Wow I could see the pics on Rosemow's post. That house looks awesome! Very grand, for sure. I love the basement and indoor pool! I'd never come out of that basement haha. Great job!
Wow I could see the pics on Rosemow's post. That house looks awesome! Very grand, for sure. I love the basement and indoor pool! I'd never come out of that basement haha. Great job!
I am almost a member and be able to post my own pics soon, thank goodness @rosemow , is such a sweet person and posted the pics for me. Thank you so much.
I started decorating the home like the one from my childhood, but then of course I had to upgrade it. I am like a kid in a candy store with a no limit spending account. I think the hardest build I have ever done are ones I tried to do on a budget. And as far as I can remember, I have never been able to successfully complete a budgeted house. LOL .
Five different versions of Sims games and 15 plus years and I still can not create a simple common house. I believe that is one of the reasons I love Sims so much, you can make dream homes. Build and decorate them anyway, and at any cost and get away with it. Glad you like the house.
In my gallery I have two versions, one that is furnished and one that is unfurnished. I knew some people would not like how I decorated it. So I wanted people to have options. I am not the best decorator. I have a over-the-top style. Hence why I have a indoor basement pool and theater for my sims, lol.
@ShaddBoi - I love your houses! Keep up the great builds . What actually are "Sears" homes? Is "Sears" the company that built the houses and made the catalogues? Are there any other businesses with catalogue homes that we can use as inspiration other than "Sears"?.
Regardless of my clear lack of understanding of "Sears" homes, I hope my question is clear XD
@ShaddBoi - I love your houses! Keep up the great builds . What actually are "Sears" homes? Is "Sears" the company that built the houses and made the catalogues? Are there any other businesses with catalogue homes that we can use as inspiration other than "Sears"?.
Regardless of my clear lack of understanding of "Sears" homes, I hope my question is clear XD
I'm glad you like the catalog home collection. They have been fun to build, despite the general lack of design content in Sims 4. I think the build tools are great! But there just are not that many design elements and textures to choose from.
Sears Department Store was the main catalog home builder. There are thousands of these homes across the United States. There were plenty of other catalogs, however. Montgomery Ward offered catalog homes, and so did Gordon Van Tine, Aladdin-in-a-Day, and Sterling homes. There were smaller companies too. If you google any of these names online, you should see some examples of the houses that they sold.
I recently got hold of a Gordon Van Tine home catalog, and there's a few homes in there that I am already plotting to build
I'm glad you like the catalog home collection. They have been fun to build, despite the general lack of design content in Sims 4. I think the build tools are great! But there just are not that many design elements and textures to choose from.
Sears Department Store was the main catalog home builder. There are thousands of these homes across the United States. There were plenty of other catalogs, however. Montgomery Ward offered catalog homes, and so did Gordon Van Tine, Aladdin-in-a-Day, and Sterling homes. There were smaller companies too. If you google any of these names online, you should see some examples of the houses that they sold.
I recently got hold of a Gordon Van Tine home catalog, and there's a few homes in there that I am already plotting to build
@ShaddBoi Looking forward to those future builds! - I don't have much experience with building in the Sims4, so I can't really comment regarding building content and tools. Not only that, but I have no other games to compare the tools and content to! And thanks for the info regarding the catalog homes!
@DaniBosGirl You are smart about putting a furnished and unfurnished version out on the gallery. I should have done that too. It's kind of a pain to delete all the furnishings to start with a fresh house.
Building homes was the whole reason I got sucked into the sims in the first place. That is undoubtedly my favorite aspect of the game. I should publish some of my sims 3 catalog homes out here, too. In my opinion, many of them were actually nicer than the sims 4 versions, due to the wider variety of windows, doors, and textures.
I do, however, think the building tools are easier to use in sims 4, for sure. I love the drag and drop capability along with the foundation, roof trim, railing, and spandrel features. Those are pretty sweet to use.
@STASIBOMB Well then, you should be a sims 4 lover! Since you did not play previous versions, you should enjoy 4 much more than some. Its actually a pretty cool game...it just lacks some amazing features that were included in past Sims releases, but that are now not included in this version.
