Happy Simsmas 2021 Gift Exchange ~ Closed

Finally, was able to upload (the Exchange was being a pain for me), but now....

This is for my buddy.... @GraceyManor!

Gracey Manor Antebellum

I was really pleased when I was given your name to build for. I was very intrigued by your buddy letter, and the fact that you work as a Ghost Hunter in real life. The fact that you like haunted houses was definitely an intriguing prospect.

I was a bit confused by the fact that you dislike Victorians, yet you love haunted houses, particularly Disney's Gracey Manor. There are two Gracey Manors: The one in Disneyworld which is kind of a castle; and the one at Disneyland California, an Antebellum Colonial - a type of Victorian. Looking at the floor plan for the one in Disneyworld, that would have been impossible; no matter how you would rotate it, it would call for some of the stairways to be diagonal, something you simply can't do in any Sims game. I tried for several days to figure it out, and eventually gave up and decided to do the other one.

Addy said you like the Now and Then set, so I decided the Antebellum wasn't out of the question; it would use the roof pieces, and not the Victorian style towers that I suspect is what you dislike. I personally love Victorians, but I don't like the EA built ones.

So, I based the outside of this house on the Gracey Manor at Disneyland; of course the inside is all my own. I did not duplicate what was in the ride; it wouldn't make any sense for a Sim family home. :)

One more thing: I apologize for the rooms not looking very cluttered in the images. You mentioned that you like deco, and I'm not so great with that; I tend to build simple, and only add deco as I play. However, many of the rooms are more cluttered and busy than the images will show; I took the pictures about a week before gifting time so I could get my post in order, but I continued adding stuff to the rooms as I looked at things and fiddled with everything. I had time to re-take some (but not all) of the overview shots, but not the inside ones. So the rooms aren't really as empty as the inside pictures may make them seem.

I will also apologize for the fact that I'm NOT very good with color. I tried using that swatch matching site that someone posted, but unfortunately, some of the swatches in CASt have inclusions and overlays, so even if you set a color number, the swatch in the game won't match. It's frustrating, so I gave up on it. I won't feel insulted if anyone feels the need to recolor things. :)

So now, on to the pictures!


First, this is the image of Disneyland's Gracey Manor that I based it on.


Then, this is my own take on it.


Floor Overviews

First Floor


Second Floor


Third Floor


Roof (Wasn't there a fourth floor....?)


Greenhouse


Cellar




Individual Room Close-up Overviews

First floor

Ballroom


Drawing room / Tea room


Kitchen, dining areas, and gallery walk



Second floor

Billiard room


Balcony (overlooks ballroom)


Library and Study



Third floor

Third floor hallway and common room


Family room


Master bedroom suite


Girls' rooms


Boys' rooms


Full bathrooms for children



Whatever happened to that fourth floor...?



Inside Screenshots

Many of these, unfortunately, were before I added rugs and deco to most of the rooms, so they look more empty in these pictures than the rooms look now.
First floor

Ballroom


Drawing room / Tea room


Breakfast room


Dining room


Gallery



Second floor

Billiard room


Balcony (overlooks ballroom)


Library


Study



Third floor

Third floor hallway and common room


Family room


Master bedroom suite


Girls' playroom


Boys' playroom


Hm... what room is this?


I know I saw these somewhere. Can you find them?



Did the fourth floor disappear?



Outside areas

Overview


West side


Back


East side


Greenhouse


Cemetery


Playground




Some of the furnishings and activities on the lot are the following:

Ballroom: Two dance floors from Ambitions, two dance floors from the ballet store set, piano, bass violin, violin, two stereos from the Carousel set, and two buffet tables (Valentine's set, I believe). I think the furniture was from a regular pack, but I don't know which one(s). Paintings are all from Supernatural. Yes, those paintings.

Kitchen: Counters, stove, and dishwasher are from the Edwardian store set. Also includes a baker's station, and a canning station. Deco is from various packs and store sets, none is important if you don't own the set.

Dining room: I think the table is from the Gothique set, but I'm not entirely sure; when you select it in BB mode, it shows no name, but it does show a store icon. Same with the chairs; no idea what set they're from, as they give me no name. Hopefully this won't be a problem. The table at the far end is the Wedding Reception Table from the wedding store set.

Breakfast room: Table is Sunup Breakfast Table from base game. Chairs are the same as in the dining room. Deco is mostly from base game; the hutch is from Supernatural, and the wall shelves from the store, I think the vineyard set.

Gallery: Most of the paintings are from Supernatural (more on THAT later). The one at the end is from the Now and Then set. The one of Bella is from one of the free sets.

Drawing room: The chairs, end tables, and coffee tables are from World Adventures. The sofas are from a store set, but are unnamed, so I don't know what set. The paintings are either all, or mostly, from Supernatural. The Tea Set is from the Old Mill set. The deco is all from various store and packs, none of which is essential. The piano is either base game or late night, whichever the piano was introduced with.

