a guide to building your dream home: part 3

A Guide to Building your Dream Home: Part 3 By darth_appolyon, 17 January 2007

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A Guide to Building your Dream Home: Part 3

So, we're moving up in the world and looking for somewhere magnificent to live.

Step 1. Choose a nice huge plot!

Ok...where on Earth do I start?? Its huge! Well, in the other tutorials I advised you to leave the landscaping and surrounding area until the house is complete. HOWEVER, in this tutorial, because of the size of the house, I'm going to suggest that the front pathway at least is created first. This is an important part contributing look of the house. Everything needs to be grand.


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Step 2. Your Sims will obviously have a flash car to drive (or be driven) around in.

Step 3. Create a garage. Your Sims have amazing cars. You don't want them driven off by some random townie/burglar. Create it wider than the actual extension driveway so your Sims can move around, and I think it looks a little more grand.


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Step 4. Build a large wall, it needs to be in keeping with the theme of your house. It looks great, it keeps those peasant people out and it adds a little privacy.

Step 5. Add a gate so your Sims can get out of the house! As you can see here, I have set this back a little from the road, this should ease congestion on the pathway.


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Step 6. The entrance to the house. I have decided to have steps leading up to the house. I have also preplanned in my head that the house is going to connect to the top of the garage for an open air pool area. If you would also like to do this you will need to either have the house on a raised ground by 12 clicks and on a foundation, or, 16 clicks and no foundation.

So, as you can see here, I have raised the terrain in gradients of four clicks each and added a little area for standing around on each platform so there isn't alot of congestion with Sims screaming at me that someone is in the way.


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Step 7. Raise the terrain which the house will stand on.

I have only raised the terrain by 12 clicks, so I will need foundation to connect the top of the garage to the house. I added an archway to make the bridge look a bit more realistic and feasible.


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Step 8. Start to add the walls. I want to have the entrance hallway inset from the rooms on either side, so I have thought about this first. I have added a doorway entrance on the left room as well.

So, here you can see that the two rooms on the sides are basically identical and the hallway extends further back and widens. This is for the grand staircase I intend to add.


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Step 9. Add the other rooms in the house, you need: a kitchen, a dining room, and a downstairs bathroom. I have added a room (top right corner) which will act as a conservatory/indoor garden.

Step 10. Right, we need some way to get from this high house to the garden, so we need some stairs, and a bit of decking attached to the house. Similar to the front, I don't want just one staircase going all the way down, so I have addedd a little platform.


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Step 11. All those high walls of earth looks horrible, so use the terrain tool to soften those edges up. First you need to raise some of the terrain surround it.

Then use the smooth terrain tool, on medium size, to soften any sharp edges. Looks a bit more realistic now, eh?


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Step 11. Cont Do this all the way round the house. Also smooth the terrain round the stairs leading up to the house.

Step 12. Now let's go back to the house and add the second floor.


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Step 13. Start adding the roof. As I have said in the earlier tutorials, it's alot nicer to use the custom roof tool rather than auto. To get this roof as I wanted it to look, took quite a while, you may have to start over again and try lots of things out before you find the right look.

And from the back, you can see the roof. I haven't added a roof to the conservatory. I have special plans.


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Step 14. Create your layout on the second floor. You will need adequate space for the staircase. I have two ensuite bathrooms and one family, this should be enough for 4 bedrooms.

Step 15. Ok, so that the inside layout finished. You may want to add more floors to your home, but this mansion is more about the look of the house than the size of the house. I'm now going to turn my attention to the garage roof.


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Step 15. Cont You may remember that earlier, I said I wanted to have an open deck area, but I decided that actually, my Sims may want something a bit less open. So I added some walls and have changed my ideas for it.

I have added the windows all the way round to let in lots of light.


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Step 16. Add windows and doors to the exterior of the house. I have tried to make the house look symmetrical with windows as well as the build.

Step 17. Decorate the outside the house. I have chosen the white brick since this house is going to be modern. The white brick gives the house a nice clean look.


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Step 18. Add a pool. I have added arch ways all the way round to add to the majesty of the house.

Step 19. Add plants to the garden, maybe a row of trees leading round the back of the house.


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Step 19. Cont This is a parterre. It's a french gardening technique used in many Chateaus in France. Its a form of gardening which uses symmetry and precision to create beautiful gardens. Make sure all plants are accessible for trimming and watering.

Here is my landscaped house. I have added pathways round the house and to the garage and the road.


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Step 19. Cont Ok, so this is my grand staircase, I used the split level foundation tool to create this two tiered staircase. This comes with OFB.

This is the staircase from the second floor, I have added a little extra space round the stairs.


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Step 20. Decorate the house according to theme of the house and your tastes.

Here is the ground floor decorated.


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Step 21. Add nice doors to the interior.

Here is the ground floor with doors.


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Step 22. Add furniture. Here is my kitchen, it's light, has every appliance imaginable and decorations too.

The dining room, complete with sculpture and bar.


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Step 22. Cont The conservatory. If you were wondering about the roof, I used a floor tile as the roof and added short fencing around it.

The downstairs bathroom.


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Step 22. Cont The family lounge complete with t.v. on the wall, and modern coffee table.

The study room. This has bookcases, a computer, an easel and a nice comfortable sofa to sit on whilst gaining skill points.


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Step 22. Cont And from this room, there is the door way to the bonus room, which acts a bit like a gym.

The master bedroom with ensuite.


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Step 22. Cont The second master bedroom with ensuite. I must say, I love the look of this room.

The smallest bedroom in the home.


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Step 22. Cont The third double bedroom.

And the landing with choice pieces of artwork.


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Step 22. Cont So, this is the house. Finished and if I might say so myself, pretty nice!

I decided to take a picture of the house at night so you could see the beauty of lighting.


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Step 22. Cont This is a modern house. This will cost around 250,000 simoleons to build and furnish.

There you go people! Remember, your mansion may have a specific theme, in which case, you may want to research pictures of those type of houses, be they castles, french revolution etc. You also may need to download some themed furniture and decorations. Medival is particularly lacking in Maxis content. Happy Simming!

a guide to building your dream home: part 3

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