It's very difficult for long-playing, die hard simmers (like myself) not to compare Sims 4 content with historical content of the game, which leads to some of the dissatisfaction that you likely have read about on this forum.
Have fun and you should try to build! It's fun once you get used to the tools!
(I know this is only semi related since it's about a different era of homes, but I thought I'd share since it's an inexpensive book to get create home building ideas.)
(I know this is only semi related since it's about a different era of homes, but I thought I'd share since it's an inexpensive book to get create home building ideas.)
@Grimm_PANdemic Thank you so much for posting that link. I got the book for kindle! Also while looking around on amazon, I found tons of Sears catalog related books. I never thought to look for floor-plan books for my kindle. Thanks !
(I know this is only semi related since it's about a different era of homes, but I thought I'd share since it's an inexpensive book to get create home building ideas.)
@Grimm_PANdemic Thank you so much for posting that link. I got the book for kindle! Also while looking around on amazon, I found tons of Sears catalog related books. I never thought to look for floor-plan books for my kindle. Thanks !
@DaniBosGirl@Grimm_PANdemic I highly recommend any books by Dover Publications, if you can find them on kindle. They definitely sell them on Amazon. They have all kinds of awesome books related to catalog homes, Victorians, Long Island mansions, and 20s-40s suburban houses. The illustrations and floorplans are perfect for sims builders. I have the entire collection (in hard copy form) and I use them all the time for building Sims houses.
Just poppin' in to say your homes are lovely. I'm a fan of George F. Barber's collections, but am terrible at building them. It's not an easy style to recreate in-game. Your catalog homes are just about spot on, though!
Have you seen "Classic Houses Of The Twenties by Loizeaux"? It's a reprint of 'Loizeaux's Plan Book No. 7' ( originally published in 1927 ) also published by Dover. It's a collection of home plans offered by J. D. Loizeaux Lumber Company of Plainfield, NJ / Loizeaux Builders Supply Co. of Elizabeth, NJ ( obviously the companies were interconnected ). I picked up a copy at my local Half Price Books and was in love with the ingenuity of some of the ideas in there ( the closet storage system is really neat ).
Call me Dee
Proud member of the "Own The Store Club"
Have you seen "Classic Houses Of The Twenties by Loizeaux"? It's a reprint of 'Loizeaux's Plan Book No. 7' ( originally published in 1927 ) also published by Dover. It's a collection of home plans offered by J. D. Loizeaux Lumber Company of Plainfield, NJ / Loizeaux Builders Supply Co. of Elizabeth, NJ ( obviously the companies were interconnected ). I picked up a copy at my local Half Price Books and was in love with the ingenuity of some of the ideas in there ( the closet storage system is really neat ).
Haha I own that book. I know exactly what you are talking about. I was always a fan of those closets myself!
Just poppin' in to say your homes are lovely. I'm a fan of George F. Barber's collections, but am terrible at building them. It's not an easy style to recreate in-game. Your catalog homes are just about spot on, though!
@Aellanii I have two George Barber books, and you are right. His houses are amazing! A lot of them are huge and very different in design, but, as you stated, they are virtually impossible to recreate in Sim 4. I would say the biggest reasons for this are the lack of roofing styles, column styles, and not enough window types (particularly large, two story windows).
Ok @ ShaddBoi - Amazon ought to give you a commission! I hit them last week and besides floor plans - I really like a smaller book entitled "Mail-Order Homes - Sears Homes and Other Kit Houses" by Rebecca L. Hunter. She's a historical architectural researcher and lecturer. It's a terrific overview if you think you'd like to get into hunting these houses down...it is NOT a book with house plans though it does have several pictures. I'm fascinated and a bit discouraged because she notes that all the kit home producers copied from each other and it's very hard to tell them apart. She also mentions how you identify them sometimes by the jousts and raw wood pieces. (Something to which ShaddBoi has alluded). I told my husband that this hunt will replace the old one for families on the road trips to spot out-of-state license plates lol Now we'll just get arrested for taking house pictures and looking suspicious lol
That light at the end of the tunnel? It's a train.
