The S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ build is so very creative and great! It looks great how each floor is in the design of the SHIELD eagle logo! The black and white colour of the walls and floors, and the hallways looks great! The enlarged plane looks great on the top of the roof! It is very nice that you have built this themed community lot for your husband. Very nice furnishing and layout of the interior to suit the theme! It was great reading the accompanying descriptions of each of the rooms and areas and your background details behind the choice of furnishings. The items in the Lab are great! The pictures on the walls look scientific and suit well the type of room. The live creatures glass displays on the counters look great there ! It is great that you have placed a microscope there for sims to use, and the type of computer and study desk that you have placed there and through the build suits well the type of themed build . The plaques on the wall in the Hall of the Fallen look great! The enlarged pink space item there looks great too! It looks great how you have done the offices through the build. It looks nice how you have done the walls of bookcases on the offices. The mounted fish plaques look great on the wall of the first floor offices! The map screens look great! Nice furnishing of the second floor break room as a cafeteria. Sims will enjoy having a drink from the bar. The row of clocks on the wall in the second floor office looks great. The black tiled walls combined with the white table in the interrogation room and no other furnishings creates a great effect. The large sporting posters on the gym wall are great for sims to see when using the punching bags and suit the type of room. The circular windows are a great representation of a target range! You have creatively designed every aspect of the build ! The furnishing and layout of Coulson's office is great! It looks great the items that you have used and how you have placed the items on the shelves, walls and tables in the room. The layout of the Command Centre is great! It looks great how you have placed the computer desks there. The map screens look great here, as they do in the other rooms of the build too. The exterior design and shape of the building looks great! Sims will enjoy using the outdoors telescope. It was great seeing the Agents of Shields sims that you created to play test the build in the pictures that you posted in the build! The sims are very nice simversions of the agents!
You have designed the build very well and very creatively!
@Cerrydd I couldn't post it until he got a thorough walk thru. Had to see everything and when I told him I play tested it with the Agents; Thought he died and gone to heaven. Brought it up for him...He kicked me out of my chair so he could play.
@Vihisha . First, how do you pronounce your name? Everytime I see your name I say " Vishna" but I know that's incorrect. Second thank you so much for your compliments. And last, but in no way least, I'm glad you love shoes and the Sherry's Shoes Cheat. Lady after my own heart.
@Vihisha . First, how do you pronounce your name? Everytime I see your name I say " Vishna" but I know that's incorrect. Second thank you so much for your compliments. And last, but in no way least, I'm glad you love shoes and the Sherry's Shoes Cheat. Lady after my own heart.
V-eye Hee Sh-uuh is how it's pronounced...people seem 2 have troubles w/it ALL the time
& you're so welcome
I love looking at architecture from around the world. Some of my favorites come from island nations such as Iceland, Madagascar, Philippines, Cyprus, and Crete. I'm drawn to these places because they are literally forced to deal with Mother Nature. They do not have the physical land space to handle large power plants. Yet, like the rest of the world, they want and need and use electricity, water, sewage, etc. So these island nations or states (Hawaii) have been at the forefront of Green Energy and recycling out of necessity.
Cyprus is a nation that has embraced this down to their parking lots (they have solar panels over parking spaces which can charge your electric car while you shop at the mall - seriously, 1st world countries, what's your excuse?) Not only has Cyprus including solar energy, but they use recycled building products in their new constructions, energy efficient, yet open and modern floor plans that take in the gorgeous views of the Mediterranean that surround this gorgeous nation.
As I often do, I take inspiration from real architecture. I only had the back angle of this build so the front and other side are my own creation while keeping with the inspiration style. The interior layout and interior designing are all my own creations. Below is my inspiration:
Following is my take in TS4:
Here is the overall floor plan for the house
First Floor
Second Floor
Main Entrance and Great Room
The house opens up immediately to an open floor plan with the living room to the right and dining and kitchen area to the left separated by an open glass staircase. The choice of colors in these spaces is purposeful. Orange and green are the colors of Cyprus's flag. I choose the art piece for the dining room because it incorporated the colors of the flag and was very modern, which is in keeping with the overall feel I wanted for this build. The color scheme on the wall was based on the stacked stone I brought in from outside. I wanted the walls to blend with it and give the feel of natural and organic while remaining modern.
The Kitchen
As most of my builds I do not know the floor plan, I create one based off the greater space. I almost always start with the kitchen. As I have mentioned in previous builds, this is because this space anchors the household. It is where Sims spend a vast amount of their time and in real life where we spend a lot of our time. I guess it should be called the food, family, communication, and entertainment room as those activities seem to center around the kitchen.
In keeping with the style of the build I wanted the kitchen to be crisp, modern, and clean but also have that organic feel that is common in the houses of Cyprus and other island homes. Hence the choice in cabinetry. Off the kitchen is a small 1/2 bath.
Did you see the teamaker?
The Master Suite The Master Bedroom
Off the Dining Area is the Master Suite. This space was rather small for a master and I wanted to keep it open and bright. But what to do for a closet? I mean, the lady of the house HAS to have a place for all her SHOES! So I decided to make the wall against the kitchen the closet space and the closet doors be glass doors. Of course I used the Shoes Cheat to have my shoe racks because, well, I recycle the shoes - I wear them every season.
I choose the bed and space painting because they both look like Van Gogh's Starry Nights. I purposely chose the bed because there are some spectacular Starry Nights on Cyprus.
The Master Bath
This space was impossible to get a picture of but was designed to be modern and roomy in a very small space. I placed shades down low to allow in light through the windows up top while providing privacy for the Sims in the corner tub! WooHoo!
The 2nd Floor Landing
I wanted this space to be a mix space where Sims could practice their skills while still enjoying the amazing views out the big windows.
The Girls Room
I debated on whether or not to do a little girl's room or more a teenage girl's room. In the end I chose a tween or teenage girl's room because I wanted to stay with the more modern look that an older girl's room would provide. The bed I chose because it reminds me of my bedspread from when I was in college and I decorated the room around the bed. I chose the Cool Cat picture (that's what I call it) for this space because it just feels fun and young. Kind of a one step in girlhood and one step in womanhood. Not quite grown-up yet.
The Boys Room
Like the Girl's Room I debated whether or not to make the boy's room for a younger or older child. In the end I chose older because it allowed me to decorate the room in a more modern style and in keeping with the rest of the build. I chose the bed first and the room was decorated based off of the bed. I think I went through every color. I gave up and put up the shades and tackled the wall color again. That's when the brown seemed to work for this space and I chose the rug to anchor it.
The Jack and Jill Bathroom
My husband always teases me for using J&J bathrooms. This is in part because of the limitations of TS4 and the other part is due to the limitations of space in the build. As this is a smaller build the J&J bathroom was the obvious choice. I wanted this space to be young, hip, and modern while also having a strong organic feel to it. I wanted it to look like it was one with the nature outside the large windows. That's why I chose the wooden brown bathtub. I then chose the shower stall with the browned tiles and the room just was built around them. I kept with the brown theme throughout with a dash of brown tiles, the blinds low to give Sims privacy and thru the picture of the pears up to add a pop of color.
