Building Contest 1, 2011 - A Town House - Open for Comments

[SassySimmer]

Congratulations Katluvr, I really loved your house

If anyone has any tips/suggestions on my submission I would be happy to hear them.  I tend to build the same over and over, therefore hearing what you thought of it I would much appreciate it.

Thank you to those who voted for my submission

[xFezIsAFreakx]

Despite being very bad at building, I reckon I'd quite like to also share my opinion of each house, just as an onlooker. I have been judging each town house by the houses I'd find in my own town as well as the prebuilt and placed houses centred around the town in the EA-made towns in TS3, so sorry if I got the meaning of 'town house' wrong.

Gogowars329's Limed ‘n’ Gray: I liked your build a lot. The exterior was sweet, but I loved the inside. The ground floor was my favourite. I liked the different coloured tiles. Though, I agree with the shades of green being slightly too harsh, and I think the back of the house looked a bit too 'repetitive'. My favourite part of the build was the little garden at the front with the seat. It is beautifully landscaped and a sweet little addition.

imaGleek's Modern Modest: I adored this build. You had me smiling from the first picture! It looked exactly like something I'd find in my own town. The grey stone was so realistic and it was really what a 'town house', in my opinion, should look like. The interior did lack in colour, but even so, it was a lovely family home that I could picture easily where I live, as well as in sims. My favourite part just has to be the entire exterior!

SassySimmer's Student Digs: I couldn't picture this as an actual town house, on the outside, but it was a lovely build. The exterior I found really, really striking, though! The inside was what made me smile, as I pictured any family living in it, just like in a town house. It's what made the house a town house, hehe. The kitchenette on the second floor was lovely.

ZapKid's Suburban Dream: I really couldn't find fault with this awesome house, apart from the fact that it doesn't 'feel' like a town house to me. Having said that, I loved it. And after all, it could be a town house found in a very upper-class of town, right? Also, I don't actually see anything wrong with the windows. I thought the 'bigness' of them were meant to be that way, hehe. My favourite part of the build was the interior, which I reckoned did match the town house feel. An awesome build which is exactly what I expected from the infamous ZapKid.

caliban's MIR Angular Comfort: For some reason, this also didn't feel like a town house to me. However, once again, the exterior changed my mind. Everything kind of fitted well together and I liked that. I could totally picture fitting this house in between some woods or something, where it would stand and look even more striking. I think it'd look strange near some shops and stuff, though.

VampirePlasma's Everyday Charms: Your house was indeed charming, Vamp. I really did like the everyday, common feel of the home and I liked how I found myself being able to picture it in common spots in Sunset Valley.

grimsoul's Two Family Townhouse: This was another home I could picture in my own town and amongst the EA towns, too. I loved how you could fit two families there. The exterior was lovely and the colours reminded me of so many family houses I had seen before, and I liked the symmetrical and homey feel of the inside. The only thing I'd say could have been improved on is all the space that had been left. It just felt kind of 'empty', but apart from that it was lovely.

KJSinclair's Beach Townhouse: Another build I loved, despite not being able to picture it in my own town. I could picture it on the coast of Sunset Valley, or even in Barnacle Bay. And, as well as grimsoul's build, I loved the two-family thing that you see all over most towns. The landscaping was beautiful and I loved how you could fit so much into a 30X30 lot! I can't find any fault with it!

Katluvr's Brownstone Townhouse: Congratulations on winning! I could easily picture this in an extremely posh part of town, judging by only the very first picture. The exterior blew me away with how luxurious it was. Very, very 'Altos and Landraabs'-ish. However, that really was the only fault. That it was too posh. I didn't find it fitting anywhere unless I surrounded it with other luxurious houses. However, not much must agree with me because you did win. So congratulations, it is indeed a breathtaking home.

Lynley1248's Morningview Townhouse: Once again, this was beautiful but it felt too luxurious to be a town house, to me. I did really like the back, though, and the colours were lovely. Regarding the interior, I couldn't help but gasp, hehe. The interior made it feel like a town house again and I just loved it.

kiko94's Classy Skybrought: This was beautiful. I could picture it in any part of town in sims. Both exterior and interior were amazing. Although I'm not usually into traditional homes, this was something else. Loved it.