The five-second rule does not apply when you have a two-second dog.
Ok @ ShaddBoi - Amazon ought to give you a commission! I hit them last week and besides floor plans - I really like a smaller book entitled "Mail-Order Homes - Sears Homes and Other Kit Houses" by Rebecca L. Hunter. She's a historical architectural researcher and lecturer. It's a terrific overview if you think you'd like to get into hunting these houses down...it is NOT a book with house plans though it does have several pictures. I'm fascinated and a bit discouraged because she notes that all the kit home producers copied from each other and it's very hard to tell them apart. She also mentions how you identify them sometimes by the jousts and raw wood pieces. (Something to which ShaddBoi has alluded). I told my husband that this hunt will replace the old one for families on the road trips to spot out-of-state license plates lol Now we'll just get arrested for taking house pictures and looking suspicious lol
Haha welcome to the club @ClaimingTheFifth ! I'm glad you are liking the subject of catalog houses. I have that book haha (along with every other one Amazon has on the subject haha). She is right in that some of the other manufacturers copied off Sears homes, so it is really difficult to tell unless you get inside. But there are plenty of them around. Chicago is absolutely brimming with them, so, if you're anywhere near there, you will be in business.
What's funny is some catalog home owners get really mad when someone tells them they have a catalog home. They either dismiss the idea or just get touchy about the subject. Little do they realize that a catalog home is no more than a regular house...it was just ordered out of a catalog haha!
By the way, Rosemary Thornton has put together a fantastic website about Sears homes. She really has a lot of great information and pictures of the real homes out there. Check it out...this is a great resource for all us catalog-home-loving fans
@:ShaddBoi - I get the distinct impression that at least the Sears homes were just as good IF NOT BETTER BUILT! It's a shame that those who now own one don't appreciate what they've got now. It kind of reminds me of my grandmother who literally threw away very valuable antiques because in her mind they were just OLD.
That light at the end of the tunnel? It's a train.
The five-second rule does not apply when you have a two-second dog.
@:ShaddBoi - I get the distinct impression that at least the Sears homes were just as good IF NOT BETTER BUILT! It's a shame that those who now own one don't appreciate what they've got now. It kind of reminds me of my grandmother who literally threw away very valuable antiques because in her mind they were just OLD.
@ClaimingTheFifth Right? Old does not mean bad. In fact, it generally means better built and longer lasting than what is constructed today. I just got brand new appliances that are expected to last no more than a 10 year life....meanwhile my parents' refrigerator is going on 30 years haha.
My friends think I'm nuts because they cannot understand my fascination with these houses. Being only 39, I guess I'm supposed to only have eyes for the modern, thin-walled architectural creations of today haha. And, while I do love modern homes, if given the opportunity, I'd buy a good ol' Glen Falls, Magnolia, or Vernon first!!
BTW@ShaddBoi - Rosemary Thorton ( http://www.searshomes.org) has suffered a severe personal tragedy...is no longer on her blog (a friend is temporarily covering it)...she's mentioned donating all of her files/records (not sure where). Her husband died very suddenly in April and she's having a very hard time. I'm thinking that particular site may be null and void soon. I certainly wish her the best.
That light at the end of the tunnel? It's a train.
The five-second rule does not apply when you have a two-second dog.
Great builds! By the way, for anyone who wants to have a bash at trying their own builds there is a huge amount of scans of old house catalogues up on Archive.org
Comments
I am almost a member and be able to post my own pics soon, thank goodness @rosemow , is such a sweet person and posted the pics for me. Thank you so much.
I started decorating the home like the one from my childhood, but then of course I had to upgrade it. I am like a kid in a candy store with a no limit spending account. I think the hardest build I have ever done are ones I tried to do on a budget. And as far as I can remember, I have never been able to successfully complete a budgeted house.
Five different versions of Sims games and 15 plus years and I still can not create a simple common house. I believe that is one of the reasons I love Sims so much, you can make dream homes. Build and decorate them anyway, and at any cost and get away with it. Glad you like the house.
