Sims 3 - The Official Building/Remodeling Showboat Thread

[Schipperke]

That is one of the most beautiful houses I've seen, Odinsdottir.  Just perfect.  Thanks for sharing it!

[ladybug53]

Love the cottage ! It has such a warm and cozy atmosphere. Landscaping is perfect for this cottage. You're a very creative person. I do enjoy you're sharing these awesome creations with us. 

[Odinsdottir]

Rhapsody, You're on!  That's a great idea.  I'm on it.  I get my colours by using the area of the colour wheel in CAP closer to the centre, that way you get hues that are dusty or creamy.  I start by chosing one or two colours and work out their hex codes, then the hex codes for slightly darker and slightly lighter, and then note them down.  From that you can make the colours quite consistent but varied.  I ought to do more with a contrasting colour, as I did with the gold in my first post, Spooky Raven Manor. 

Thank you so much, Schipp, I am having Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow with my friend Todd and his Schipperke, Jackie.  I'll think of you and your beasties. 

Louise and Ladybug, thank you for your support!  I really appreciate it.  I am disabled, and simming and building in the Sims is about all I can manage at the moment, and it means a lot to know my work is enjoyed.  I am very grateful for suggestions!  My favourite builder is probably Agneza, and she's a great inspiration to me.

Today I did a very, very quick build to compliment Freddie's Bar and Grill.  It's the White Rose Spa.  I don't have any hot tubs anything, or I'd make a Roman baths kind of thing.  But it's a cute little Salon with space for socialising. 













PS, Rhapsody, I found a cottage to get me started, here's the image: 



I've found quite a few images I like, they're here if you are interested:  http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/forum/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=1817

[Chuckles_82]

I love the creamy interior of that one, Odinsdottir!

[ladybug53]

Love the salon. I really like the brick building. I was going to build a brick building, commercial type look and do a large loft inside. I never got around to doing it yet. Your building just reminded me of it. The cottages are all very nice. Love the shapes and the roof. Anxious to see what you come up with. Thanks for sharing ! 

[Rhapsody2312]

Oh wow! Stunning builds!

If you manage to replicate any one of the cottages in your gallery, please, please, PLEASE would you mind uploading it to the Swap Shop? I would adore having one of those in my neighborhood. And if I can upload anything for you in return, I'd be happy to. Just say the word.

I really love the way you manage to combine the colours so beautifully. I've also had a look at Agneza's builds, and been awed by her talent at interior design. I hold your designs in the same regard. If I might make a suggestion with regards to the spa? You said you don't have hot tubs for a Roman bath effect, but another way you can do it, would be to use the "placefriezes on" cheat, and build a double tile frieze around a central floor, probably around 4x4 tiles. Tile the walls, and the floor as well as the floor of the frieze, and then place a set of stairs leading up to the platform, and then another set down into the 'bath'. Here, I'd use the moveobjects on cheat, and place a couple of the smaller fountain sprays; probably a dome fountain in the centre, and then the sprays facing inwards from the interior of the frieze walls. It gives a misty effect and should emulate a steam room/Roman bath fairly well. If you'd like I can try to build one myself and post pictures to show you, but it'll have to wait until the weekend when I get data at home to upload stuff.

Otherwise, it's perfect.  I can't wait to see the Norse Cottage!

[Louise56]

I love the decorating and landscaping. And that you recolor everything, it must take a lot of patience. You remind me a lot af Agneza.

[Odinsdottir]

Thanks so much, Chuckles, Ladybug, Rhapsody and Louise! 

Re the spa and faking hot tubs, I agree, I was planning on spending the weekend learning about friezes and constraints and so on, to take my building to the next level. (pun intended, am a comedic genius.  ) Fnarr. I want to build those adorable arched bridges in gardens and over streams.  I shall raid youtube for tutorials, and of course the building tutorials here.  Although I've lived my whole adult life in London, I was born in the US, so today is Turkey Day, so I'm going to force myself to take the day off from building.

Also, I've been very tempted to start uploading to the Swap... I guess I'll stop faffing and plan the Norse Cottage from the beginning to go up!

To be spoken of in the same breath as Agneza makes my head swim. 

Some example colour hexes:

The main orange from the Thanksgiving Cottage is, I think, 157, 97, 48.
The creamy white from the Spa is 152, 131, 102.
The grey from the Spa is probably 135, 130, 99.
A purple I use often is 115, 88, 100.
A choco brown I like is 157, 129, 117.
A green is 97, 136, 50

My desk is covered with scraps of paper, receipts, old envelopes and rubbish with hex codes scribbled on with cryptic descriptions like "not obnoxious orange" and "pinky brown purple."

[Rhapsody2312]

My desk is covered with scraps of paper, receipts, old envelopes and rubbish with hex codes scribbled on with cryptic descriptions like "not obnoxious orange" and "pinky brown purple."

Sounds like mine! I have building plans that I've printed out to use as inspiration, covered with notes and ideas for patterns, specs and the start of a story I've started working on; scraps of paper with my courses for the degree I start next year listed, sketches and scribbles and a dozen other things I've written down. It's times like this I'm grateful for my wireless mouse, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to move it with all the papers over it.