Choccolatee's Dora Townhouse: This was cool (the shape of the house was awesome!), but once again I couldn't picture it around shops and things. The interior looked a little too spacious but I did like the colours.

Micler's Spruceview Townhouse: Another I could picture around shops and things. Really, really great. The inside was so quaint and lovely and I just think it matched the description perfectly. ^_^ The colours are beautiful as well.


Sorry if I seemed harsh in places, but I was being completely honest. Everyone did amazingly well and I wish I could build like any of you!

[imaGleek]

imaGleek's Modern Modest: I adored this build. You had me smiling from the first picture! It looked exactly like something I'd find in my own town. The grey stone was so realistic and it was really what a 'town house', in my opinion, should look like. The interior did lack in colour, but even so, it was a lovely family home that I could picture easily where I live, as well as in sims. My favourite part just has to be the entire exterior!

Aw, thank you so much Fez, that comment made my day  .

[ZapKid]

An awesome build which is exactly what I expected from the infamous ZapKid.

-gasp- I'm infamous?    *Prepares autograph book*
Thanks fez, like imagleek, that comment made the rest of my day happy  

[Gogowars329]

Thanks everyone who gave me feedback. I can definitely agree about the landscaping and that the Lime colour wasn't the greatest choice. I'm glad that people like it anyway!

@Sassy Your house was great! I really loved the effect you gave with the plants from the curb, really interesting. The downstairs rooms I did find a tad boring though. Also, all the terrain paint pavers looked a bit odd. Otherwise, really cute build!

@Ballernina4Life Reall cute house! I really like your layout and only found one thing I didn't like. Some of the walls were very bare without a window on them. I think a nice painting would've gone well on those walls.

Lilygirl You're house was one of my favourites. I can clearly see why you got the fourth highest amount of votes. The kitchen is really cozy looking and I love the colour scheme of the living/dining area. The only downside is that the landing area looks a little cramped with all those instruments!

Katluvr I can't say anything bad about this house. I can really see how it won. Congratulations on winning Kat! P.S. This house is one of the few I've downloaded off the Swap Shop as I don't download off the Swap Shop much.

[Ballerina4life]

@ballerina4life - The house is a nice shape, but the roof felt really really tall. I REALLY liked your color schemes, especially in the master bedroom & the kitchen. I agree w/ Lilly about flipping the stairs. I think you could lose 2-3 squares from front-to back, still have plenty of room for all the functionality currently built in and have a little tighter layout. I really liked the marble in the kitchen, but when you look at it from the top down, the counters disappear into the floor. Most of the design elements that you used are flat color, they don't have a lot of texture in them. I think a little tone-on-tone pattern in the living room rugs would be good.

Gogo thank you for the advice! I will take it into account while I am building my beach house.

@Ballernina4Life Reall cute house! I really like your layout and only found one thing I didn't like. Some of the walls were very bare without a window on them. I think a nice painting would've gone well on those walls.

I agree with you about the walls.... If only I had a a little more money. Thank you for the advice

@ Ballarina4life: The exterior colours are nice, although I would have like to see a darker roof to match the decks and railing; also the windows on the second floor don't line up with those on the first, lining them up creates a more cohesive appearance from the curb. I like the little bump out for the dining area and the open loft idea is very interesting. I think swinging the stairs around 180degrees would create a better flow for the downstairs and the loft area. Love the rug and colours in the master bedroom.

How do I get a darker roof? Can you CAS it? Now that you say that about the windows I see that they are crooked. Thank you!

[Gogowars329]

How do I get a darker roof? Can you CAS it? Now that you say that about the windows I see that they are crooked. Thank you!

There's a tab you can press next to the 'roof selection' one and the 'diagnal roof' one. It brings up many different colours of roofs.

[Ballerina4life]

There's a tab you can press next to the 'roof selection' one and the 'diagnal roof' one. It brings up many different colours of roofs.

Really?? Hmm I will have to look next time I play. Thank you!

[caliban]

Thanks for the comments. I can definitely agree about the lime not being the best colour choice. The landscaping was actually done first then I realised I was out of cash and had to delete some trees.

Gogo - let me rephrase something here, because I think you may have misunderstood me.

For me personally, Lime is not one of my favorite colors, nor one of my go-to colors for a scheme.

That being said, I think it was a great accent color for the dark black/charcoal monotone scheme you chose. It really pops against the dark, but you didn't really over-use it where the green became overwhelming. You also varied how you used it, so not every room was the same.

Lime is definitely a bold choice, which may not jive with everyone's sensibility, but I thought it worked very well with the other choices you made.

And yes, it's hard when you get all finished and realize you have to loose $1500 of stuff. (Or more. >_>)

[Joria]

Day late and a dollar short, as usual for me, but any comments would be appreciated.  I need to go back to sleep but I'll comment on everyone's build when I wake up. lol  

I do want to say the I thought Katluvr's build was awesome, made me feel nostalgic and really had that townhouse look to it.  Congratulations, Kat, you deserved the win.  The hard part was I felt everyone deserved the win!

'night all!

WAKEY, WAKEY!

Ok, as promised here's my thoughts.

Gogowars:  I really, really loved the shape and exterior of your build and felt it truly showed the look of a townhouse.  It is a house I initially thought I'd love to own.  Then I saw the inside and was turned off by the darkness of the grey with the shocking brilliance of the green.  I actually could have handled the green but the grey was just a bit over dark for me.  A softer grey might have done the trick.  I also was not fond of the floors in general.  On the outside you had wood paths and I think it would have been better to use terrain paint or recolored the wood to look more like stone or masonry.  On the inside the floors just made me a bit dizzy, and again it was the deep darkness against the green that turned me off.  I would love to own this house because the general style, the layout of the rooms and everything else is great.  I'd have to ask you to allow me to tone down the grey though.

imageek:  Grey has got to be one of my least favorite colors, yet the softer, more muted shades you used worked just fine.  I love the design of the house and particularly liked your use of two kinds of siding, wood and stone.  My favorite local house is similar to that.  A problem I personally have in general with most builders is they make the bathrooms huge and empty.  You would have done better to make both bathrooms, particularly the powder room, smaller and used the floor space for other things.  Upstairs that little office could have had more space and had other cozy items in it, like a soft chair, lamp and bookcase for a quiet place to study or read.  Downstairs you could have made a separate small bedroom or den.  Your house was a bit empty and I'm thinking you ran out of money.  I would have opted out of the tree house and more expensive playground equipment, (I know, hard to not pamper those nooboos!), and used the cash for more things in the house.  In general I have to say I really liked your house.

SassySimmer:  This one is hard to critique.  It truly does not look like a townhouse, although a student residence certainly can be a townhouse.  I lived in one!  I think the two kinds of windows threw me off a bit and the lack of landscaping.  It felt a bit cold hearted on the outside, although once inside it was warm and welcoming.  On the second floor I would have stacked the stairs and used the space for another bedroom.  Again I felt the bathrooms were much too large.  You can fit everything you need in a bathroom in a 3x3 square space and then use the leftover area to be a study area or dressing room/closet.  Most students wind up having to do everything in their own personal space except cook and eat so a study area would have worked.  I love the kitchens.  I would not have put those plants on the outside of the house but would have left it looking more like a balcony.  A great place to throw water ballons from!  The plants would have done much better inside adding a bit of charm and hominess.

ZapKid:  Ok, you already know you are one of my favorite builders so I'm going to get picky here.  First of all I love the exterior of your house.  The curves of the windows matching the curve of the doorway just immediately made me smile.  I also loved the warm color tones you use and the landscaping was well done.  I have a question about the raised area around the veggie garden.  Was that supposed to be raised garden beds?  If so, WELL DONE!  It's an idea I intend to steal.  lol  Kitchen/dining area.  A bit cramped.  As a housewife this is a definite turn off, plus having everything lined up in a straight line makes cooking tiring and a nightmare.  I would have turned the table, (if there was room), or used a smaller one.  The master bedroom was a bit cramped for me but hey, you don't really LIVE in a bedroom so it's forgivable, though would not be my favorite space.  I liked the teen bedroom but it felt a bit too grownup for me.  No mess. lol  I didn't see the bathrooms and would have liked to.  I would have liked to have seen a bird's eye view of the layout of the interior.  Without that it was hard to say yes, this is a great townhouse.  In the future I would do a lot more screenies so we can really see what you did.  I downloaded it anyway because there were more good things I loved about it.

caliban  I really looked hard to find something wrong among so much right.  It's the roof.  Roofs are a nightmare in Sims!  I'm not sure how you would change the roof shape on that bay window area unless you made it flat with wrought iron fencing around it.  EA really needs to accommodate that shape without it looking like it's wearing an ill fitting hat!  So, bottom line, the roof was your only issue and that certainly is not your fault.  You done good!  I want this one.

vampireplasma  Again, a hard one to critique because I really didn't find anything I would change.  I would have liked to have seen a birds eye view over all to get a better idea of the house shape on the lot and ditto with the inside.  I really like this house as well and think you did an excellent job all around. 

grimsoul  Ok, this is more like what I consider a "townhouse", although I guess "duplex" is the proper term.  It's well laid out, I LOVE the kitchens, really it has it all.  Again with the overly large bathrooms but hey, just leaves room for a future washer/dryer, right?  Could have used a bit more landscaping.

KJSinclair  I really like the exterior.  It does look like a duplex beach house.  Good place for a vacay!  Well laid out on the inside but again, bathrooms overly large.  I think if you had made them a tad shorter and added a powder room on the end for general public use it would be a good use of space.  Sometimes bathrooms can have problems when all the Sims in a building have to go at once so a powder room helps.  To avoid "spill over" with terrain paint, use the straight bar fence for a guide, spray inside it and then remove the guide.  Does not work on curves, of course so don't know if your patio was intentionally shaped the way it was.  I would also have used terrain paint on the "driveways", rather than leaving it grass.

Katluvr  Perfection sums it all up nicely.

lynley  I would have done a little less brick and a little more landscaping.  With as much brick as it was it sort of made the house disappear into the ground and you missed the true charm of the house itself.  It needed to stand out a bit more.  It's a great little house, well laid out and elegantly decorated.  I loved the interior very much.  You've used colors I don't normally choose and made me realize what I've been missing in my builds.  Landscaping is the one thing I think needs adjusting.

kiko94  This lovely home just doesn't look like a townhouse, but rather something you'd find in suburbia.  Mind you, it is a terrific house!  I absolutely love it, but don't feel it has that townhouse look about it. 

chocolatee  Very nice modern lines.  Definitely looks like a town home.  I'd have liked to see more landscaping.  Great kitchen!

Micler  Looks like a townhouse to me!  I would have stuck to one size windows though.  The two different sizes are a bit disconcerting.  Inside is marvelous!  I'd have like to see a bit more landscaping also.

Ok, you can see by my shorter and shorter comments I got kind of worn out.  The bottom line is you all did a terrific, creative, unique job on each build and there isn't one single house in this contest I absolutely didn't love.
I want them all.  While I may have disagreed with some of your concepts or done something differently, please understand it's just my opinion and I truly appreciate and applaud each and every one of you for your talents and creativity.

[Gogowars329]

Gogo - let me rephrase something here, because I think you may have misunderstood me.

For me personally, Lime is not one of my favorite colors, nor one of my go-to colors for a scheme.

That being said, I think it was a great accent color for the dark black/charcoal monotone scheme you chose. It really pops against the dark, but you didn't really over-use it where the green became overwhelming. You also varied how you used it, so not every room was the same.

Lime is definitely a bold choice, which may not jive with everyone's sensibility, but I thought it worked very well with the other choices you made.

And yes, it's hard when you get all finished and realize you have to loose $1500 of stuff. (Or more. >_>)

Finishes was quite hard as I had to sell plants and other goodies. I now understand what you meant. Thank you!

[ZapKid]

Thank you Joria 
I was sort of trying to create a fence there, but at the end it looked awkward and I was too lazy too change it, lol 
Also, you said imageek, not imagleek.

[Joria]

Currently using your house(es).  Have you built a beach house yet?  You've got some tough competition.  The ones already posted are awesome.

[ZapKid]

Currently using your house(es).  Have you built a beach house yet?  You've got some tough competition.  The ones already posted are awesome.

I know. Call me a sore loser, but that's part of the reason I might not enter 
We'll have to see if I work up my courage and post my already done beach house, complete with party zone 

[Joria]

Zap,  I've been on this forum for over a year and have yet to win ANY contest or challenge.  Don't be discouraged.
You have enough talent to keep on trying.  Not everyone is going to love what we create but there usually is one or two that make the effort worth it.  Besides, I selfishly want to see, (and have), your beach house.