In my gallery I have two versions, one that is furnished and one that is unfurnished. I knew some people would not like how I decorated it. So I wanted people to have options. I am not the best decorator. I have a over-the-top style. Hence why I have a indoor basement pool and theater for my sims, lol.
Regardless of my clear lack of understanding of "Sears" homes, I hope my question is clear XD
I'm glad you like the catalog home collection. They have been fun to build, despite the general lack of design content in Sims 4. I think the build tools are great! But there just are not that many design elements and textures to choose from.
Sears Department Store was the main catalog home builder. There are thousands of these homes across the United States. There were plenty of other catalogs, however. Montgomery Ward offered catalog homes, and so did Gordon Van Tine, Aladdin-in-a-Day, and Sterling homes. There were smaller companies too. If you google any of these names online, you should see some examples of the houses that they sold.
I recently got hold of a Gordon Van Tine home catalog, and there's a few homes in there that I am already plotting to build
@ShaddBoi Looking forward to those future builds!
Building homes was the whole reason I got sucked into the sims in the first place. That is undoubtedly my favorite aspect of the game. I should publish some of my sims 3 catalog homes out here, too. In my opinion, many of them were actually nicer than the sims 4 versions, due to the wider variety of windows, doors, and textures.
I do, however, think the building tools are easier to use in sims 4, for sure. I love the drag and drop capability along with the foundation, roof trim, railing, and spandrel features. Those are pretty sweet to use.
It's very difficult for long-playing, die hard simmers (like myself) not to compare Sims 4 content with historical content of the game, which leads to some of the dissatisfaction that you likely have read about on this forum.
Have fun and you should try to build! It's fun once you get used to the tools!
(I know this is only semi related since it's about a different era of homes, but I thought I'd share since it's an inexpensive book to get create home building ideas.)
Rainbow Sundae
@Grimm_PANdemic Thank you so much for posting that link. I got the book for kindle! Also while looking around on amazon, I found tons of Sears catalog related books. I never thought to look for floor-plan books for my kindle. Thanks !
You're welcome! I'm glad I could help!
Rainbow Sundae
Proud member of the "Own The Store Club"
Haha I own that book. I know exactly what you are talking about. I was always a fan of those closets myself!
@Aellanii I have two George Barber books, and you are right. His houses are amazing! A lot of them are huge and very different in design, but, as you stated, they are virtually impossible to recreate in Sim 4. I would say the biggest reasons for this are the lack of roofing styles, column styles, and not enough window types (particularly large, two story windows).
The five-second rule does not apply when you have a two-second dog.
Haha welcome to the club @ClaimingTheFifth ! I'm glad you are liking the subject of catalog houses. I have that book haha (along with every other one Amazon has on the subject haha). She is right in that some of the other manufacturers copied off Sears homes, so it is really difficult to tell unless you get inside. But there are plenty of them around. Chicago is absolutely brimming with them, so, if you're anywhere near there, you will be in business.
What's funny is some catalog home owners get really mad when someone tells them they have a catalog home. They either dismiss the idea or just get touchy about the subject. Little do they realize that a catalog home is no more than a regular house...it was just ordered out of a catalog haha!
By the way, Rosemary Thornton has put together a fantastic website about Sears homes. She really has a lot of great information and pictures of the real homes out there. Check it out...this is a great resource for all us catalog-home-loving fans
http://www.searshomes.org
The five-second rule does not apply when you have a two-second dog.
@ClaimingTheFifth Right? Old does not mean bad. In fact, it generally means better built and longer lasting than what is constructed today. I just got brand new appliances that are expected to last no more than a 10 year life....meanwhile my parents' refrigerator is going on 30 years haha.
My friends think I'm nuts because they cannot understand my fascination with these houses. Being only 39, I guess I'm supposed to only have eyes for the modern, thin-walled architectural creations of today haha. And, while I do love modern homes, if given the opportunity, I'd buy a good ol' Glen Falls, Magnolia, or Vernon first!!
The five-second rule does not apply when you have a two-second dog.