Tips for Struggling Builder?

IgneousGelding

Okay. So, I've got a very simple yet obviously not simple problem. I have a lot of trouble with interior floor plans for any lot type. Everything just gets too overwhelming and I don't know where to start. Do any of you guys have any tips? They're much appreciated. I've been struggling with this one lot for hours.

EDIT: Any other types of tips regarding building are also appreciated.

LadyEmillye

You could follow a floor plan, search one up and scale it to fit or, this is something I do: I take one point of the open room and focus on one room and how I want to lay it out. Open concept Kitchen and dining room, or open concept floor. Section them off with different things. Place the stairs first and then build the rooms on the floor based on its position.

By working on one room at a time the floor plan will come together. Other option is to decide what you want on the floor and section each off with the wall tool. There is no right or wrong.

IgneousGelding

@LadyEmillye Thank you for responding! When I get back on I'll try to focus it in a bit more per room, because right now it's an ungodly mess.

Uzone27

What is your budget? What are your objectives and priorities? Are you building for function or aesthetics?
What are your plans for the houshold and will the household have babies or children?
What are the interests and occupations of the Sims who will reside there?

Knowing these things in advance will determine how many rooms will be needed, what floor they should be on and what objects will be needed in the future.

In general you should probably plan around the largest objects as soon as possible.
Stairwells in particular are best placed as early as possible, but if you plan on having pools, gardens or other large objects outside you need to reserve space for them early, as these will impact the size of the footprint.

The majority of my floorplans are budget plans designed for maximum efficiency.
As a result I use as few walls as possible and keep everything on one level to start.

lunapball32

Pretty much what @LadyEmillye said. I would find floor plans that I liked and use them as a guideline. A lot of builders out there seem to be able to building an entire shell, then divide the rooms and decorate from there. I always seem to do this backwards.

I start with just the walls of the front of my house, then I put the main furniture in for my living room and figure out how I'm going to connect that to the next room. Then I'll place my dining table and chairs and figure out how much room I'm going to want around that and build the surrounding exterior wall and then the kitchen cabinets etc. Then I look at the shape as a whole and decide if it's too boxey then I'll just move the entire bathroom out a space or something.

Sims VIP has a great guide https://simsvip.com/2015/08/03/out-of-the-box-building-for-beginners-in-the-sims-4-shape-and-proportion/

Xinqun

I usually start by doodling on pieces of paper during boring meetings. (I tell people I have two hobbies in life: counting money and drawing rectangles.) It helps give an idea of what should go where and how the spaces all fit together.

reanseih

I always just go straight in, figure out ONE area I know absolutely what I want, and piece together the rest. Or just play with it randomly by drawing out rooms or pillars until I find something that makes me FEEL.

A few ideas to get started with:
Decide what you want to do with the foyer.
Find a wall that isn't straight, like has a nook or something, and decide what to do with it.
Find a corner of the house (if your house isn't a complete square and has nooks), and draw a wall from that corner.
Find where you want the stairs to go.
Find where you want the windows to go.
Place a sofa somewhere, and build the living room around it, and afterwards the whole house.

It's just how I do it, I never look at references lol. I also never have a plan on what I want to do before diving in, and never sketch anything out. xD;;;; There's pros and there's cons tho, as it is definitely harder to get a nice flow if you don't know what you want to do.

So another tip is to know how you want to navigate through a house. Like, do you want to walk into the dining room first? The living room? The kitchen? On which floor do you want your living area to be? I always like to first decide which area / floor/ side of the house I want to be public, and which is where I want my family space to be. Privacy is always nice, it's something I've been hearing my aunt rant about for the last 15 years on how she hates having stairs lead straight down to the front door and how there's no privacy lol.

And there's that too. Ever hear your parents / spouse / children complain about how IF ONLY a house could be? I like to keep that in mind as I work on builds, although this isn't absolute.

Another thing you might want to decide early on is the theme of the house. A feature the whole house revolves around. Like, I have a house that has absolutely no doors other than bedrooms and bathrooms, and everything is supported by a 1x1 room I treat as a pillar. Or another I decided I want everything off the ground, and build an elevated house. Or if you want a section you could possibly rent out with an individual entrance. Or if the star of the house is playable attics. Just something, anything. Build around it.

Layouts aren't final, neither is the exterior looks. Just go with something, and tweak the rest of the build to fit. It's essentially like a giant puzzle, eventually everything will tie together nicely... or it won't and it's time to hit the bulldoze button lmao!

IgneousGelding

Ahh! Thank you guys! These tips are fantastic. @reanseih I'm really enjoying how much you typed up. There are a lot of good 'strategies' in there that I am totally stealing.

rosemow

Hello
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

IgneousGelding

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for taking the time to compile all those links! I can't tell you much I appreciate it, @rosemow .

rosemow

You're welcome

KojiK

Your not the only one that struggles when building without a guide or floor plan trying hard not to end with a white box. I fund useful the SimsVip Building guide https://simsvip.com/the-sims-4-building-guide/ also there are so many tutorials in youtube that have helped me to become a better builder, and the best tip I've received was from @fidlerten who is a great builder "find some lots that you are really impressed with that don't have CC and download them, study them and learn from it..." I really hope you overcome that feeling and Im sure you'll become a great builder. Good Luck!

TheDismalSimmer

Here are a few habits I have when it comes to building:

• Build the main doorway first. I feel this is a natural place to start, and it determines a few critical details such as wall height, your Sim's entrance place, etc. Plus you can pretty much design your house around it once you do. It's also very easy. Just make a 3 x 3 room, and then drag one of the walls to create the main hallway. Once you do this, you have your house's backbone and the rest of the rooms will fall into place.
• Follow the golden ratio. On a 30 x 20 lot (with the side length of 20 facing the front), this is roughly a 2 story house assuming medium wall height. Also follow the rule of thirds. 1/3 of the lot is the front yard, 1/3 is the house, 1/3 is the backyard. Of course, this is just a starting point and you can resize accordingly from this point.
• Neutral colors and contrast are your friends.

Basically, these three rules help you start the house and get the general shape / framework down.

The next steps really depend on if you want to do more modern or traditional builds. I can give you a few general tips but it ultimately comes down to your building style.

For modern houses

• Always use at least medium wall height, at least for the ground floor. This hugely expands your options for window designs.
• Use a combination of horizontal and vertical lines. A lot of modern designs tend to use angular shapes. So use this to your advantage and include visual cues to keep the eye moving around the house.
• Neutral colors and contrast are your friends.

For more "suburbany" houses

• Staggered gables are your bread and butter. Gables also look great as the main roof section on smaller houses, but on larger houses I find that hipped roofs help give houses a nice stately look.
• Put some effort into front yard landscaping. Curb appeal counts for a whole lot on the gallery.
• Neutral colors and contrast are your friends.

fidlerten

Thank you @KojiK for such flattering words.

To be honest with you, I think we all struggle with building, no matter what level you are as a builder. The house I'm currently working on, I bulldozed the lot two times before finally settling on a floor plan. I never use pre-made floor plans. Sometimes I have an idea I want to use about the floor plan but I never copy one. To add on to what KojiK said, sometimes I see a house on TV or on the internet, or just driving around that I'm impressed with the architecture and then I try to remember it when I go to build something again and see if I can add some of the aspects of that build to my new WIP.

Roofing is to me the hardest part of building. You can get as crazy as you want when it comes to putting up walls but after the walls are up, you then got to put a roof on it and you don't want it to look too weird. Learning how to use the different types of roofs available is an important factor in becoming an excellent builder. If your roofs are messed up, it's probably not going to work out right for the finished product.

Lastly, just remember this: There is not one builder here that started off making great houses from the very beginning. There is always a learning curve and any of us can go back a ways to earlier builds and see just how much we have improved. As time progresses and if you continue to build and learn from others, eventually your work will shine and you will become accomplished. I started off in TS2 building huge boxes, taking up almost all the space on a lot because I felt I needed all that space for my sims. They were monstrosities and I'd be totally embarrassed to show one off right now, that is if I still had pictures of one. But, we've all been there to some extent and we all grow. Always be willing to listen to constructive criticism and you'll be fine.

Oh, one other thing that has helped me is to consistently pretend I'm going to upload a lot by hitting the button to upload it and take a look at the cover photo to see how it's looking from that perspective, that is until I'm done with the architecture and landscaping. Then you won't have regrets later when it comes time to finally upload it to your library and then the Gallery.

SimCrazed25

Building can be so overwhelming. But I adore it. The NUMBER ONE reason building is frustrating at times is because I get intimidated by doing the actual floor plan. What am I talking about? Well, it takes me no time really to build a nice-looking "shell". I do the outside of my house 1st. But once its time to figure out where rooms go, it gets tough. I also cant stand the way that some walls are permanently cut-away with the walls not fully up. It makes decorating weird for me.

Im going to read all of the tips here on this thread. Sounds like some good advice is here :)

SimCrazed25

Thank you ALL, so much for sharing these wonderful tips! Because Im a learning builder and we need these very much. Bookmarking this thread now .

fidlerten

@SimCrazed25, you do realize that you can put all the walls up by simply clicking a button that's at the top, to the right. There's what looks like a box with one of the sides down that represents a room. You click it once and all your walls will be up, click it another time and all the walls will be down, and again, they go back to being cut away from the side you're looking at them from. Perhaps that will make it easier for you in building. I always click it at first because when any lot first comes up after loading it, it always has the walls cut away, and that brings the walls fully up.

The cut-way walls are, or should be, mostly for game play so that you don't always have to be looking down into the house to see what your sims are doing. I don't know why they have it be the default at the first load of Build Mode in a lot.

Welshy

Draw out floors for the rooms you want on the ground before you put any walls up to see how it'll shape out