The Balcony
Based on the inspiration picture I discerned there was a balcony above the living area, but, I saw no entrance from the building on to it. So, I wrapped the balcony around and put the entrance on the other side. Added some planters and a few white benches (so not to take away from the build) and called it a day.
The Back Patio, Pool, and Garden Area
I spent a tremendous amount of time on this space and it's my favorite space in the whole build. Cyprus is an island and like many people living on islands in warm climates, a lot of time is spent living outside. I wanted this space to reflect that and give the Sims lots of reasons to be out in this space. In the inspiration picture, the pool came right up to the stairs from the back patio area. I tried to replicate that but, no, TS4 says no. I was so frustrated. I settled on bringing the pool up as close as I could to the stairs and put the pool stairs in. When play testing, this is where my Sims love to enter the pool the most! I was so tickled.
The trellis was created by using the outdoor decoration and enlarging it. I had to put in floors to place them, then removed the floors.
The garden space I wanted to be cool and relaxing. As this space gets shade and is tucked away, it was easy to incorporate that feeling. I added some seating, planters for our gardening Sims, and lights for a late night kiss on the bench under the stars.
Outside Views
This build was completely designed around the inspiration picture. As I mentioned earlier, I have no idea what the other sides of the build actually look like, so I had to design them myself while staying true to the feel of the build. I added solar panels on the top roof as a shout out to the people of Cyprus who have incorporated Green Living completely into every aspect of their lives and their nation.
The name of this build, Kibris Bahar, is Turkish for Cyprus Spring.
Cool new build! I really like the look of the kitchen, stone walls and wooden cupboards! The solar panels are a great idea. And I call dibs on the girl's room... it's pink, has a bed, cat painting and an expensive computer, what more do I need? (...shoes? XD)
Cyprus Springs is a very nice home! The exterior of the home looks very nice! It looks very nice the type of and how you have placed the windows in the build. The outdoors areas are very nice! Very nice pool deck area! It looks very nice how you done the different steps down to the pool and to the garden area. The water fountain feature looks nice in the pool. Sims will enjoy cooking on the bbq and eating their meals in the outdoors air at the table. It looks nice how you have done the wraparound outdoors upper balcony. The solar panels on the roofing look great! It looks nice how you have done the trellis. Nice gardening alcove. Sims will enjoy growing and harvesting plants in the garden box there. Nice corner sitting nook. The garden hose is a nice outdoors touch on the wall. It looks nice how you have used the shelving on the exterior walls. Very nice furnishing and layout of the interior of the home! It looks nice how you have used green and orange colours in the living and dining areas to reflect the Cyprus flag colours. The glass type of the staircase suits the type of home well. The flowers on the dining table are nice for sims to see when dining there. Very nice design and furnishing of the kitchen! It looks very nice how you have placed the kitchen cabinets. It is great that you have the tea maker on the counter! Nice island sink and bar counter. The texture of the walls looks nice. The clothes and shoes closet in the master bedroom is very nice! Great corner bookcase nook. The floral pattern on the wall gives a nice look in the room. The second floor landing area is a great skills and games area. Sims will enjoy painting on the easel, doing wood crafting there or have fun playing games on the card table there. The girls and boys bedrooms are very nice. Nice colours that you have used for the rooms. It was great reading the background details and thoughts that you had when designing these rooms. Very nice study desk areas in the rooms for the sims to enjoy sitting at the tables using the computers. The green blinds in the boys room look great on the bedhead windows. The brown colour scheme and tiling in the bathroom looks nice. Nice shower corner nook. The yellow pears picture on the wall looks nice, and goes well with the brown colour of the room.
It is a very nice home
During the 1990's through the 2000's American builders have been building bigger and bigger and bigger. An average size house today is twice as large as the average house in the 1980's (3,000sq. ft. compared to 1,675sq. ft.) The term "McMansion" arose in the 1990's to describe these larger than large houses that were creeping up to the size of mansions, but, more affordable. Entire neighborhoods and subdivisions of "McMansions" dot the suburbs of US cities.
This is a bit of a joke and a laugh at all of us who bought these ridiculously large homes. But, before anyone gets upset, know....Yes, I want this house. *sighs with head down in mock shame* My preference would be to live inside the city, but, get this, I can't afford to. HAHAHA! *rolls eyes*
I had only the inspiration picture, which is my dream home, and the memories I have of the many McMansions I have been in. I have friends who own McMansions and have gone through many an open house. One day...one day. Thus this build is mostly my own but based of the inspiration picture and the interior floor plan and interior design are all my own creation with the exception of the Laundry Room.
This is my inspiration:
This is my take in TS4:
Following is the overall floorplan for this build. The third floor is purposefully left empty. It's a walk-up attic. I thought about putting stuff up there, but, I figured I'd leave something for all of you to decide to do with as you please.
First Floor
Second Floor
Third Floor
Main Entrance
I want to start with the outside for the main entrance as what you are greeted by is a grand staircase, large Grecian pillars, tall plantation windows and a door to die for. Before you even enter this house you know it's going to be spectacular on the inside and I did not want to disappoint. Thus, when you enter you are greeted with high ceilings, a long view thru the formal living room out the back windows, more Grecian pillars, statues, and MARBLE floors. Oh, yeah, this is my dream home folks...so, yup, marble.
Formal Dining Room
This space had to be exquisite. Though my home is not nearly as large as this one, I do have a sizable home and as such during the holidays the families usually camp out at our house. My dining room can only seat 8 comfortably, but, we manage to have up to 20 and we all have a good time. My dream dining room would be one that can seat 10-12 comfortably. And, since this is my dream home....I made it happen. The choice of painting was due to the colors and the frame. I enlarged it so it was the centerpiece artwork of the room. The vases on the table and draperies were chosen to compliment the room. The statues, well I want Grecian statues in my dining room. So Maxis, hurry up with that would you! The wetbar/waiter area to the left of the dining room is something I see a lot in these McMansions and I wanted to include it.
Formal Living Room
My own house is decorated with the living room in red and the dining room in blue. Kind of a yin/yang thing. In this build, I reversed the colorings because of the choices I made in the dining room. Thus the light blue hue dominates the decor of this space. I specifically chose light blue because it reminds me of the color of the ocean and sky and I wanted that serene feeling in this otherwise very formal space. The sitting area with the plants in the middle...I needed to break up the space visually and wanted to give a bit more definition to this room. Choice of paintings was due to color and frames, especially the one over the white table. Because these ceilings are so ridiculously high (I love it) I needed to fill the space above the bookshelves. I enlarged the urns and put some plants up there, because that's exactly how I would decorate the space. Plants always make a space look fresh and gives natural beauty.
The puppy dog statues....those are for my beagles Ginny and Winston.
