My friends have encouraged me to share my builds all in one place. So here I am. I was pretty surprised as I was getting everything ready just how many lots I've built in the past 8 months. So, gonna be posting a lot all at once, then hopefully I'll actually keep posting. I hope someone actually sees this and enjoys my work. Thanks.
My Exchange ID is different than here - it's JoeJude16
If you open the spoiler you will find a catalog of my posted creations with links to their individual posts and download links.
I love how absolutely cozy it is! The little details like the pattern on the couch really tie it all in together. Everything just screams "home" in it. Great work as always! I love seeing your builds. :)
I used 14 Poker Flats Drive in Twinbrook in order to have a sloped lot on water, but the actual house is half way up the hill in a river valley of a brackish (saltwater) river called the Kickemuit. We call it "the Kicky." It is only 40 minutes from our "city" home, but it in the summer it is usually 10 degrees cooler there. And when I was a child it was very rural. It has since been greatly developed. Luckily, the hill on the opposite side of the river is now a nature reserve, so our view is guaranteed not to change.
Next to the clothesline is a pile of bricks leftover from building the house. They sat there for many years until being used to build a shed next to the cedar tree. Also, the stone wall in front was notorious for hosting poison ivy, which I was horribly allergic to.
Couldn't resist sharing, this is the view in the fall, from my brother Chuck's house next door. It used to be my grandparents' house, and then my aunt Lena's. We try to keep things in the family. :D https://i.imgur.com/Xz9JfVb.jpg?1
The house was built by my dad over the course of several years as funding and time were available. The bricks are recycled, recovered from a burned down church. (true story) The inside stairs and the bathroom were not added until around the third year after it was built (before my time.) Before that they shared my grandmother's outhouse next door and you had to go outside if you wanted to go from upstairs to downstairs. (true story) A bit of a misnomer at the time, since there were no stairs yet.
Here are the floor plan pics:
Attic https://i.imgur.com/ZrnsenT.jpg?1
Upstairs bedrooms and porch https://i.imgur.com/4PeKA9G.jpg?1
There are four bedrooms, of varying sizes, and a long, narrow porch of windows facing the river view. The interior walls of the porch were never finished and had exposed studs. I was happy to find a wall covering that resembled this https://i.imgur.com/k8Gi7Lb.jpg?1
My parents' room, in the front of the house. You'll notice that the bedrooms don't have doors, only curtains. Two reasons: doors would block the breezes and they would take up space when being opened into the room. I am one of eight children, so our definition of privacy was pretty loose at the best of times anyway. I was thrilled to find these curtained doors made by cyclonesue@TSR. https://i.imgur.com/e6iGLHn.jpg?1
My room, also in the front. The lower bunk was mine. In game you'll notice the Star Wars poster. I didn't actually have a Star Wars poster. What I did have was a newspaper clipping about the release of the original movie stapled to some cardboard with my ticket stub stapled next to it. I also had the same arrangement for The Muppet Movie. I did have a t-shirt with the same image as the poster in the game though. The single square dresser at the foot of the bed is standing in for a small, portable, steel closet that was always there. I couldn't just leave it out.
You'll notice that little of the furniture matches. It's not even all from the same decade. It was a beach house built by hand and everything there just served its purpose. https://i.imgur.com/0Z5PhKL.jpg?1
The girls' room. That pipe in the middle of the wall never did serve its original purpose. It was a vent pipe for a future second floor bathroom. That's also why one window is smaller. The bathroom was eventually built in the mid 80's, along with some major changes to the rest of the layout upstairs. https://i.imgur.com/sD7KDVB.jpg?1
This was Janet's room, then Linda's room, then Chuck's room. Basically, the eldest's room. I did eventually get it for a while. A strange L-shape layout that was impossible to get a decent photo of. It allowed for two configurations. The way it is in the game, or, if you got creative, the bed could be placed in front of the window to take advantage of the breezes. But, that required climbing in and out at the foot of the bed. That side of the L isn't wide enough for anything except the bed itself.
The bed was a wonderful old tubular steel antique that is up in the attic now. I really would love to have it, but don't know where I'd put it, since I don't expect to ever have a second bedroom again. And I don't love it enough to forego a queen size mattress. https://i.imgur.com/QEaWzoI.jpg?1
A view of the hallway from the porch, with the drop down attic stairs. I thought I'd found the perfect stairs, with hinges and all, but realized when I couldn't find them in game that they were for Sims 2. Luckily I found these from Angela@TSR. Unfortunately, the attic is not playable. I thought it was the slope of the roof, but I think it may be a problem with the stairs(ladder.) I'm not sure. https://i.imgur.com/duUXMmo.jpg?1
The porch. Windows from one end to the other. The external walls unfinished. All the windows have bamboo style shades, but made from green plastic. These by lulu265@TSR.
Mom's Necchi sewing machine (represented here by a Simger from Cashcraft@TSR) was actually in its own fold-up storage that was quite clever. The sewing machine folded down into the top, which then closed over. But, also, the bench pushed into the front. So, the whole thing would end up looking like a solid block table.
This isn't quite her model, but it's close https://i.imgur.com/4POw5ro.jpg?3
https://i.imgur.com/joGl3PQ.jpg?1
Downstairs https://i.imgur.com/hyvII25.jpg?1
First, a note. There are no wall decorations downstairs. Actually, you'll notice that there are few in the house at all. There were some needlework pieces in the bedrooms that I couldn't find decent replacements for, but that was all. It was pretty simplistic.
