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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 27th Oct 2019 at 1:10 AM
Default Modern House Improvement tips?
So I'm just getting back into building fancy homes again for my sims. I decided I kinda like this one enough to upload, but I want some opinions on what I could add/change to make it more attractive to others. Naturally Ive built it without a plan in my head soo. Uses all Stuff Packs and Generations.

Basically the layout is:

Street Level: Garage with 5 parking spaces (No image. Just forgot. Whoops)
1st Floor: Kitchen with Dining and Laundry (Needs repaced with non-store), Separate Bath and toilet and a Guest room. Outside has a pool, bar, grill and sandpit.
2nd Floor: Master Suite with bath and a living/office/gym area. Hallway with reading areas. Smaller suite with bathroom, small recreational space with books plus space for a hobby item.
Screenshots
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 27th Oct 2019 at 4:08 AM
I'd suggest adding some setbacks, trims, decorative walls or really any sort of irregularities to the basic shape of the house. The 1-tile overhang you have between the ground floor and the top floor is nice but it's not enough to make the house look interesting.

I'm also not sure if having that garage door sitting directly against the edge of the wall looks right, I'd probably just move it one tile over and have it sitting against the other garage door.

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Top Secret Researcher
#3 Old 27th Oct 2019 at 7:29 PM
Try combining halfwalls (or any solid short fence) and glass fences to avoid the repeated look around the balcony. Also, about the stilts at the back part, did you use columns? I think walls (or foundation) would also be suitable (and give a better support for the house, if it were in real life). And the vacant space at the back could use some more landscaping, that I assume you would do as finishing touches.

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Mad Poster
#4 Old 28th Oct 2019 at 4:33 AM
That, too. I wouldn't say the glass wrap-around fence is necessarily too repetitive, but breaking it up in some way can always help to make your build look more interesting. I'd also get rid of the strange division on the outdoor terrace, the pool doesn't really need to be separated from the BBQ area and it looks odd.

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Staff - Moderator
staff: moderator
#5 Old 28th Oct 2019 at 5:19 AM
I am not sure I am understanding everything I see. I think having all of your plants clustered around your stairway does not seem good. I can understand placing some along the sides of stairs but I would also place some along the front near the front and rear foundations as that seems barren without. I also don't understand if you are using a brick foundation (which it seems from front) or if you are using a stilt foundation (as it seems from the rear) or even two different foundations. Some of the pictures seem to have been taken at different times as I can see a stairway going from deck to rear yard and a stairway absent in another picture. I think adding a door directly to bathroom from the bedroom with the sim sleeping in bed would is a good idea. These are just some suggestions to use or ignore as you see fit. I do like the overall basic exterior shape but think you need further refinements.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#6 Old 29th Oct 2019 at 2:29 AM
For a bit extra content about the house it is loosely based on this actual home (attached pic). The landscape changed when I realised the lower foundation looked really block-y so I "built" in a hill. The foundation is walls warped using "constrainfloorelevation" and Columns. I originally had plans to put an under deck hideout for the household kids (still a possibility)

The bushes/flowers out front are temporary, until I figure out what will look good. Plants are not my forte...

This was built mainly for my PGC sims, so I fenced off the pool, as most parents would if they had troublesome kids. My real excuse is that I felt like I needed to break up the space in a different way to the norm for this place.
Screenshots
Mad Poster
#7 Old 29th Oct 2019 at 3:02 AM Last edited by AGuyCalledPi : 1st Nov 2019 at 11:50 AM.
The proportions look off. Your version is a lot wider and deeper than it should be, I think. I don't know where you stand on CC but since TS3 neglected to put a 2-tile version of the full-height window in the game I recommend getting one. None of those windows look 3 meters wide to me. You could also add a small trim between floors 1 and 2 and on top of floor 2 by adding an extra floor and CFE'ing them down to one or two stair-steps tall.

You know what, I'll give a shot myself.
EDIT: here's my version of it with the friezes, based entirely on the picture you linked. The proportions were never going to be completely right since neither the structure nor the walls conform to an exact 1-meter grid (as is usual) but I think the friezes help to beef it up a little.


EDIT: hope I didn't hijack the thread or anything

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Mad Poster
#8 Old 2nd Nov 2019 at 1:25 AM
Quote: Originally posted by AGuyCalledPi

You know what, I'll give a shot myself.
EDIT: here's my version of it with the friezes, based entirely on the picture you linked. The proportions were never going to be completely right since neither the structure nor the walls conform to an exact 1-meter grid (as is usual) but I think the friezes help to beef it up a little.