Kitchen and Great Room
When I start laying out the interior of a build that I do not have a floor plan of, I nearly always start with the kitchen. This is also the room I start with for interior decorating. I have mentioned this before in previous posts and I do it because I feel it anchors the house. It is where our Sims spend a great deal of time and where we in real life spend time with family and friends. This build was no different. I began with mapping out the kitchen counters. It was so big I had room to add a pantry and a huge bar. This gave me the ability to round out the island ends. I was playing with columns and decided to put them on the ends of the island and just loved it. It gave definition to the space, accented the height of the ceilings, and then when I put the lights in gave a real cool effect. I love how the lights look like they are part of the column and how they add a design to the ceiling around the column.
Because the cabinetry I chose had the tall cabinets with glass doors and display of dishes I knew I wanted to use those to showcase the family's fine china, especially since it wasn't being displayed in the Dining Room. Well my dream home would have a desk in the kitchen area so I can multi-task. I can cook, watch the news, and play TS4 - I mean work. The cabinets became the end units for the pseudo desk I made. I know the desk area doesn't work in play, but, it does in real life! To play, I pulled out the desk and put the computer on the desk and it works fine, but, to showcase the house I left it unplayable.
In this space is a large sectional sofa and table for casual dining. This again would be my dream. While I'm cooking I can listen to the news, feed the dogs, pull my husband off the computer and get him to set the table for dinner, and probably have laundry running too. Then we can sit down for dinner, unplug, tv off before a bay of windows and enjoy each others company.
Did you see my teamaker?
Laundry Room, Bathroom, MudRoom, Garage
Wasn't able to get a picture of my laundry room but this is @LynnLynn69 Laundry Room. I just enlarged it, added a few things, moved a few objects, and finagled it to fit this space.
There is a 1/2 bath in this area and a mudroom coming in from the garage where Sims can drop off their muddy shoes and snowy jackets. The garage is a 3 car garage, like any self respecting McMansion would have, but I only put 2 cars in so there could be space for the workbench for the Sims who like to be handy.
Master en Suite Master Bedroom
This is a HUGE Master Bedroom, just the way I like it. I even added a fireplace for ambiance and romantic evenings when you and your loved one don't quite make it to the bed.
This room was designed around the choice of bed. I chose this bed because I love the filigree bedspread and the bit of white color on the frame that contrasts against the black so well. I kept the furniture colors in line with the bed. White upholstery with black wood trim. I chose the wall color because it complemented the bedspread, but, added the panelling between the two columns to better showcase the bed. Also why I chose a mirror backdrop. To top it off I needed color. Well TS4 gives me 2 choices, red or blue. The red pops better. And, being that Valentine's Day is coming up and this is a room I would love...red. Hence the choice in pictures. They match. Plus I love music.
Master Bathroom
This room had to be grand and I centered it around the jacuzzi tub. I tried enlarging it but the Sims couldn't use it. I went back and added plants and towel chairs to help give it that spa feeling. I created not only separate sink areas but also separate water closets for him and her. Why? Because my husband and I get ready at the same time in the morning. It would be so much easier to have two showers in the same bathroom then one of us having to go to the other bathroom every morning.
I placed footstool type seating in the middle of the room with a planter of flowers in the middle to add color and break up the space. Otherwise it was just a big space. Also, it's practical for getting dressed in the morning. Sit down and tie your shoes or put on your panty hose.
Because of my husband's and my morning shenanigans inspired this room so much, I chose to use the blue palette throughout. Blue is my husband's favorite color.
Master Closet
My FAVORITE space in this entire build! Can you guess why?
SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES I can't get enough of this closet! Look at all those SHOES!!!!!! I've died and gone to heaven!
Thanks to @sherryd0 I have more shoes then ever before! Sherry was kind enough to share her cheat of how to stack things up the wall and I saw it in her room Closet and became madly in love. Unfortunately TS4 gives me grief and I can never get her room to place. But this closet is a serious Shout Out to Sherry, a girl after my own heart.
I went with the black cabinetry because it looks so sexy. I put in tall windows to give the illusion of sliding doors - gotta keep the dust off my shoes! There's a table to put make-up on and get ready. I know it's in the Master Bath, but, folks this is my dream closet.
Because the cabinetry is so dark I needed bright light walls. I chose the pink because of the middle carpet. The single carpet looked too small so I added three. When I made the middle carpet pink I knew the wall color. The painting on the far wall I chose because there are no windows in this room and I wanted something sunny and bright. Sunflowers = Sun right?
Office
This space was designed very intentionally and specifically for my husband. My husband hates having his back to the door when he's working and he likes to spread out. I seriously don't understand the latter as everything he does is on computers, so why the need for all the desk space. Oh, I know....all his Star Wars and other geek stuff. If this was really my husband's office, the bookshelves would be full of comics, Marvel's super hero statues and Star Wars statues, plates, and God knows all the other kick knacks he has collected. The pictures I chose are from the new careers update and they remind me of my husband's Marvel hero's original artwork by some famous geeky artist that he's had framed and matted and hung with tremendous pride. *rolls eyes*
Second Floor Landing
In my inspiration picture there is a large window above the front door and there are doors from the front rooms that lead out onto the front balcony. Because TS4 does not have tall plantation like doors to match the windows or separate shutters, I couldn't achieve that look. Thus the change to put the door in the middle and continue with the look of large plantation windows. I actually like this design better as it gives everyone access to the front balcony from the 2nd Floor Landing. I also think it makes the landing a room of its own. That is why I decorated it like a formal sitting room showcasing fancy paintings and elaborate rugs.
Girl's Room
This room was designed for a young girl to tween. I wanted it to be young and fun but not overly girly, hence not all pink. Yet I did still want it to be an obvious little girl's room with the cute bunnies and unicorns everywhere. When my Sims girl grows up, she can redecorate the room to a typical, messy teen room. Until then, it's a sweet girl's room.
Girl's Bathroom
I wanted this bathroom to be modern yet feminine. After having done the Master Closet in black and pink and really liking the way those colors worked I decided it would look well in the girl's bathroom as well. The all black tiles just made the room to hard. That's why I chose the pool tiles. They give a "shimmer" look to the tiles and are brighter.
Boy's Room
Everytime I make a boy's room I think of my brother's room growing up. Transformers, legos, airplane models, ship models, dinosaurs, and stuffed animals. Not to mention his clothes everywhere! I will never forget the day my mother freaked out because he had clothes hanging from his ceiling light. Boys - need I say more.
Boy's Bathroom
The Boy's Bathroom is very small and I wanted to keep it as bright as possible while giving it a masculine feel. I took my inspiration off of the Girl's Bathroom but without the pink accent walls.
Second Master en Suite Second Master Bedroom
I find this room so elegant. The grey and white bed with the grey and white walls looks so stately to me. It was the walls that first inspired this room and I was pleased the bed went so well with it. But what to do for color? Initially I was thinking of doing white/grey but TS4 is still limited in our choices of curtains and the white and grey curtains were just clashing with the walls. It also made the room very dreary. I chose the bright pink/raspberry color because of how well it played off the grey. Once I chose the curtains the rug choices were made and I think really accent the space beautifully. I thought about doing the sitting area furniture in white but it really took away from the romantic feel of the room. I was disappointed that I couldn't get the raspberry upholstery with white wood furniture, but, I still think it works really well in this room. I struggled with the paintings in this room and I ended up choosing one picture, which I used repeatedly, because of the frame. I can't wait for design tools to come back!
