Sims 3 - The Official Building/Remodeling Showboat Thread

[danefaith]

The shorter glass doors and windows are creating little pockets of bare wall.  I think you might have a stronger effect with your glass wall if you fill those gaps in with the taller doors and windows.  You might want to place blinds across them in the bedroom for a little privacy when desired as well.

Second point is largely personal preference, but I think a lot more can be done with the landscape if you don't fence all of it in.  Now there are definitely times and place for a good fencing, but it can also be useful to be very precise in what areas you fence, and what areas you keep open.  Fuel for thought.

Thirdly, I'd like to suggest using a much lighter gray for your pool walls and flooring.  I suggest this on the grounds this is an area where you definitely want contrast, so you don't become disoriented as to where the pavement ends and the wetness begins.

Final point on the exterior I'd like to suggest is replacing the glass fencing with the half wall you're using on the dining patio, to define it a little bit.  The glass fencing kind of melt into the glass walls in a way that robs the patio space of emphasis, and as unique as an outdoor dining space is, it deserves a little emphasis!

For the interior, you've got a very nice color palette going on and some good furniture layout, especially in the kitchen/living room.  I'd suggest using alt to angle the serving just a teeny, tiny bit.  That thing's going to get wheeled around the room and its doubtful that it'll end up parked in the exact same, perfectly parallel position every time!

[Ausette]

@TallStar: Congrats on your finished beach house! It's a massive improvement from the original, well done.

@Joria: You've done a wonderful job of building a house that's pretty to look at, but still Bridgeport. The last picture in particular really caught my eye. Whatever you've got planned for the inside, I'm sure it'll be lovely. 

@danefaith: The foyer looks much better! I love the new rooms, especially the bathroom. I agree that the last two bedrooms are a little plain and I'm not sure about the colours in the libing room, but everything else is great so far.

@Micler: I agree with danefaith that you could cut down on the fences a little, perhaps just removing that chunk on the left and replacing it with front garden. You might want to recolour the pool and remove two of the ladders as well. I quite like the interior, especially the bedroom; the colours you've used are really appealing. Nice to see some of my patterns, too. 

I watched a TV show about interior design last night, and it got me thinking about things to try in my game. I started redecorating a few rooms in existing houses, and after a while I just pulled up a blank lot and built a whole house from inside out. Long story short, I ended up with this:





It's still pretty rough, and that exterior's not going to win any awards. I think I'll save landscaping until last. I was going for an realistic modern feel here, and I'm still trying to balance between "modern" and "not dead". Anyway, it's slightly bigger than my usual (3 br 2.5 ba), and I like the open layout I ended up with. The 3 x 3 study in the middle is a little awkward, but I like how it divides the main areas. Here's some individual rooms:



I think the kitchen needs some work. It's very similar to my mum's new kitchen, but I just can't get it to look natural. Suggestions?



I'm not 100% sure about the furniture placement, but this kiddy bedroom is probably my favourite part of the house . The little octopus toy doesn't recolour, so I built the room around it.



The teen/YA room. Needs work, although I do like the quilt and the plushy carpet.



Here's the main bedroom. I was going for a Balinese sort of look, but I don't think I actually like it. I'll probably remodel it completely if I can't get it how I want.



Aaaand here's the deck. Again, it needs work. I like having the bar/barbeque area there, but I'm struggling on how to fill the gaps between that and the hot tub. The house has a long way to go overall (I haven't even started on the bathrooms or landscaping!), so I'd appreciate some help. 

[VampirePlasma]

Quick question, can anyone post their houses here?
And Ausette! That kitchen is true beauty! I love alot, it's amazing! And the house also. It's very nice!
I am in ♥ with that kitchen!

[Ausette]

Thanks VampirePlasma! Yep, anybody who wants to can post their creations here, and we'll all gush over it and offer you advice if you like. 

[VampirePlasma]

Looking closer at he kitchen I noticed it doesn't have space available for making the meals.  I don't know if someone is actually going to use it (someone must!) but I thought I'd just throw that out there.

[Ausette]

It's OK, you can use the counter with the barstools to make meals. I thought it'd be too cramped under the cabinets to prepare food, so I filled up that space with appliances.

[VampirePlasma]

Oh, I didn't know they could do that! Why am I buying so many counters?
I'll get around making house this afternoon, I already have in mind what I need help on, landscaping.

[Anushka]

I just can't get time to post here, even if I checked it regularly!

TallStar, you did great job, final result is wonderful! Isn't it great when you get so many great inputs?When building for yourself, it isn't really important what others think about it, but if you build it to share, then different opinions are more important. I'm still happy for learning and figuring some tricks with huge help from great people from this tread!

Joria, I'm so happy you took that huge project of beautifing BP( is that a word?)! You can change sea and sky colors in .ini files, as in CAS you set values of red, green and blue, but that change it for all worlds. I know you can't do much about landscape, but can't wait to see new look of BP! About those homes, you may consider building smaller not have-it-all homes, it will be easier to think what kind of family would live there, what they might want to pursue, etc. And thank you for using my perfect garden! When I made it, I was thinking mostly about practical use of having a source for perfect plants for households, but I guess it works as anusual small park too

Dane, I love this new house. It is so cozy! Specially the green themed rooms! Where are those small curtains from? I can't recognize them but they fit great! I know one double curtain can be placed in different hights, one that doesn't look like curtain  Wood is so beautiful, so strong bright colors are making a beautiful stand!

Micler, I'm so happy you were inspired to build beach home too, because this one is wonderful! You used those spiral stairs so great that I want generations for that reason only! I would agree on fencing (maybe only backyard to leave with high fence) and more privacy in bedroom from street, I would suggest only one small thing others didn't so far. That carpet in hallway that is not going straight from one door to another, replace it with round one or play with shapes, since at the moment, it is ending between stairs and half of the door. Other than that, you did wonderful job.

Aussette, it's a nice plan, looks very functional, and I would love to cook in that kitchen! I believe that walls need some more attentions, and maybe change the floor in kitchen area? Maybe change colors of few blocks on kitchen walls? I would even consider placing some of the tables in that corner and put some nectar on it, if you don't have OLSP (because that lemonade and fruit make every room look more inviting). I'm confident you'll finish this one as wonderful as your other creations are!
   

[Joria]

Anushka your perfect garden is perfect here because it makes BP more of a legacy/dynasty place to play.  And while it is cute and cozy, it's not sooooo cute that it couldn't fit into a city atmosphere.  So really perfect for my needs!   People can come and grab food to eat and plant and it's a nice green relief from the city.  It's also close to the small houses on the hill that have very little land space for gardens and are the low cost homes of newcomers.  You are right about the less luxurious homes in bay side area and I do plan on some there.  Hoping fellow builders will build me a few as I am hopeless with that!  So far we have low cost studio and very high life luxury home.  Need a medium range and another low cost one at the very least.  Eleven lots to fill there!

[TheChronicR]

Guys, I am working on my legacy house now. Even more, I am going to put it in the Swap Shop. Maybe you're wondering, what's so important about that house that I decided to share? Well, it's the Sims-style of The Simpson family's house from the series. I have already built the exterior, the backyard and the shell. It still needs a lot of work in the interior section, but that's super easy for me personally, assuming I am a die-hard fan of the The Simpsons. My guide is a video game, and the collector's edition DVD.

Should be ready tomorrow, I'll post the pics in the story thread, than post the link here. I really need some advice with landscaping, again. I really have nothing to offer in that section.

Oh, and thanks Anushka, I am loving the Perfect Garden, in Sunset Valley 3.0 too. It's gorgeous, well done. Those Mysterious Mr. Gnomes gained my founder around 3,000 bucks, lol.

[pallyndrome]

Ausette - it's a great start to that house, with an interesting layout. The kid's bedroom has some spunk, but maybe it needs something more? I especially admire the way you've set out the back decks with the spa - it's really an interesting and nice looking layout that I might have to pinch for some of my houses

[Micler]

@Joria- Thank you! I plan on putting it up in the swap shop.

@Danefaith- Thanks for all the suggestions. I took them to heart and made some changes to the house.

@Ausette- Thanks! I love the patterns you make, so I had to use some of them for this house! Your new build is looking great! I really like the kitchen. The idea for the master bedroom is good, but the blinds might look better in the same wood tone as the furniture. Also, the kids room is really cute! Overall, the house is coming along well.

@Anushka- Thanks!

Here are the changes I made:

I scaled the fencing back a little bit and added some gardens to the front. The curb appeal is much more inviting now.



The half-wall now goes around the entire deck, and the kitchen cart is slightly off centre. I think it makes the deck look a lot more substantial.



The bedroom and bathrooms have blinds now! They make the rooms a lot more private.



I added a hot tub to the backyard, and lightened the pool a bit. It doesn't look much different here, but it's almost white.



I removed one of the rugs, and centred the remaining one in the room.



I considered adding a rooftop terrace, but thought it would be a little overkill. Anymore comments or advice is welcome!

[TallStar]

Micler, the house is beautiful.
I love the outdoors dining room, but an idea is maybe place an umbrella nearby? I mean, if we ever get a Seasons EP, eating in the rain or snow isn't that fun. There's a WA umbrella that goes on the table, and a OLS umbrella that stands near the table.
And I wouldn't suggest a rooftop terrace. Those are hard, and are best for one story houses so they seem taller. For a three story home, it just doesn't look right.

[danefaith]

Ausette: I looked through a few galleries of Bali design and what I took from it was:  coffee tones, wickers, bed canopies and sitting alcoves.  Perhaps you could incorporate some of those buzz words into your Bali room.

Like the kitchen, but see where it could use some work.  The contrast between the walls and counters is very stark, and that's good but it needs some sort of trim or accents to unite them.  Perhaps consider using that wood tone on the island on the trims of the cabinets.

For accents you could put that long, linear rug in the walking space between the counters and the floaters, and a plant or sculpture of some sort in that empty corner.   One or two small photographs could also fit into the space between the counter tops and the cabinets.

[Ausette]

Thanks for the tips everyone! Here's the house at the moment:



I've made a few changes to the house since my last post, most notably the main bedroom and the landscaping. I thought I'd carry some of that Bali theme outside and add a tropical garden and some lanterns around the back. I'm still stumped about what to do with the front, though.



Thanks danefaith for looking up Bali decor; I ended up doing a little research myself and completely redid the main bedroom. I'm quite fond of it now, but I think it may be a little too bright for the rest of the house.



For the kitchen, I changed the colour of the trim on the cabinets (thanks dane!) and added a little picture and table as some of you suggested. You can't see it from this screenshot but the trim goes really nicely with the colour of the wall on the left. Overall, the kitchen's a bit more balanced now, although I think I might go make those barstools black again.





I added a little more colour to the dining area to match the painting, and I redid the living area again. That couch alone has been through at least half a dozen colours since I've placed it. I also touched up the back deck, teenager's bedroom and garage a little bit. Thoughts?