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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 4th Aug 2008 at 11:20 PM
Default Sears Modern Home No. 126
I've always loved Sears Homes (homes from the early part of the 20th century that were sold via catalogue, materials and all) and I've embarked on a journey to create them all for my Sims. The first one I did, No. 125, went off without a hitch. However, No. 126 is giving me issues - I'm having trouble adapting the floorplan to the game. The current version is livable, but it's not quite close enough to the original, real life floorplan for my liking.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to make it more like the original floorplan - specifically, what would you do to increase the size of the living room without necessarily changing the exterior walls? I mean, I'm willing to change the exterior, but I'm worried about straying too far from the look of the original. Plus, I think the exterior is a pretty decent match right now.

Also, the small hallway linking the master bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen doorway gave me some trouble, which I think may have caused part of the problem with the living room.

Here are the photos:






Looking forward to any advice - not just on what I mentioned specifically, but of course, that would be appreciated! Thanks!
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Lab Assistant
#2 Old 4th Aug 2008 at 11:46 PM
ok, this is complicated to type, so hopefully you'll understand. you have a diagonal wall 3 squares from the front door, yes? Ok, you need to make it only 2 squares away from the door. Next, in the master bedroom, the door wont open against the wall, there is a square inbetween the door and the wall on the right. Move the kitchen as it is )3 squares wide) to the left one square. That will give your livingroom a ton of extra space (well at least one square wider of it) if you dont know what the hack im talking about, tell me and i'll do a better job. By the way, great job, it looks perfect on the exterior.

"Buy this car to drive to work. Drive to work to pay for this car" -Metric
Lab Assistant
#3 Old 4th Aug 2008 at 11:52 PM


i just went ahead and visualized it for you

"Buy this car to drive to work. Drive to work to pay for this car" -Metric
Test Subject
#4 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 12:45 AM
Cute house and jsmlw your plan is brilliant!

[/CENTER]~*~Machihuahua~*~

Check out all my creations and more at sims2supernova.com!

S2S [CENTER]
Test Subject
#5 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 1:01 AM
I third what jsmlw said. But it is a lovely home. :]

I'm still having these dreams, Doctor, and I can't stop myself from believing them.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#6 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 1:33 AM
Okay, but won't I still have the problem of opening the doors to the master, bathroom, and kitchen? That's why I had to take some liberties with the hallway, which in turn robbed me of space in the living room.


Here's an additional photo of the hallway, to help illustrate my problem. The one-square width won't allow me to have a door to the master, a door to the bathroom, and an archway to the kitchen.

Plus, by moving the diagonal doorway to the secondary bedroom, it changes the shape of the room a fair amount.
Lab Assistant
#7 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 2:01 AM
ok, here this is sure to work, unless you dont want a larger bathroom, all the blue lines are doors:



this way will work for sure

"Buy this car to drive to work. Drive to work to pay for this car" -Metric
Test Subject
#8 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 2:54 AM
Otherwise I think maybe I'm wrong you could moveobjects on to place a door somewhere it wouldn't go before...Maybe it wouldn't work...

[/CENTER]~*~Machihuahua~*~

Check out all my creations and more at sims2supernova.com!

S2S [CENTER]
Test Subject
Original Poster
#9 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 3:09 AM
I was hoping to keep the bathroom fairly narrow, but I'd rather have a larger bathroom and wider living room than a spacious bedroom. Well, I'd rather have both, hehe, but I guess I'll survive. Thanks a ton for your help!
Moderator of Extreme Limericks
#10 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 4:21 AM
Very nice! I'm glad to see that people are creating homes from this era--Sears homes especially. You've done a wonderful job matching the roof-line, and the layout will be pretty much perfect once you've made those minor adjustments.

The only suggestion I can think to make would be to change the type of window that you're using. The original house seems to have smaller windows with an almost prairie-feel to them, while the windows you're using are much taller and glassier. I can tell that you're trying to avoid using much custom content with this lot (which is admirable! I have a very hard time with that nowadays ), so avoiding custom windows might be beneficial in the long run. Anyway, that's really the only change I can think to make. At the very least, you might want to either use a taller front door or shorter porch windows--the door currently seems a bit overpowered.

There's always money in the banana stand.
Forum Resident
#11 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 12:13 PM
I think jhd1189 is right about the windows
One more thing: try with a roof of 25-30 degree angle. I think the one you used is too high. But anyway, you built a fantastic house
Lab Assistant
#12 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 3:58 PM
Quote: Originally posted by machihuahua
Otherwise I think maybe I'm wrong you could moveobjects on to place a door somewhere it wouldn't go before...Maybe it wouldn't work...


using move objects with doors doesnt work very well, it makes the door just like decoration on the wall.

"Buy this car to drive to work. Drive to work to pay for this car" -Metric
Lab Assistant
#13 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 4:00 PM
Quote: Originally posted by DixieC318
I was hoping to keep the bathroom fairly narrow, but I'd rather have a larger bathroom and wider living room than a spacious bedroom. Well, I'd rather have both, hehe, but I guess I'll survive. Thanks a ton for your help!


Sure! This is your first upload right? Well its great, you've got talent and you should continue making houses.

"Buy this car to drive to work. Drive to work to pay for this car" -Metric
Test Subject
Original Poster
#14 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 9:55 PM
Thanks for the advice and compliments, everyone! I tweaked jsmlw's advice just a tad to make the layout work better in the master suite (I was having trouble fitting a bed, 2 nightstands and a dresser) there, but the newly enlarged living room made it possible to have a second dining table so the room could be a dining/living room, as the original architect had planned, so yay! One step closer to the original!

jhd1189 - Regarding the windows, yes, I was trying to avoid a great deal of custom content. But I think I'm going to try to hunt down some better windows; I can always offer both with CC and without. If you have any particular recommendations, I'd certainly appreciate them. I thought the door seemed a little overwhelmed by the windows, as well, but I thought the style was nice. I just didn't like the country windows that matched the door.

And lastly, I think the current roof angle is...23? I can't exactly remember, but I know I fiddled with it since I took these screenshots. So in the screenshots, it probably was about 25 or 26 in the photos. Once I get it all nice and shiny, I'll probably submit it for uploading, complete with new photos!

Thanks again, guys, I really appreciate your help!
Moderator of Extreme Limericks
#15 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 11:10 PM
Well, as a matter of fact...

http://modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=226541

One of the doors that comes with this set is almost perfect for the front door, and the set also includes a privacy window that would work nicely for flanking either side of the fireplace (like the original picture shows). The main windows themselves aren't exactly the right shape, but they're at least the right height and they're designed to match the OfB Mission style furniture that you used in the living room and bedrooms.

I'm not sure if this set is anything that would appeal to you, but it's the closest thing I can think of.

There's always money in the banana stand.
The Attack Cat
retired moderator
#16 Old 5th Aug 2008 at 11:28 PM
Wow thats an awseme looking house. It looks just like the blueprints of the real thing
Lab Assistant
#17 Old 6th Aug 2008 at 4:22 AM
the whole house needs to be a bit wider to be true to the original shape of the floorplan...

Viva Pinata: It's not just a game, it's a movement.
Test Subject
#18 Old 9th Aug 2008 at 7:07 AM
Dont know if I am too late to post this, but looking at the house, I think he needs to increase the bay windows by one window each, that will get the stretched look like the original floor plan, that way he will get the wider living room without changing the size of the kitchen or bedroom...Just a thought
Locked thread | Locked by: justJones Reason: do not delete-useful info
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