The pig....looks like a little Pug. Thought it was cute and I like little whimsy even in very formal rooms. Makes people smile.
Second Master Bathroom
Another bathroom in blue with white tiles. After creating the Second Master Bedroom I wanted the bathroom to be an opposite color. Blues are the easiest to work with in TS4 which is why I chose to use it in this space. I created another seating area in to sit on to tie shoes or put on panty hose in this bathroom too. When I first was test playing this my Sim didn't want to walk around to get to the water closet, but, finally did. Lazy Sim.
Hall of Family
In my house growing up and the house I have now we have a what we call a Wall of Family. It is a wall full of family pictures and silly momentos. My dream home would have a Hall of Family.
Art Room
At the end of the Hall of Family is the Art Room. Initially I had this space and the adjoining Exercise Room as one. I decided to split it up because all I could think of is how uncomfortable it would be to smell a sweating Sim working out while trying to paint. Talk about a Picasso! I also thought, how unpleasant it would be for the Sim working out to smell paint and paint thinner. Yuck.
I put all the painting tools in this room. I placed the drawings on the wall like my brother would hang his posters up as a kid....ALL over the place. I placed a chair in the room because I imagine people watching the artist draw or resting after posing for a drawing. The rug I chose matched the curtains and was funky and since artist are pretty funky people...
Exercise Room
I personally hate working out. It bores me. However, my husband and I are ballroom dancers. If this was our house the Art Room and Exercise Room would be one big dance floor with mirrors on all 4 walls! Granted, Sims can dance too, but they don't get the fitness aspect from it that my husband and I get in real life. Thus, for the Sims I put in all the exercise equipment. Maxis gives us few choices here. The color choices are literally 4: red, blue, yellow, green. Snooze.
I wanted to mix up the colors some in this space. Doing all red or all green looked typical and boring. I changed the treadmill to blue and I liked the difference. I put down the workout rugs in all red, but it was too much red. My husband, I should have thought of it myself, says "Well change the carpet under the red equipment blue". Perfect. I enlarged the exercise paintings to fit the space and added a stereo system and the towels and hamper. That left the opposite wall and it took me hours to figure out what to do here. I actually worked on everything else and came back to this even after playtesting cause I just couldn't figure out what to do.
My husband suggested trophies like we have from dancing. We would showcase them wouldn't we? BINGO!
Entertainment Room and Second Kitchen
When I was doing the initial layout for this build I knew I wanted this space to be an entertainment room with a bar area. I love how it opens up to the back balcony area and the open stairs up to the attic space. Initially I had the Second Kitchen area walled off and it was going to be a large closet. However, when I was doing the interior design I couldn't figure out a good place to put the bar area. Thus, I removed the wall and it provided the perfect space for the bar. But, it left me with a huge area to fill and even with the largest bar it seemed empty, incomplete. Thus the birth of the Second Kitchen. This actually would be heaven for me in real life. I could serve up a heck of a Puppy Bowl Party in here!
And that's why the picture of the Cool Cat and the Gnomes. They are a Shout Out to the Puppy Bowl and Kitty Half Time! Super Bowl is so boring but the Puppy Bowl rocks!
Back Balcony
First, a note to Maxis. We need spiral staircases.
The only access to the space is through the Entertainment Room. This is because placing stairs either messed with the downstairs windows or columns. Either way, just was destroying the look of the build so I opted out. When Maxis brings back spiral staircases; I know exactly the first thing I'm going to do with them.
Back Patio
This is a large space to sit and enjoy the fine weather and cool breezes. I placed an eating area and a bbq on the deck, but, opted out of the full outside kitchen. I did this because to create it on the back deck obstructed the windows or columns and I didn't want to take away from the look. If this were my dream house it might have an outdoor kitchen with a bar, but, I would probably have it as a separate "building" down by the pool. Ultimately I chose to keep with the look of the build.
Pool Area
My ideal home would have an in-ground pool with a jacuzzi tub. Maxis - another note - bring back spas! I landscaped the area with bright flowers and shrubbery with rock trim and lighted pathways. The flowers in my dream home would be Calla Lillies, my favorite. At night this space is very romantic and I can imagine having some "fun" with my husband as we gaze up at the stars at night.
Play Area
I made this build with young children in mind when I designed the Girl's and Boy's rooms, so of course I had to have a play area out back for them. After all, they need to unplug and get outside and get dirty, break some bones, throw sticks, and run that energy right out of those little bodies! Since with this entire build I went all out, I wanted to continue that all the way through every aspect, and that including this area. I made a mock sea and dock to get aboard the boat. The monkey bars needed to have a soft landing. Sand is soft and sandy beaches go with the ship at sea. I kept the landscaping in this area fairly simple because I imagine kids throwing balls and running into the bushes and flowers after them. Or maybe burying something in the flower garden. GGGRRRRR.
Put the outside trash cans in this area because no self respecting McMansion owner would keep them out for all to see!
Outside Views
As I stated originally, I only had the outside of my inspiration picture to work from. The back and interior floor plan and interior design are all my own creations with the exception of the laundry room. As this is my dream home it needed to have the curb appeal and exterior finish to match the grand scale of the architecture. I initially had the exterior in brick but it not only did not look like my inspiration, it didn't look like the exterior finish I would want. The exterior panelling I desire is a recycled cement panelling and is extremely energy efficient, easy to maintain and clean, and comes in very rich colors and textures. I went with the brown siding because it does look like the inspiration picture, much to my husband's disappointment. You guessed it, he wanted blue.
Cool new build! I really like the look of the kitchen, stone walls and wooden cupboards! The solar panels are a great idea. And I call dibs on the girl's room... it's pink, has a bed, cat painting and an expensive computer, what more do I need? (...shoes? XD)
This seems like it was a very fun build 4 u! Gotta' love creating a dream!! I like how u did "your husbands" desk & I really thought that the pillars in the kitchen w/the hanging lights was executed nicely. THX 4 sharing this
Your dream house American McMansion is very nice! It is great reading your introductory details of each of your builds then going on the tour of them through the pictures of the rooms/areas and the accompanying words you have written. Very nice exterior design of the home! The front porches and upper balconies are very nice, and it looks nice how you have used curved fencing for the front entrance porchway and middle upper balcony. The placement of the open shutter windows in the home looks nice. The dormers look great. It looks very nice how you have used the roof trimming and columns in the build. Very nice furnishing of the interior of the home! The marble flooring and pillars in the front entrance area looks very nice! Nice clock corner nook. The plant sitting area in the middle of the area is nice for sims to see when walking through this area to go to the living room. The dining room is very nice! Nice wall paneling and the red curtains give a very nice look to the room. The enlarged floral picture on the wall and the flowers on the dining table are nice for sims to see when dining there. The Grecian statues look great in the corners of the room! Sims will enjoy having a drink from the bar with their meals. It is nice that your family come to stay at your home over holidays. It would be fun spending time together. The blue colour scheme of the formal living room is very nice. Sims will enjoy sitting there listening to the music from the grand piano being played or reading a book. It looks very nice how you have placed the bookcases in the room, and have placed the plants and urns on top of them. It is special that you have placed dog statues on the fireplace ledge to reflect your own dogs. Very nice furnishing and layout of the kitchen! It looks very nice how you have placed the cabinets there! It looks very nice how you have used the columns and lights for the ends of the bar counter! It gives a great look to the room! The study desk area looks great! The sofa seating area is very nice! Sims will enjoy sitting resting there, having a chat, watching the tv and reading a book. Very nice window dining alcove area! It looks nice the type of and how you have placed the curtains there. The master closet looks great! It looks very nice how you have done the shoes closet there! The hall of family is very special! It is nice that you have a place both in your sim home and real life home where you place pictures of your family.
There are many great details and features in the home! It was great reading about each of the rooms. I won't write about them all, but it is very nice how you have brought your dream home to life through simform! It is a very nice home!
Splendid work my friend You are becoming a serious force to reckon with in your style and architecture Amazing replica of the picture and really wonderfully crafted. I LOVE IT and I think it's worthy of a nomination!
Wow! Fabulous new additions!
*S.H.I.E.L.D HQ - Love the architecture, especially with your hawk shape and the enlarged plane you placed, and your furnishing style you chose is very amazing! Already faved it and I do hope your husband loves it.
*Kibris Bahar - Love those shelves you used as dividers (not sure what is called), and even your customized pergola. I also like the way you added fountain jets in your pool, and I also like your furniture choices. Adding to my faves.
*An American McMansion - Love the roofing, Colonial feel, landscaping is very adorable, and your furniture choices are very great! Adding to my faves.
You're truly great at recreating realistic lots with @Chris2fer03, they reflect very well, and I gonna love them.
You've been busy! Think my favorites are Modern Kibris and S.H.I.E.L.D HQ.
Modern Kibris is quite interesting, the real home looks neat too! Great job on replicating it in TS4!
Your hubs has to be super happy with S.H.I.E.L.D HQ, very well executed in making the symbol persist through the three floors and furnishing the interior! It can be difficult to do when you're preserving the exterior shape.
Comments
You have designed the build very well and very creatively!
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/817478/hello-come-and-introduce-yourself
http://tinyurl.com/OneRoomOneWeek
http://tinyurl.com/rosemow
My Showcase thread https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/948861/rosemow-s-rooms-showcase
Lady DaKare
#LadyDaKare
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/809674/ladydakare-builds
He definitely liked it.
Lady DaKare
#LadyDaKare
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/809674/ladydakare-builds
Lady DaKare
#LadyDaKare
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/809674/ladydakare-builds
Lady DaKare
#LadyDaKare
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/809674/ladydakare-builds
@ReneVeronicaZIta comong from you, being told I have talent, highest compliment you can give me girl. XOXO
@SummerFalls I am so happy you enjoy my commentary on my builds. I've been wondering if it's worth it. Glad it is
@marcel21 Thank you so much for your kind compliment. I'm so glad you're enjoying my Builds.
@Chris2fer03 First I went to your showcase thread and saw how you responded and thanked everyone. Stole it! Thank you for your great compliments.
Lady DaKare
#LadyDaKare
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/809674/ladydakare-builds
V-eye Hee Sh-uuh is how it's pronounced...people seem 2 have troubles w/it ALL the time
& you're so welcome
(Cyprus Spring)
I love looking at architecture from around the world. Some of my favorites come from island nations such as Iceland, Madagascar, Philippines, Cyprus, and Crete. I'm drawn to these places because they are literally forced to deal with Mother Nature. They do not have the physical land space to handle large power plants. Yet, like the rest of the world, they want and need and use electricity, water, sewage, etc. So these island nations or states (Hawaii) have been at the forefront of Green Energy and recycling out of necessity.
Cyprus is a nation that has embraced this down to their parking lots (they have solar panels over parking spaces which can charge your electric car while you shop at the mall - seriously, 1st world countries, what's your excuse?) Not only has Cyprus including solar energy, but they use recycled building products in their new constructions, energy efficient, yet open and modern floor plans that take in the gorgeous views of the Mediterranean that surround this gorgeous nation.
As I often do, I take inspiration from real architecture. I only had the back angle of this build so the front and other side are my own creation while keeping with the inspiration style. The interior layout and interior designing are all my own creations. Below is my inspiration:
Following is my take in TS4:
Here is the overall floor plan for the house
First Floor
Second Floor
Main Entrance and Great Room
The house opens up immediately to an open floor plan with the living room to the right and dining and kitchen area to the left separated by an open glass staircase. The choice of colors in these spaces is purposeful. Orange and green are the colors of Cyprus's flag. I choose the art piece for the dining room because it incorporated the colors of the flag and was very modern, which is in keeping with the overall feel I wanted for this build. The color scheme on the wall was based on the stacked stone I brought in from outside. I wanted the walls to blend with it and give the feel of natural and organic while remaining modern.
The Kitchen
As most of my builds I do not know the floor plan, I create one based off the greater space. I almost always start with the kitchen. As I have mentioned in previous builds, this is because this space anchors the household. It is where Sims spend a vast amount of their time and in real life where we spend a lot of our time. I guess it should be called the food, family, communication, and entertainment room as those activities seem to center around the kitchen.
In keeping with the style of the build I wanted the kitchen to be crisp, modern, and clean but also have that organic feel that is common in the houses of Cyprus and other island homes. Hence the choice in cabinetry. Off the kitchen is a small 1/2 bath.
Did you see the teamaker?
The Master Suite
The Master Bedroom
Off the Dining Area is the Master Suite. This space was rather small for a master and I wanted to keep it open and bright. But what to do for a closet? I mean, the lady of the house HAS to have a place for all her SHOES! So I decided to make the wall against the kitchen the closet space and the closet doors be glass doors. Of course I used the Shoes Cheat to have my shoe racks because, well, I recycle the shoes - I wear them every season.
I choose the bed and space painting because they both look like Van Gogh's Starry Nights. I purposely chose the bed because there are some spectacular Starry Nights on Cyprus.
The Master Bath
This space was impossible to get a picture of but was designed to be modern and roomy in a very small space. I placed shades down low to allow in light through the windows up top while providing privacy for the Sims in the corner tub! WooHoo!
The 2nd Floor Landing
I wanted this space to be a mix space where Sims could practice their skills while still enjoying the amazing views out the big windows.
The Girls Room
I debated on whether or not to do a little girl's room or more a teenage girl's room. In the end I chose a tween or teenage girl's room because I wanted to stay with the more modern look that an older girl's room would provide. The bed I chose because it reminds me of my bedspread from when I was in college and I decorated the room around the bed. I chose the Cool Cat picture (that's what I call it) for this space because it just feels fun and young. Kind of a one step in girlhood and one step in womanhood. Not quite grown-up yet.
The Boys Room
Like the Girl's Room I debated whether or not to make the boy's room for a younger or older child. In the end I chose older because it allowed me to decorate the room in a more modern style and in keeping with the rest of the build. I chose the bed first and the room was decorated based off of the bed. I think I went through every color. I gave up and put up the shades and tackled the wall color again. That's when the brown seemed to work for this space and I chose the rug to anchor it.
The Jack and Jill Bathroom
My husband always teases me for using J&J bathrooms. This is in part because of the limitations of TS4 and the other part is due to the limitations of space in the build. As this is a smaller build the J&J bathroom was the obvious choice. I wanted this space to be young, hip, and modern while also having a strong organic feel to it. I wanted it to look like it was one with the nature outside the large windows. That's why I chose the wooden brown bathtub. I then chose the shower stall with the browned tiles and the room just was built around them. I kept with the brown theme throughout with a dash of brown tiles, the blinds low to give Sims privacy and thru the picture of the pears up to add a pop of color.
The Balcony
Based on the inspiration picture I discerned there was a balcony above the living area, but, I saw no entrance from the building on to it. So, I wrapped the balcony around and put the entrance on the other side. Added some planters and a few white benches (so not to take away from the build) and called it a day.
The Back Patio, Pool, and Garden Area
I spent a tremendous amount of time on this space and it's my favorite space in the whole build. Cyprus is an island and like many people living on islands in warm climates, a lot of time is spent living outside. I wanted this space to reflect that and give the Sims lots of reasons to be out in this space. In the inspiration picture, the pool came right up to the stairs from the back patio area. I tried to replicate that but, no, TS4 says no. I was so frustrated. I settled on bringing the pool up as close as I could to the stairs and put the pool stairs in. When play testing, this is where my Sims love to enter the pool the most! I was so tickled.
The trellis was created by using the outdoor decoration and enlarging it. I had to put in floors to place them, then removed the floors.
The garden space I wanted to be cool and relaxing. As this space gets shade and is tucked away, it was easy to incorporate that feeling. I added some seating, planters for our gardening Sims, and lights for a late night kiss on the bench under the stars.
Outside Views
This build was completely designed around the inspiration picture. As I mentioned earlier, I have no idea what the other sides of the build actually look like, so I had to design them myself while staying true to the feel of the build. I added solar panels on the top roof as a shout out to the people of Cyprus who have incorporated Green Living completely into every aspect of their lives and their nation.
The name of this build, Kibris Bahar, is Turkish for Cyprus Spring.
KIBRIS BAHAR
(Cyprus Spring)
Lady DaKare
#LadyDaKare
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/809674/ladydakare-builds
It is a very nice home
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/817478/hello-come-and-introduce-yourself
http://tinyurl.com/OneRoomOneWeek
http://tinyurl.com/rosemow
My Showcase thread https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/948861/rosemow-s-rooms-showcase
During the 1990's through the 2000's American builders have been building bigger and bigger and bigger. An average size house today is twice as large as the average house in the 1980's (3,000sq. ft. compared to 1,675sq. ft.) The term "McMansion" arose in the 1990's to describe these larger than large houses that were creeping up to the size of mansions, but, more affordable. Entire neighborhoods and subdivisions of "McMansions" dot the suburbs of US cities.
This is a bit of a joke and a laugh at all of us who bought these ridiculously large homes. But, before anyone gets upset, know....Yes, I want this house. *sighs with head down in mock shame* My preference would be to live inside the city, but, get this, I can't afford to. HAHAHA! *rolls eyes*
I had only the inspiration picture, which is my dream home, and the memories I have of the many McMansions I have been in. I have friends who own McMansions and have gone through many an open house. One day...one day. Thus this build is mostly my own but based of the inspiration picture and the interior floor plan and interior design are all my own creation with the exception of the Laundry Room.
This is my inspiration:
This is my take in TS4:
Following is the overall floorplan for this build. The third floor is purposefully left empty. It's a walk-up attic. I thought about putting stuff up there, but, I figured I'd leave something for all of you to decide to do with as you please.
First Floor
Second Floor
Third Floor
Main Entrance
I want to start with the outside for the main entrance as what you are greeted by is a grand staircase, large Grecian pillars, tall plantation windows and a door to die for. Before you even enter this house you know it's going to be spectacular on the inside and I did not want to disappoint. Thus, when you enter you are greeted with high ceilings, a long view thru the formal living room out the back windows, more Grecian pillars, statues, and MARBLE floors. Oh, yeah, this is my dream home folks...so, yup, marble.
Formal Dining Room
This space had to be exquisite. Though my home is not nearly as large as this one, I do have a sizable home and as such during the holidays the families usually camp out at our house. My dining room can only seat 8 comfortably, but, we manage to have up to 20 and we all have a good time. My dream dining room would be one that can seat 10-12 comfortably. And, since this is my dream home....I made it happen. The choice of painting was due to the colors and the frame. I enlarged it so it was the centerpiece artwork of the room. The vases on the table and draperies were chosen to compliment the room. The statues, well I want Grecian statues in my dining room. So Maxis, hurry up with that would you! The wetbar/waiter area to the left of the dining room is something I see a lot in these McMansions and I wanted to include it.
Formal Living Room
My own house is decorated with the living room in red and the dining room in blue. Kind of a yin/yang thing. In this build, I reversed the colorings because of the choices I made in the dining room. Thus the light blue hue dominates the decor of this space. I specifically chose light blue because it reminds me of the color of the ocean and sky and I wanted that serene feeling in this otherwise very formal space. The sitting area with the plants in the middle...I needed to break up the space visually and wanted to give a bit more definition to this room. Choice of paintings was due to color and frames, especially the one over the white table. Because these ceilings are so ridiculously high (I love it) I needed to fill the space above the bookshelves. I enlarged the urns and put some plants up there, because that's exactly how I would decorate the space. Plants always make a space look fresh and gives natural beauty.
The puppy dog statues....those are for my beagles Ginny and Winston.
Kitchen and Great Room
When I start laying out the interior of a build that I do not have a floor plan of, I nearly always start with the kitchen. This is also the room I start with for interior decorating. I have mentioned this before in previous posts and I do it because I feel it anchors the house. It is where our Sims spend a great deal of time and where we in real life spend time with family and friends. This build was no different. I began with mapping out the kitchen counters. It was so big I had room to add a pantry and a huge bar. This gave me the ability to round out the island ends. I was playing with columns and decided to put them on the ends of the island and just loved it. It gave definition to the space, accented the height of the ceilings, and then when I put the lights in gave a real cool effect. I love how the lights look like they are part of the column and how they add a design to the ceiling around the column.