I like this version with the friezes also, but the original poster may not want to start over in too many areas? I like that this version and the original are less fish bowl looking. In the poster's version it is all pretty much see through and looks like walls were added to baths as had to do that. From the exterior we can say there are the bathrooms. I think the original and this version have a better balance of glass and privacy. I think some of the room shapes are a bit odd, but that is personal preference.

I commend the original poster for tackling an ambitious build, and overall I think you did a nice house. It just needs some tweaking. And more landscaping..... and we know this is a WIP.
Mad Poster
#9 Old 2nd Nov 2019 at 8:24 AM
Well the lower floor is clearly very open plan with multiple sliding doors. The houses I've stayed in that had that sort of open design are a lot of fun in the summer, but awfully exposed in winter. Either way, we don't have glass sliding doors that large in the game and if we did, you'd need to use DebugEnabler to force them open. I used a permanently opened garage door as an archway in a build once, since none of the archways in the game were actually open enough.

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Mad Poster
#10 Old 2nd Nov 2019 at 10:30 AM
Quote: Originally posted by AGuyCalledPi
I used a permanently opened garage door as an archway in a build once, since none of the archways in the game were actually open enough.


That was a good idea! I have Cyclone Sue's Neverending Arch pieces somewhere, but that would be even more open I imagine.
Mad Poster
#11 Old 2nd Nov 2019 at 12:04 PM
Hadn't heard of those. Will get them as well. The open garage door is a good idea except for the big box thing it leaves you with on the ceiling.

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( Join my dumb Discord server if you're into the whole procrastination thing. But like, maybe tomorrow. )
Staff - Moderator
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#12 Old 2nd Nov 2019 at 4:25 PM
This poster has said this house is "loosely based on this actual home" and may not be looking to recreate it exactly. Looking at your original pictures further and the comments of other posters I think aisquared is correct about using half walls and having a seven space half wall from you lounge chairs to your grill seems good(I would eliminate the rest of the interior deck glass fencing but keep the perimeter fencing). I think the friezes of AGuyCalledPi do look good but the poster may not want them or know the cheats used to create them. These are just suggestions to use or ignore at your discretion.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#13 Old 19th Nov 2019 at 11:02 PM
Ive been playing about with the outdoors of this house on and of for a while. Ive added and taken away small bits at a time. I'm interested in what critique/opinions people would give specifically for the back end of the house as Im unsure of what colour to have the walls. The interior is the same as it's to my personal liking atm.
Screenshots

"Fear is only in our minds. But it takes over all the time."
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#14 Old 19th Nov 2019 at 11:09 PM
Quote: Originally posted by AGuyCalledPi
The proportions look off. Your version is a lot wider and deeper than it should be, I think. I don't know where you stand on CC but since TS3 neglected to put a 2-tile version of the full-height window in the game I recommend getting one. None of those windows look 3 meters wide to me. You could also add a small trim between floors 1 and 2 and on top of floor 2 by adding an extra floor and CFE'ing them down to one or two stair-steps tall.

You know what, I'll give a shot myself.
EDIT: here's my version of it with the friezes, based entirely on the picture you linked. The proportions were never going to be completely right since neither the structure nor the walls conform to an exact 1-meter grid (as is usual) but I think the friezes help to beef it up a little.

EDIT: hope I didn't hijack the thread or anything


The house is only very loosely based on the image I shared. The proportions were never intended to be the same, I was after a giant modern-esque PGC home. I shared the image solely to show where the inspiration came from. I DO like your version however, I would be interested to see what you did with the interior if you continued.

"Fear is only in our minds. But it takes over all the time."
Staff - Moderator
staff: moderator
#15 Old 20th Nov 2019 at 5:18 AM
It looks like you are trying to differentiate textures for support columns and foundation from textures used on upper floor and perhaps are having an issue. You could use a different type of foundation(rock might be good) texture you like for the pool area. This is just a suggestion to use or ignore. I think this is improved some from your last version.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#16 Old 22nd Nov 2019 at 7:28 PM
Some more adjustments made. Liking the back wall a bit more. Think I'll be stripping the furnishing out soon and replacing them all with non-store content etc...

Excuse the fruit trees in image, they arent going to be included. My current sim is a scientist and needs to boost her gardening xD
Screenshots

"Fear is only in our minds. But it takes over all the time."
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