnishing, I know that the price will probably go down instead of up.
Actually, landscaping is the last thing to be done.

[grimsoul]

I'll usually lay out the general shape of rooms using the different colors of the free wood flooring. Then start adding furniture and items then moving it around until I have something I like and then put the walls around it. If there is any floor tiles left over outside the walls I delete them and move to the next room.
But I never claimed to be a good builder but it seems like every time I try and build the room first I end up tearing down and moving walls around when I start adding furniture and stuff to the room. So I started placing the items first then the walls last and it worked for me.
I guess that's the main thing. Find something that works for you and go for it.

[Seabody]

For me, I look at plans for inspiration only.
I then go in game and start messing with walls until I get a half decent shell, then work from there.
Once I have my shell, I wallpaper the exterior and do some landscaping. I then progress to do the interiors, disregarding CAS. I then go on to perfect layouts, before starting CAS. Once that's done, I check the roofs, make any final adjustments, and do some minor tweaking (mainly for the street).

[ladybug53]

I don't normally look at plans. I usually build my shell first add a roof, doors and windows. Then I decide what should go on the exterior walls and color on the roof. This help me decide on what the interior of the house should look like. Everything should flow. I then re-color the exterior if it needs it, especially doors and windows. I then place  interior  doors . Then I place furniture and window coverings in the rooms that go with the style of the house. The most time I spend is on re-coloring. I just love those hex codes. When I'm pleased with the result I move outside. I might build a pool and add a terrace or patio. Then it's time for landscaping .

I prefer larger rooms and outside activities but if I'm building on a budget sometimes this is hard to accomplish. Decorating is my favorite part of the building process.

[Coocoo girl]

I recently started doing the outside first, then planning out where the rooms will go, then, if it's a two story, house, trying to find a decent place for the stairs because if I put them in the wrong place it could mess up the whole floorplan, then doing the furniture, and I do the wall painting and flooring last, but that's just because I find it hard to choose which wall paper and flooring to use.

[napoleonwrasse]

I build historical houses, mostly victorians so I research a particular type or specific house. I get the floor plan, modify to sims then do the foundation/basement, walls, the roofing and porch, windows, doors, decorate outside, decorate inside, landscape.
I do it that way because victorian roofs are a pain in the neck, but wonderful when done. That method works best for me.

[Galena]

I build the shell, then interior layout. Next I do the landscaping and think about the inside. Then, if I have a basement in the build, I put it in (with apporiate amount of frustration if the house has a foundation) . Then, I roof the house, and paint and floor the interior.  Then I furnish the house.  After that, I move in a sim, and have them sculpt, take photos, put in finishing touches, etc. While I'm doing that I make sure any furniture I not completly sure works is usable. Next, I name and describe.  Then if it is commercial, and if I want forbiden furniture, I take the appropriate steps.

[Aredhelrim12]

I always do the exterior first. I work with the walls and roof until it looks like a real roof. (I hate having to do roofing.) I add the windows, doors, and any decks or patios. I add all of the landscaping outside before even beginning the interior. I then shape the layout of the rooms around where I have placed the windows. It often needs a bit of tweaking. It takes me a very long time to completely build and furnish a house, because I am very picky about matching colors. It may take long, but it really improves the look and your experience in building. It's also fun! I never create a building in one go either. It helps to take breaks for hours, days, even weeks until you're in the mood again.

[Deklitch]

I start on a room, usually a bedroom and decide how big I want it. I then do the walls and the floor of that room, and do a door. Based on my colour choices and the way I'm feeling at the time, I then select the furniture for that room. Then I go onto a different room and do that and so forth. After a while, I realise I don't like it and so exit and start again.

This time I start with the shell of the house, and think, I need a dining room, a lounge room, a bathroom, a kitchen, a study and a games room on this level. Then I realise I need steps to go to the next level for the bedrooms and extra bathrooms, and a big family type of room for toys and what not. Then I generally decide on what I want outside the house regarding landscaping. After all that, I put in the furniture I want. Often, I realise that this is boring me and I don't like it as well. So I start again.

When it comes to dynasties, I generally just build one or two walls up, with a toilet, shower and sleeping bag until my sim meets his/her rich partner and I build a simple house with a large room for kitchen/eating/study/entertainment/kids, a larger room for the future museum, a smaller room for the bedroom and an even smaller room for the starter bathroom. Then I put in what I consider the essentials as far as furniture goes and builds a fence in parts of the grounds for the future garden/fishing pond/etc. I like modifying the colours of furniture etc in game to have unusual combinations.

I also had a fridge that the game wouldn't allow me to sell. It was in my kitchen and had an odor in it. so I built a small basement away from the house and stuck it in there and got myself a new fridge, which got replaced very soon after for the Culinary Career Reward of the -1 Kelvin Fridge.

[CSquared2]

I guess I'm a little different.   

I build one room at a time.  I start with whatever has given me the inspiration for the build.  Often it's a entryway or some other feature connected to the outdoors but actually part of the house.  Sometimes it's a bathroom.     I fully furnish that room first, then think about what I want connected to it.  I might have a general idea of the final shape of the house, so that will govern my decision making, but usually it's a free for all.  I hate throwing up boxes and I really detest when I get halfway through a build and discover there isn't enough space here for this or that that I was intending because there's already a wall there.

For the most part I really enjoy building this way, but it does have a couple drawbacks.  At least once on every house there's an object I can't place and I don't know why.  Today it was a piece of roof.  It just wouldn't go over the front door.  Which of the eight million clicks I've made caused that?  There's no telling.  I also have a problem with multiple stories.  Basements are fine, but when it comes time for a second story I often find myself constricted by those preexisting walls I mentioned earlier.  The first floor rocks but the second winds up being boxy to fit into the space already laid out by the floor below.

The only thing I always save for last is landscaping.