Because the cabinetry I chose had the tall cabinets with glass doors and display of dishes I knew I wanted to use those to showcase the family's fine china, especially since it wasn't being displayed in the Dining Room. Well my dream home would have a desk in the kitchen area so I can multi-task. I can cook, watch the news, and play TS4 - I mean work. The cabinets became the end units for the pseudo desk I made. I know the desk area doesn't work in play, but, it does in real life! To play, I pulled out the desk and put the computer on the desk and it works fine, but, to showcase the house I left it unplayable.
In this space is a large sectional sofa and table for casual dining. This again would be my dream. While I'm cooking I can listen to the news, feed the dogs, pull my husband off the computer and get him to set the table for dinner, and probably have laundry running too. Then we can sit down for dinner, unplug, tv off before a bay of windows and enjoy each others company.
Did you see my teamaker?
Laundry Room, Bathroom, MudRoom, Garage
Wasn't able to get a picture of my laundry room but this is @LynnLynn69 Laundry Room. I just enlarged it, added a few things, moved a few objects, and finagled it to fit this space.
There is a 1/2 bath in this area and a mudroom coming in from the garage where Sims can drop off their muddy shoes and snowy jackets. The garage is a 3 car garage, like any self respecting McMansion would have, but I only put 2 cars in so there could be space for the workbench for the Sims who like to be handy.
Master en Suite
Master Bedroom
This is a HUGE Master Bedroom, just the way I like it. I even added a fireplace for ambiance and romantic evenings when you and your loved one don't quite make it to the bed.
This room was designed around the choice of bed. I chose this bed because I love the filigree bedspread and the bit of white color on the frame that contrasts against the black so well. I kept the furniture colors in line with the bed. White upholstery with black wood trim. I chose the wall color because it complemented the bedspread, but, added the panelling between the two columns to better showcase the bed. Also why I chose a mirror backdrop. To top it off I needed color. Well TS4 gives me 2 choices, red or blue. The red pops better. And, being that Valentine's Day is coming up and this is a room I would love...red. Hence the choice in pictures. They match. Plus I love music.
Master Bathroom
This room had to be grand and I centered it around the jacuzzi tub. I tried enlarging it but the Sims couldn't use it. I went back and added plants and towel chairs to help give it that spa feeling. I created not only separate sink areas but also separate water closets for him and her. Why? Because my husband and I get ready at the same time in the morning. It would be so much easier to have two showers in the same bathroom then one of us having to go to the other bathroom every morning.
I placed footstool type seating in the middle of the room with a planter of flowers in the middle to add color and break up the space. Otherwise it was just a big space. Also, it's practical for getting dressed in the morning. Sit down and tie your shoes or put on your panty hose.
Because of my husband's and my morning shenanigans inspired this room so much, I chose to use the blue palette throughout. Blue is my husband's favorite color.
Master Closet
My FAVORITE space in this entire build! Can you guess why?
Thanks to @sherryd0 I have more shoes then ever before! Sherry was kind enough to share her cheat of how to stack things up the wall and I saw it in her room Closet and became madly in love. Unfortunately TS4 gives me grief and I can never get her room to place. But this closet is a serious Shout Out to Sherry, a girl after my own heart.
I went with the black cabinetry because it looks so sexy. I put in tall windows to give the illusion of sliding doors - gotta keep the dust off my shoes! There's a table to put make-up on and get ready. I know it's in the Master Bath, but, folks this is my dream closet.
Because the cabinetry is so dark I needed bright light walls. I chose the pink because of the middle carpet. The single carpet looked too small so I added three. When I made the middle carpet pink I knew the wall color. The painting on the far wall I chose because there are no windows in this room and I wanted something sunny and bright. Sunflowers = Sun right?
Office
This space was designed very intentionally and specifically for my husband. My husband hates having his back to the door when he's working and he likes to spread out. I seriously don't understand the latter as everything he does is on computers, so why the need for all the desk space. Oh, I know....all his Star Wars and other geek stuff. If this was really my husband's office, the bookshelves would be full of comics, Marvel's super hero statues and Star Wars statues, plates, and God knows all the other kick knacks he has collected. The pictures I chose are from the new careers update and they remind me of my husband's Marvel hero's original artwork by some famous geeky artist that he's had framed and matted and hung with tremendous pride. *rolls eyes*
Second Floor Landing
In my inspiration picture there is a large window above the front door and there are doors from the front rooms that lead out onto the front balcony. Because TS4 does not have tall plantation like doors to match the windows or separate shutters, I couldn't achieve that look. Thus the change to put the door in the middle and continue with the look of large plantation windows. I actually like this design better as it gives everyone access to the front balcony from the 2nd Floor Landing. I also think it makes the landing a room of its own. That is why I decorated it like a formal sitting room showcasing fancy paintings and elaborate rugs.
Girl's Room
This room was designed for a young girl to tween. I wanted it to be young and fun but not overly girly, hence not all pink. Yet I did still want it to be an obvious little girl's room with the cute bunnies and unicorns everywhere. When my Sims girl grows up, she can redecorate the room to a typical, messy teen room. Until then, it's a sweet girl's room.
Girl's Bathroom
I wanted this bathroom to be modern yet feminine. After having done the Master Closet in black and pink and really liking the way those colors worked I decided it would look well in the girl's bathroom as well. The all black tiles just made the room to hard. That's why I chose the pool tiles. They give a "shimmer" look to the tiles and are brighter.
Boy's Room
Everytime I make a boy's room I think of my brother's room growing up. Transformers, legos, airplane models, ship models, dinosaurs, and stuffed animals. Not to mention his clothes everywhere! I will never forget the day my mother freaked out because he had clothes hanging from his ceiling light. Boys - need I say more.
Boy's Bathroom
The Boy's Bathroom is very small and I wanted to keep it as bright as possible while giving it a masculine feel. I took my inspiration off of the Girl's Bathroom but without the pink accent walls.
Second Master en Suite
Second Master Bedroom
I find this room so elegant. The grey and white bed with the grey and white walls looks so stately to me. It was the walls that first inspired this room and I was pleased the bed went so well with it. But what to do for color? Initially I was thinking of doing white/grey but TS4 is still limited in our choices of curtains and the white and grey curtains were just clashing with the walls. It also made the room very dreary. I chose the bright pink/raspberry color because of how well it played off the grey. Once I chose the curtains the rug choices were made and I think really accent the space beautifully. I thought about doing the sitting area furniture in white but it really took away from the romantic feel of the room. I was disappointed that I couldn't get the raspberry upholstery with white wood furniture, but, I still think it works really well in this room. I struggled with the paintings in this room and I ended up choosing one picture, which I used repeatedly, because of the frame. I can't wait for design tools to come back!
The pig....looks like a little Pug. Thought it was cute and I like little whimsy even in very formal rooms. Makes people smile.
Second Master Bathroom
Another bathroom in blue with white tiles. After creating the Second Master Bedroom I wanted the bathroom to be an opposite color. Blues are the easiest to work with in TS4 which is why I chose to use it in this space. I created another seating area in to sit on to tie shoes or put on panty hose in this bathroom too. When I first was test playing this my Sim didn't want to walk around to get to the water closet, but, finally did. Lazy Sim.
