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where do you get the ideas for creating your houses
brendhan21
Posts: 3,427 Member
So I keep seeing people who build houses and usually they are way better then mine. (honestly mine are usually not that great) anyways i am curious where you guys get the ideas to be able build your houses cuz I would really love to build more creative houses but I feel like i cant.
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Also, google floor plans. I find really nice ideas there.
Don't be afraid to post pics of your builds. Even if you think they are no good, I bet they are, and you'll get constructive criticism that can be helpful.
-use a house plan. Personally I browse houseplans.com
-select your colour palette before you start decorating. Too much colour in one space doesn't tend to look so good.
Course, that's just me.
But it means I start off with a family/household in mind (am I building for a single Sim, a flat of varied young adults, a family) and I find a plan that I like to suit their needs.
believe it or not i tired showing off one of my houses ( i am proud off but was told sucked) on here and yeah its like no one really gave any good advice other then its not good,its boring and not at all a nice house and yeah it made me discouraged i can try to see if i can get a link to my house though maybe you can tell me what you think
Awww, well those people are jerk faces then.
If you think it's boring, try different roof styles. Try pulling out rooms so the building isn't just a square. Play with different sidings, not all walls have to be the same.
I'd love to see your build!
The inside looks good, but very spacey. When I build a room, I place furniture as I go along. It helps me plan out the shape and size of the room I am looking for. Too much space causes Sims to take a very long time to travel.
This is a very good start! Go ahead and play around with it. Change windows, change roof color, add flower boxes and outside decorations. I'll change things several times before I pick something I like. Have fun with it.
Edit: @brendhan21 Would you mind if I downloaded it and messed around with it a little? It's been forever since I've been in the game, so it will be a while for it to update and everything. I can post pics when I finish.
This is a link to a helpful builders guide by Ruthless KK.
http://simsvip.com/2014/10/30/now-available-sims-4-building-guide/
These links may help.
Sims 4 Building Basics :
build mode guide for beautiful homes
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/tutorials/building/
Stairs and basements
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/tutorials/building/stairs-basements.php
Using building cheats
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/tutorials/building/cheats.php
Roofs
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/tutorials/building/roofs.php
Decorating (indoors)
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/tutorials/building/decorating-inside.php
Decorating (landscaping )
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/tutorials/building/decorating-landscaping.php
Split levels and lofts
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/tutorials/building/split-levels-lofts.php
Cabinets and Islands
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/tutorials/building/counters-islands.php
SIMSVIP : OUT OF THE BOX : BUILDING FOR BEGINNERS IN THE SIMS 4
Out of the Box: Building for Beginners in The Sims 4 (Shape and Proportion)
http://simsvip.com/2015/08/03/out-of-the-box-building-for-beginners-in-the-sims-4-shape-and-proportion/
Out of the Box: Building for Beginners in The Sims 4 (Exterior Color and Texture )
http://simsvip.com/2015/08/09/out-of-the-box-building-for-beginners-in-the-sims-4-exterior-colors/#more-55640
Out of the Box: Building for Beginners in The Sims 4 (Wall Details)
http://simsvip.com/2015/08/26/out-of-the-box-building-for-beginners-in-the-sims-4-exterior-wall-details/
Out of the Box: Building for Beginners in The Sims 4 (Decks,Floors,Decor)
http://simsvip.com/2015/08/31/out-of-the-box-building-for-beginners-in-the-sims-4-decks-floors-and-decor/
Out of the Box: Building for Beginners in The Sims 4 ( Landscaping)
http://simsvip.com/2015/09/08/out-of-the-box-building-for-beginners-in-the-sims-4-landscaping/
Out of the Box: Building for Beginners in The Sims 4 (Trying Different Styles)
http://simsvip.com/2015/09/14/out-of-the-box-bu
These are just some guides that may help you
Your home on the Gallery looks very nice!
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
I changed the roof height, windows, siding, and added landscaping. I did not change the shape of the house at all:
It is still a bit overwhelming with all the windows. I would make the rooms inside much smaller to cut down on all the dead space. But, does that help at all with ideas?
Step 1: Make big box
Step 2: Make slightly smaller box, attach off to the side of big box.
Step 3: Make even smaller box, stick it somewhere that feels too empty.
Step 4: Add details like windows, doors etc. Cross gable roofs are easy to do and look great.
Step 5: Paint it neutral colors if I'm looking to do a modern build, or "warmer" colors if I am doing a traditional build. Add stone / brick accents on the frontal side.
Most importantly, don't over think it and have fun! A lot of times a simple design works the best. Sure, all those fancy french balconies or turrets are nice, but what's really important is that your house looks proportional.
Also remember, the golden ratio is your friend (1:1618). This applies to things such as length to width ratios, or relative size of those boxes, etc. You can also sort of apply the same rule to the relative sizes of the front and back yards, so you have an idea on where to position your house on the lot.
An easy rule of thumb I follow is to make the house fit on half or ~60% of the lot, and leave the rest to yards and landscaping.
I'm not a brilliant builder and I remember when I first started I used to make my houses square and plain and just plonk a roof on. I have gotten lots more ideas from people on here, and also from downloading other houses and having an in-depth look at how other people do things.
Landscaping and decor can make a huge difference and I concentrate on those things far more now than I ever used to.
1. Accept that most Sim players are not architects. James from Sim Supply, for example, is not an architect. If he can build a nice house, then with enough practice, you can make a nice house. Have fun
2. Know the basics of building an interesting house. That is, if all your houses are boxed shape, then....simply, don't make a box. Add stuff to it. Make it unboxy. Also, houses tend to have entrances. Add a porch, add fences, etc. Try to keep it to a theme. Pay attention to how your fences look, how your windows look, how your doors look. Then you can plan how to use them to all fit together in a house. Feel free to browse the gallery and take notes on how people's houses look and what makes them look interesting and cool to you.
3. Learn how to do landscaping. In general, here's what you want: a few neutral colored plants, a few colorful plants to accent your lot, and add varying heights to your build. You want to make sure the neutral colored plants as your primary plants to place everywhere, with the few colorful plants to spruce up here and there, but not to spam it everywhere so it won't overwhelm. With the varying heights, you want the taller plants to be next to the corner of the outside of the house or maybe hugging around the tree. The varying heights will help make your landscaping look dynamic and interesting, and bring life to your house.
4. As a beginner, you should start small. Do small houses and focus on the details. Maybe try focusing on making starter homes (homes that are under $20,000 including the lot). Bigger builds tend to take a really long time and might end up looking rectangular. You want to try avoid boring rectangular.
5. Think about builds. Try to think of things you want to build, think of how houses look realistic. For example, think about the bottom supporting the top parts. You don't want a low height wall on the bottom with a high height wall at the top. Its kinda weird? Idk, maybe its just me lol. Basically, what I am saying, is to look at it and think "oh, this doesn't look balanced" or "the roofs overwhelm the walls, maybe I should make the walls taller". If the roofs seem overwhelming, you can break it apart, for example, build a room to cut through the roof.
6. Remember to test our your build to make sure everything works fine and press upload, even if you're not finished, to check if the build looks nice in the screenshots.
Alright, time to show some examples, I suppose
So, here is a very boring layout. In fact, who the heck knows what some of these rooms are meant for lol. It does, however, checks a lot of the list: entrance, starts out boxy, and adds rooms next to it. When making a house, think about the things you need in the house. For example: you want a bedroom (likely medium size room), a living room (likely the largest room), a kitchen (this can be part of the living room), a bathroom (likely a small room), etc. The study room isn't exactly necessary, but that can be added in either the living room or bedroom, or as a separate room. Press the key "T" for an overhead look and decide if you like the layout.
Fool around, make rooms, go crazy. Always keep in mind, don't make it a boring rectangular/square shape house. You could always look up floor plans, but this is The Sims. You can make crazy stuff and still look nice. A reminder that having boxy rooms doesn't mean it is a completely boxy house.
So, here's an example of landscaping. These shrubs, I'm not too sure about...Anyways, remember to always use the terrain paint so the plants looks like it grew there instead of being artificially there. I would recommend using the cheat "bb.moveobjects on" so you can move the plants closer together. This makes it look better and more realistic.
Last tip. Take critiques from other people, but if all they say is negative things without being constructive, just disregard their comments.
These are just general steps to get you started. Roofing will take a lot of time and practice and would be much harder to describe. Interior design is part of step 2 (keeping to a theme, although rooms don't have to keep to the house theme, but it should keep to the room theme at the least). Making a story about your house can really help. If you imagine a hoarder family, put a ton of clutter in the house. If you think the family is old fashion, you might want to look up Victorian housing as an example. Victorian houses could be hard to make though because they can be pretty complex. You could start with contemporary houses as they normally have flat roofing. They are modern, very sleek, and look pretty awesome imo.
I hope these tips helped
Feel free to check out my builds on the gallery- I don't have many on there but my name is the same on there! And just remember, building takes practice! You'll eventually get to a point where you can be confident in the builds you make. Let me know if I can be in any other assistance to you, I'm always happy to help
Four Seasons Properties
Building was hard for me in the beginning. Playing the sims 2 helped me enjoy it more. Sims 3 had so much that i became terrible at it again. The sims 4 is similar to the sims 2 to me with build mode so now I'm back to liking it again.
I so wish I could install the sims 3 again because now I feel confident to be able to build a decent house. I feel the sims 3 build mode was for professionals lol
Wherever I am friends call me Betty
Sim enim est vita
I really wish they had more roof options though, and it bugs me that the apex roofs have a different edge finish than the hipped roofs, so it makes it difficult to combine them on one building - the one sort hangs over the edge of the wall nicely and the other doesn't.