Billiard room: The billiard table and kingdomino tables are from Showtime. The regular tables are from Movie Stuff, and the chairs are from the Gothique set. The bar is from Supernatural. The buffet table is from base game. The deco comes from various places, and none of it is essential.

Library: The bookshelves are from the rococo set. The floor lamps are from the Gothic Glamor set. The couches are from Movie Stuff. The statues are from the Live Laugh Love set. None of the remaining deco is essential. Each of the bookshelves is filled with various books: One has all the fishing books, one has the recipe books, one has all the skilling books, etc. I didn't add any of the general books to any of the bookshelves.

Study: The bookshelves are base game. The desk is from a store set, but I don't know which one. The main chair comes from University, and the other three chairs are from Movie Stuff. Everything else in that room is deco.

Hallway: The door that leads out to the outside balcony is the Pedro Estates door.

The fireplaces on the third floor are the Washington's Fireplace Deluxe, and are from the store, but I don't know which set. The bookshelves are from base game. The sofas are a recolor of the India Inspired Bangalor Love Seat; that sofa has one of the highest comfort ratings of a sofa, and is extremely inexpensive; I use it a lot. The statue is from World Adventures. The painting easels at one end of one of the hallways is the Ricardo Richards Easel; it's from a pack, but that same one whose icon I can't recognize.

Family room: The TV is from a pack, but I don't recognize the icon, so I can't tell you which one. The sofas and chairs are from base game. The family room includes the following skilling stations: Alchemy table, Science Research Station, Catalyst Chemistry Lab, Pedestrian Sculpting Station, Scraptronic Workbench, and a Keep Me Clean Outdoor Shower, for the times that the various skilling stations will light your Sims on fire. (And they will.)

Master Bedroom Suite: The bed is from the Master Suite stuff pack, appropriately enough. It's one of my favorite beds; it has the highest stats of any bed in the game. The desk is from the rococo set, the mirror is from the Kingdom of Cambodia set, the dresser is from Showtime, and the wardrobe is from Supernatural. The wardrobe has a passageway to Narnia... if your Sim has the right frame of mind. The bathtub is from Pets, the toilet is from Kingdom of Cambodia, and the sink is base game. The counters are from a store set, not sure which one. The sofa is an unnamed item from the store; I really wish they wouldn't do that. The Soothsayer's Crystal Ball is from the store; when I was testing the build, the various other Sims in the household kept using it autonomously, so I guess it must have a high attraction factor. The television is from the Gothic Glamor living room; the pretty one that hangs on the wall. The Alchemy cabinet is from Supernatural, of course. I had intended to fill it for you with various potions, but ran out of time.

Children's playrooms: Each playroom contains a dollhouse, two rocking horses, a toybox, a toy oven, and an activity table. Yes, children can actually use the toddler activity table; it develops their handiness, iirc. Each child's suite actually has two connected bathroom areas, although I almost consistently cut off one of those bathrooms in my screen shots. One of the bathroom areas contains two private toilets and a sink; the other one is a full bath, with bathtub as well as toilet and sink.

Children's bedrooms, or guest bedrooms: Each of these contains one single bed, one desk with chair, and one stuffed toy. Everything else is deco; I figured you can customize what toys you'd get your children, or just have them use the outside playground or their playrooms a lot. I tried to include every skilling item for children; I hope I succeeded.

There's a cellar under the greenhouse; it contains a nectar making vat, and several wine racks, all of which are empty. But maybe there are other racks that are not so empty elsewhere?

Outside: There's a rather extensive children's playground, with a swing, two slides, a water slide, a tree house, a jungle gym, and a bunch of different riding toys surrounding a stereo from the carousel set. There's also a chicken coop, a lemonade stand, and a mausoleum in the cemetery, if your Sims have other ideas. And a greenhouse for planting, but I didn't have time to plant anything for you. Was working on... um... er... something else for you. The gravestones are all deco, unfortunately, for reasons I will explain elsewhere.

Things used throughout: I used the Morris Wide curtains throughout the build; they're from the store, but I don't know which set. The rugs I believe are almost all base game, except the small rugs in the various children's rooms. There were a couple of rugs I recolored from one of the Gothique sets; it was the only one, besides the Savvy Sellers rugs, that fit properly in those places.

I didn't include any computers; I personally prefer to use either CC computers, or use the Transmogrifier on something else, and turn it into a computer. You can always add an EA computer to a few of the desks, if you prefer; I left them empty for you so you can do what you want there.

Hm... wasn't there a fourth floor when you look at the building from outside? Huh, I wonder what happened to it...

About the cemetery...



Another odd thing: