Landscaping «12...Next Go

Mariefoxprice83

Here's a question for those of you who like building. How do you plan out your outside space? I never really know how to make gardens so most of the time I place outdoor objects and a couple of trees and leave it at that. Having said that, I'm envious of anyone who knows how to create pretty outdoor spaces and would like to have a better idea of how to do this myself.

Cavapoo_King

I leave the landscaping blank

haneul

I think many plan the outside like they plan the inside and roughly sketch it out beforehand if there's a lot to it. I would look at pictures of gardens if I were unsure of what to do.

Mariefoxprice83

I never use floor plans for houses but that's a good idea.

x4m1r4

I would say, it depends on the type of the houses; modern, traditional, hunted, alien, spell caster, vampire, etc.

I'm not saying that my way is the best, but, what I did is,

1. I place the tree first
2. Then followed by the flowers/bushes that I want, either around the house or just below the windows, or even along the pathway. Play with the height & colours.
3. You can also add in the little wildflowers under your trees to make it looks nicer
4. Then use the terrain paint under the trees, bushes, & the flowers.

Mariefoxprice83

How do you decide where to place the foliage though? How about setting up patios and things like that?

x4m1r4

Mariefoxprice83 wrote: »

How do you decide where to place the foliage though? How about setting up patios and things like that?

I usually place the foliage at every corner of the house, then start placing the rest, if I feel that it needs more. Else, I just place them on the pathway like what I did here,

And here is what I meant by placing the wildflowers under the tree.

I mostly have patio at the back of the house which either lead to a pool, garden, or BBQ space. Or you can make a little gazebo either at front or at the back too.

Camkat

I'm not really great with the outdoor spaces either. What I do though, that I think helps me, is I look at the background in the neighbourhood around me. I see what plants they used in the set dressing around the lot I'm building and I try to use things that blend in with that, if not exactly the same plants in some cases (for a more wild area). If nothing else though, it helps to inspire me .

BoergeAarg61

Mariefoxprice83 wrote: »

Here's a question for those of you who like building. How do you plan out your outside space?

I don't really like building, but buy or find seeds for gardening. Perhaps you could add some bags of seeds outside for the new owners to open.

When playing, fruits and vegetables can be bought at stalls from City Living and Living Island, found at vacation worlds from Outdoor Retreat and Jungle Advanture or even from households whose gnomes spawned seed packages with Seasons. Seeds can be bought at the pc or cell phone, too.

Still with City Living, some seeds might be harvested at the spice festival including cow berries.

Mariefoxprice83

BoergeAarg61 wrote: »

Mariefoxprice83 wrote: »

Here's a question for those of you who like building. How do you plan out your outside space?

I don't really like building, but buy or find seeds for gardening. Perhaps you could add some bags of seeds outside for the new owners to open.

When playing, fruits and vegetables can be bought at stalls from City Living and Living Island, found at vacation worlds from Outdoor Retreat and Jungle Advanture or even from households whose gnomes spawned seed packages with Seasons. Seeds can be bought at the pc or cell phone, too.

Still with City Living, some seeds might be harvested at the spice festival including cow berries.

I do play gardener sims regularly but sometimes it would be nice to have a garden that requires no maintenance or harvesting

Simmingal

I usually don't landscape cause I'm bad at it but recently I've been trying to work on it and i noticed few things

1. smaller lots are much easier to landscape cause less space to fill

2. its somehow easier to landscape when you do not center the house on lot

3. fenced areas and bushes are actually pretty cool

4. when in doubt add a big terrace instead so you don't have so much lawn to fill

5. make logical pathways with rocks, terrain paint, floor tiles and such and design around that

6. consider neighbors ideas cause grass is always greener next door - meaning look at other yards in your sims neighborhood

CAPTAIN_NXR7

Before I build, I usually:

1. go into terrain paint mode and start sketching out where I want the house, the patio, the trees, the bushes, hills, paths, fences, ponds and swimming pools. I also make sure I leave enough space for game play objects such as swings, a vegetable garden etc. and ensure that routing makes sense.
2. create elevated areas, if any.
3. build the house, including interior and exterior features such as the patio, sheds and a glasshouse.
4. fill the garden based on the sketch I made: Fenced off areas first. then undergrowth/flowers, then scrubs and small trees and then bigger trees. Finally I add stones and re-paint where necessary.
5. Done.

Admiral8Q

Mariefoxprice83 wrote: »

How do you decide where to place the foliage though? How about setting up patios and things like that?

Excellent question!

-I've found that over-doing it can just clutter it up. !!!
-I've looked at others landscaping from the gallery for ideas.
-A theme of the house/lot/neighborhood is usually what I go with.

Unlike some, I try not to have the edges of the lot filled and not synchronous, in other words looking out-of-place compared to the hard-programed landscape outside the lot. Generally I try to have the edges blend at the borders.

-Also, I try not to fill it all up at once, but leave it open and un-cluttered for filling stuff in later based on my own whims as I play.

Here's an example. I have done quite a bit more since this screenshot. But like I said 'baby-steps'.

Paigeisin5

Landscaping evolves as my Sims' lives evolve. I usually do landscaping last once the interior is finished and decorated. Athletic Sims usually have a pool. Play areas are created if it's a family home. Outdoor living spaces are my favorite to create. I love BBQ areas with decks, plants, firepits and dining tables. Gardening Sims have small greenhouses where they can grow cooking ingredients all year round. And there has to be a few trees scattered about for shade, or leaves to rake in the fall. Of course there has to be space for the summertime and wintertime activities also. But it all depends on the family or Sim living on the lot and what their story is as to how the yard will evolve.

Mareah

I am struggling with landscaping too, but i am not much of a builder so even simple houses are very hard for me to make lol. What is helpful for me is looking at both pics of other in game creations or real life which i feel many builders use as inspo too. Sketching also helps if you have the patince for that, i hear other people use this method for making layouts but in other games not just the sims.

duhboy2u2

To be honest, my favorite kinds of gardens are a bit wild and unruly looking. My only hard and fast rule is that trees have to fit the house and land space. There's nothing more irritating to me than trying to go inside a single story dwelling and see what's going on only to have a tree in the way at every turn. Because of this I tend to only use tall and/or bulky trees on very large lots where they can be placed out of the way of my field of view while playing. Otherwise, I use a lot of flowers, rocks and bushes/shrubbery and forgo trees.

I like color so I tend to try and fit as many colorful blooms in as possible unless its an ultra modern build in which case I typically stick to greenery, rock gardens and very manicured looking, balanced green space.

EnkiSchmidt

I usually download a pretty shell with equally pretty landscaping, then completely demolish the inside and change it to my liking.

When I'm doing the landscaping myself a little trick to not get overwhelmed is thinking of the outside spaces as "outddor rooms". I use hedges or flowerbeds similarly to how I'd use walls inside the house. Then I decorate those little spaces.

Mariefoxprice83

Thanks, everyone. These tips are great. I'll have to think seriously about them all when I'm working on my sims' homes.

djacquelynstew

xamira99 wrote: »

I would say, it depends on the type of the houses; modern, traditional, hunted, alien, spell caster, vampire, etc.

I'm not saying that my way is the best, but, what I did is,

1. I place the tree first
2. Then followed by the flowers/bushes that I want, either around the house or just below the windows, or even along the pathway. Play with the height & colours.
3. You can also add in the little wildflowers under your trees to make it looks nicer
4. Then use the terrain paint under the trees, bushes, & the flowers.

This is exactly my method. too funny/cool

AnnLee87

I look around the neighborhood and see what plants and trees are growing around the area. I try to bring the same into my build or at least the same color. I don't want my build to look out of place. Landscaping is one last things I do in a build. Sometimes I wait until I play the house if I have gardening Sims planned. I like to mix the plants among the landscaping and just have a vegetable garden. I make it look as natural as possible with terrain paint etc.

My orchard house is my favorite. Take a walk through the orchard and it opens up into a quaint fishing spot with picnic area. I love to put modest houses on huge lot and landscape it to so I can escape the real world. I try to incorporate objects into my landscaping. A bench under a tree with a bird feeder or birdbath close by. A fountain and a piece of modern art or sculpture. It depends where I am building and who is going to live there.

Sometimes I section off the lot and do it section by section. There are also vines and window boxes so it all ties in. I might make a cactus garden just off the sandbox with monkey bars near a pool. On the other side it may be all flowers with a veggie garden in the corner with a lush grassy yard in the middle. The possibilities are endless. One street in my Newcrest looks like prefab houses and every lot has a driveway and flower boxes built wrapping around the foundations of the front porches. Some streets are tree lined with older rustic looking homes. Another street is full of modern tiny homes and cozy gardens and an RV in every driveway lined with flowers. Again, the possibilities are endless.

Oldeseadogge

Provided any are open, try the local library and look in the section with books on houses and landscaping. Seeing what has been done before can be a good source of ideas. Don't restrict to modern times, either. 18th & 19th century homes often had beautiful landscaping/gardens.

auroraael14

I don't use floor plans but I do get some of my inspiration from houses I've seen in different towns or places I've lived. I love old victorian homes. As for landscaping, I've gotten better as the years have gone on. I also watch some YouTubers and get inspired by them and their creations.

mingusssss

I tend to use the tool of terrain painting for marking where I want things to go, roughly. then I modify the terrain if I want, first roughly and then I smooth it out, then I build the shell of the house, add stairs / make ramps with the terrain tool to access the house. At the end I do all the decoration and furnishing room by room. Lastly, I remove all the terrain paint I had for markingsa nd add new terrain paint for decoration (I think it makes a big difference). By this point I'm usually broke so I decorate the garden with default items.

SimsLady2000

First, Move objects always on for planning landscaping. I like to layer stuff on top of one another then I always use the terrain tool to tweak it. I always lay out my landscaping in corners where there are no pathing issues with my sims. I like garden paths, but I can't get them to use them LOL

If you want to stick to indigenous plants, trees etc, narrow your search to whatever pack you are in.

Admiral8Q

@Mariefoxprice83 Talking about landscaping, and me sharing my Oasis Springs "Revitas" trailer park, got me back into working on it. As a HUGE lot it's quite the challenge for landscaping. I've been planning in putting in gardens and trees like apple and banana trees, etc.

Basically just play around with it in build mode. As usual save often, but keep in mind you can undo things pretty quick too in build mode. Or redo.



3 more screenies here:

muzickmage

Designing inside the house, and outside, assumes the same degree of creativity. Keep in mind, the main thing that changes are the assets your designing with. Both areas must be divided into sections. Inside the house these sections are called rooms. Outside the house, you can think of them as being themes.

..... For example. In your yard area you may have a fair amount of empty space in one of your corners. This could be perfect for a "camping" theme. Place a tent or two, seating area, bon-fire, and other camping decor, etc. Add your foilage/trees as required to improve that theme.

..... If you have enough yard space for yet another theme, toss one together, using foilage to decorate just that theme.

Lastly: When you're done, you have a yard of themes, which you then connect using paths, and other decor. This will make the rest of the yard area blend into the themes.

Important: Don't cram, or force themes to fit. When done, you'll want an open environment that doesn't look like a junk yard of items all over the place. Be semi-scarce.

Also important. Rooms in the house are created horizontally. Themes outside the house are created (sometimes) vertically. Meaning, when creating the camping theme in the corner, raise the land to give it it's own camping mound.... leaving an area for a path up to it from the rest of the yard when you connect your themes.

One theme at a time, your exterior design will create itself.

Good luck.