Back on topic, there are some amazing tutorials and guides on the forum for using CFE, Friezes and so on. I'm still learning and playing around with the cheats, but I recently (this week I finished the final touches) made a house that I am really, really proud of. I was bored one day and asked Magpie what sort of house she'd like, and she gave me her requirements. It took me a little over two weeks to completely finish, and she's given me permission to post Magpie's Nest on the Swap Shop. So that will be up after the weekend. Point is; I used the CFE cheat to create the garage; the house is built on a slope; as well as a swimming pool that's terraced on three levels. It was amazing when I test played it, and the sim actually swam from the bottom level to the the top! As I said, I'm really proud of the way the build turned out and it's mostly thanks to the tutorials on this site that I was able to do it at all.

[Odinsdottir]

Sounds amazing. I intend to spend the whole weekend learning.  Have eaten all the food in the world, so am off for a laydown!

[norenegonc]

Hello guys! Been a while. Had to do a ton of things for work, busy busy busy. Anywho, lots of free time now so of course I am building again. This one began as my house for the autumnal abode contest, but when I finished the structure it just didn't seem very… autumn-y. So I figured I would just make it a standalone house, sort of modern…esque I guess. However, I am not that good with modern landscaping as you can see… So I was wondering if you guys had any advice on the landscaping and what to do with the backyard, as well as any general thoughts on the house. Thanks!

[Rhapsody2312]

Hello guys! Been a while. Had to do a ton of things for work, busy busy busy. Anywho, lots of free time now so of course I am building again. This one began as my house for the autumnal abode contest, but when I finished the structure it just didn't seem very… autumn-y. So I figured I would just make it a standalone house, sort of modern…esque I guess. However, I am not that good with modern landscaping as you can see… So I was wondering if you guys had any advice on the landscaping and what to do with the backyard, as well as any general thoughts on the house. Thanks!

What an absolutely stunning house! You've clearly mastered the art of wall curving. I love the arches in the front, and the conservatory.

I'm not sure what you've planted in the front, but personally I find the boxes of plants detract from the main features of the house. I would move them to the back, and place them against the back walls, with a lower fence, just to break the starkness of the straight white in those points. Then I'd play with terrain paints, in order to get more of a variety in the grass. I'd start layering with the light dirt, then the sand, and then a mix of short dark grass, autumn grass, and clover. I tend to use the biggest circle, on the extremely low setting, and then just play with the mouse until I get a nicely blended effect with touches of dirt and sand peeking out in a few spots. In the conservatory, I'd use the raked sand, and a few landscaping rocks to create a zen-type meditation area, since it already seems to lend itself to that.

Consider a swimming pool at the back, and a few more rock gardens similar to the one you have in the front under the arches. If you want to create focal points in the garden, make sure you place them so that they don't detract from the house, which is your main focal point. The eye should flow easily from the landscaping up to the house. Circles, or plants  arranged in a freeform grouping will work better for this than any rigid shapes as the eye is naturally drawn to straight lines and conformity, in this case, it is the shapes in the wall at the back. Anywhere on the terrain where you imagine your sims will be walking regularly; should have a lighter grass terrain, with more sand or dirt, or even a properly laid out path using floor tiles or a terrain paint such as slate or rock or cobblestones. Remember when you use sand, that elements such as wind or water will affect the way it lies, and if you create sandy rock gardens, there will be some sand that ends up scattered on the grass. Again, the best way to depict this is to cover your terrain with sand and then play with other paints until you get a nicely layered and blended effect.

I'm sure there are many others on the forum who have more experience with landscaping modern houses, and they might have better ideas than I do. Well done on creating a beautiful house.

[saltpastillen]

I think a common trend with modern landscaping is the use of green on green, that is to say, to use only grass and green vegetation combined with either wood or concrete paths to create shapes in the garden.

I do love the raked sand planter you've made, but I would suggest moving that back to the rear of the house next to a pool like Rhapsody suggested. And to focus on creating a more green/green theme in the front. It can either be formal or more organic looking. You could move the fountain further out on the lawn or expand it so that it covers all the area under the arches.

In the conservatory area you could either go with the raked sand, or you could create a colorful tropical garden with the bouganvillia.

 

[Rhapsody2312]

Oooh, nice idea for the bouganvillea Saltpastillen. But then you'd need to change the tree in the conservatory to one that's more tropical as fir trees lend themselves more to colder weather.

[saltpastillen]

But then you'd need to change the tree in the conservatory to one that's more tropical as fir trees lend themselves more to colder weather.

Oh, don't know about that, there are a lot of fir trees around the Mediterranean after all. It all depends on what expansions you have and what plants are available, I think. If you have WA, Showtime and Sunlit Tides you have a lot of options for tropical plants, if not you could use some ferns the bouganvilla and maybe the ornamental cypresses to create a rather lush enviroment. Also, the orange/red floor covering flowers would be good with a tropical theme.