Hall of Family
In my house growing up and the house I have now we have a what we call a Wall of Family. It is a wall full of family pictures and silly momentos. My dream home would have a Hall of Family.
Art Room
At the end of the Hall of Family is the Art Room. Initially I had this space and the adjoining Exercise Room as one. I decided to split it up because all I could think of is how uncomfortable it would be to smell a sweating Sim working out while trying to paint. Talk about a Picasso! I also thought, how unpleasant it would be for the Sim working out to smell paint and paint thinner. Yuck.
I put all the painting tools in this room. I placed the drawings on the wall like my brother would hang his posters up as a kid....ALL over the place. I placed a chair in the room because I imagine people watching the artist draw or resting after posing for a drawing. The rug I chose matched the curtains and was funky and since artist are pretty funky people...
Exercise Room
I personally hate working out. It bores me. However, my husband and I are ballroom dancers. If this was our house the Art Room and Exercise Room would be one big dance floor with mirrors on all 4 walls! Granted, Sims can dance too, but they don't get the fitness aspect from it that my husband and I get in real life. Thus, for the Sims I put in all the exercise equipment. Maxis gives us few choices here. The color choices are literally 4: red, blue, yellow, green. Snooze.
I wanted to mix up the colors some in this space. Doing all red or all green looked typical and boring. I changed the treadmill to blue and I liked the difference. I put down the workout rugs in all red, but it was too much red. My husband, I should have thought of it myself, says "Well change the carpet under the red equipment blue". Perfect. I enlarged the exercise paintings to fit the space and added a stereo system and the towels and hamper. That left the opposite wall and it took me hours to figure out what to do here. I actually worked on everything else and came back to this even after playtesting cause I just couldn't figure out what to do.
My husband suggested trophies like we have from dancing. We would showcase them wouldn't we? BINGO!
Entertainment Room and Second Kitchen
When I was doing the initial layout for this build I knew I wanted this space to be an entertainment room with a bar area. I love how it opens up to the back balcony area and the open stairs up to the attic space. Initially I had the Second Kitchen area walled off and it was going to be a large closet. However, when I was doing the interior design I couldn't figure out a good place to put the bar area. Thus, I removed the wall and it provided the perfect space for the bar. But, it left me with a huge area to fill and even with the largest bar it seemed empty, incomplete. Thus the birth of the Second Kitchen. This actually would be heaven for me in real life. I could serve up a heck of a Puppy Bowl Party in here!
And that's why the picture of the Cool Cat and the Gnomes. They are a Shout Out to the Puppy Bowl and Kitty Half Time! Super Bowl is so boring but the Puppy Bowl rocks!
Back Balcony
First, a note to Maxis. We need spiral staircases.
The only access to the space is through the Entertainment Room. This is because placing stairs either messed with the downstairs windows or columns. Either way, just was destroying the look of the build so I opted out. When Maxis brings back spiral staircases; I know exactly the first thing I'm going to do with them.
Back Patio
This is a large space to sit and enjoy the fine weather and cool breezes. I placed an eating area and a bbq on the deck, but, opted out of the full outside kitchen. I did this because to create it on the back deck obstructed the windows or columns and I didn't want to take away from the look. If this were my dream house it might have an outdoor kitchen with a bar, but, I would probably have it as a separate "building" down by the pool. Ultimately I chose to keep with the look of the build.
Pool Area
My ideal home would have an in-ground pool with a jacuzzi tub. Maxis - another note - bring back spas! I landscaped the area with bright flowers and shrubbery with rock trim and lighted pathways. The flowers in my dream home would be Calla Lillies, my favorite. At night this space is very romantic and I can imagine having some "fun" with my husband as we gaze up at the stars at night.
Play Area
I made this build with young children in mind when I designed the Girl's and Boy's rooms, so of course I had to have a play area out back for them. After all, they need to unplug and get outside and get dirty, break some bones, throw sticks, and run that energy right out of those little bodies! Since with this entire build I went all out, I wanted to continue that all the way through every aspect, and that including this area. I made a mock sea and dock to get aboard the boat. The monkey bars needed to have a soft landing. Sand is soft and sandy beaches go with the ship at sea. I kept the landscaping in this area fairly simple because I imagine kids throwing balls and running into the bushes and flowers after them. Or maybe burying something in the flower garden. GGGRRRRR.
Put the outside trash cans in this area because no self respecting McMansion owner would keep them out for all to see!
Outside Views
As I stated originally, I only had the outside of my inspiration picture to work from. The back and interior floor plan and interior design are all my own creations with the exception of the laundry room. As this is my dream home it needed to have the curb appeal and exterior finish to match the grand scale of the architecture. I initially had the exterior in brick but it not only did not look like my inspiration, it didn't look like the exterior finish I would want. The exterior panelling I desire is a recycled cement panelling and is extremely energy efficient, easy to maintain and clean, and comes in very rich colors and textures. I went with the brown siding because it does look like the inspiration picture, much to my husband's disappointment. You guessed it, he wanted blue.
AN AMERICAN McMANSION
Lady DaKare
#LadyDaKare
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/809674/ladydakare-builds
HAHAHAHA Cerry the Girl's room is ALL yours!
Lady DaKare
#LadyDaKare
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/809674/ladydakare-builds
Thank you so much Vihisha. Glad you're enjoying it!
Lady DaKare
#LadyDaKare
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/809674/ladydakare-builds
Lady DaKare
#LadyDaKare
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/809674/ladydakare-builds
Yeah the kitchen was fun and the effect the lights gave to the pillars on the ceiling I just love. I've got it in my notes for my dream house!
Lady DaKare
#LadyDaKare
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/809674/ladydakare-builds
Link to Showcase
Link to Gallery
Origin id: avnewton
There are many great details and features in the home! It was great reading about each of the rooms. I won't write about them all, but it is very nice how you have brought your dream home to life through simform! It is a very nice home!
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/817478/hello-come-and-introduce-yourself
http://tinyurl.com/OneRoomOneWeek
http://tinyurl.com/rosemow
My Showcase thread https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/948861/rosemow-s-rooms-showcase
*S.H.I.E.L.D HQ - Love the architecture, especially with your hawk shape and the enlarged plane you placed, and your furnishing style you chose is very amazing! Already faved it and I do hope your husband loves it.
*Kibris Bahar - Love those shelves you used as dividers (not sure what is called), and even your customized pergola. I also like the way you added fountain jets in your pool, and I also like your furniture choices. Adding to my faves.
*An American McMansion - Love the roofing, Colonial feel, landscaping is very adorable, and your furniture choices are very great! Adding to my faves.
You're truly great at recreating realistic lots with @Chris2fer03, they reflect very well, and I gonna love them.
Modern Kibris is quite interesting, the real home looks neat too! Great job on replicating it in TS4!
Your hubs has to be super happy with S.H.I.E.L.D HQ, very well executed in making the symbol persist through the three floors and furnishing the interior! It can be difficult to do when you're preserving the exterior shape.