The kitchen area. The cabinets didn't have doors, but instead the ubiquitous green curtains. (Also by lulu265@TSR) Yes, they were all made of the same fabric and my mom sewed them all on the Necchi. There were open upper cabinets, but I couldn't find anything that matched properly, so I just left them out. The chrome dinette table to the right is currently in the basement here at 25 Cute Street. In game version, as well as the chrome chairs, provided by MsBarrows@TSR.
The louvered glass windows were a HUGE find, with a big thank you to gelina@gelinagelina.tumblr.com. https://i.imgur.com/TqcbSfr.jpg?1
The Fridgidaire is at least 50 years old and still running! Sadly, the vinyl covered chromed chairs did not hold up so well. They are all long gone. The two columns in the dining area were structural, and always in the way. Still are. We just learned to live around them. I was careful to play test every seat at the table, as well as the bathroom door. I suspect if too many Sims are walking around there will be routing issues, but it will be because of the crowd. And, honestly, that's what happened in real life. https://i.imgur.com/2Lrskdb.jpg?1
A different view. The long table was custom built for my uncle's family, which was even bigger than ours. Not sure if we bought it or it was given to us. But it had custom padding that flipped over to a green felt side for playing cards! And many nights my aunts and uncles, who all had houses in the neighborhood, would gather for games of penny ante Michigan Rummy.
The bed in the back was really just a simple cot with a sad, thin mattress on it. We used it more as a day bed/couch. I did have that for a while in my spare room years ago. I don't know what happened to it. The white cabinet that actually stood to the left was far less substantial than this EA version and I actually pulled it down onto my sister and I when I was three and she had me in her arms. Apparently I didn't want to go to bed yet and grabbed onto it to resist being brought upstairs. She got cut by broken glass, but I was unhurt. https://i.imgur.com/5Eu10SJ.jpg?1
The back room and bathroom. When I was young we actually had a washing machine with a manual wringer. I thought I'd found one, but, again, it was Sims 2. This time there was no Sims 3 backup plan. Because of the limitations of building into the hill I wasn't able to put an actual window in the bathroom, so I placed one there with moveobjects_on and covered it with a blind. https://i.imgur.com/JV0rN5q.jpg?1
Finally, the patio. Again, I used the wonderful aluminum chairs by gelina@gelinagelina.tumblr.com. Although not seen in this picture, I'll mention now that the sandbox in the yard is not playable. I needed to include one, but the EA sandboxes were far too large. So I created this with a bit of edging and some ground paint. https://i.imgur.com/2290nCR.jpg?1
This has been a labor of love. I think that is obvious with the way this post has turned out. A big part of what has made this build authentic for me was the custom content that matched, or closely mimicked, the features of the real house. Here, I list the credits for the creators of the content included in this build: (TSR=The Sims Resource; MTS=ModTheSims)
FloridaWindows - gelina@gelinagelina.tumblr.com - link VintageLawnChairs - gelina@gelinagelina.tumblr.com - link MZ_2TileWideTraditionalInteriorDoor - Missyzim@TSR - link - front and back door CurtainedCubicleDoor(Open) - CycloneSue@TSR - link - all bedrooms luluCountryKitchenCounterWithCurtain - lulu265@TSR - link CottageOfficeBlinds - lulu265@TSR - link - porch windows luluSummerGardeningSetBroom - lulu@TSR - link - basement closet DOT_ClassicSmallRoundCeilingLamp - DOT@TSR - link - upstairs ceiling lights ChromeDinetteChair, ChromeDinetteTable (Shannanigan's Retro Kitchen) - MsBarrows@TSR - link ForetJar - BlueCoco2@TSR - link - with EA pattern applied and EA's Feathered Table Sculpture inserted, at top of stairs on porch OrangeDelightTeenRoom-Bed - spacesims@TSR - link - girls' room and downstairs sitting area SingleWallMountedBlind - Shakeshift@TSR - link - bedroom windows CottageSeriesLadder - Angela@TSR - link - attic stairs CashCraft'sEstateSaleFindsSingerSewingMachine - Cashcraft@TSR - link - porch ColorsStackedBowls, ColorsSinglePlate, ColorsButterDish, ColorsSugarAndCream, ColorsTwoMugs - (Colors Breakfast Clutter) - Wide Open Eyes@TSR - link - kitchen surfaces SMEGFridge - Cazarupt@TSR - link - kitchen 50sDecoCanisterLg, 50sDecoCanisterSm - baufive - link - kitchen counter ButterflyCrossStitch - Weirdling@TSR - link - L bedroom TwoTileTheTruthDivider - Leefish@MTS - link - girls' bedroom CleaningClutterVinatgeVaccum2 - TheNumbersWoman@TSR - link
The Summer House is such a very,very special build! :) It was so very nice reading your desciption of esch area and how it related to the real life home. It is very special sims house which had made with a lot of love and special memories <3
@Jude525 you can sure tell this little cottage was a labor of love. So many memories you poured into this build. Great little house and cool CC to add to the finishing touches. Odd that there are no vintage washers out there for TS3. So nice of you to put in all those links. I have started adding CC to my game and must have those lawn chairs! The fruit pattern on the table is adorable also. Thanks for sharing the cottage history as well. So glad you and your sister survived the white cabinet falling on you. :)
Oh wow. The Summer House reminds me so much of my grandparents' house. Especially the kitchen area. That chrome table is a dead ringer for the one they had, and the tablecloth on the bigger table is really close. Really took me back. And makes me want to (re)build some places from my own past. (Including wringer washers, ha.) Thanks so much for sharing!
So, I received the ultimate compliment this weekend. I pulled up the images of the Beach House on my phone to show my great niece, a fellow Simmer, when my brother noticed. He was so impressed with the accuracy that he had me show his wife so that she could see what the house looked like back before the renovation. It was so cool.
Thank you all for the kind words. And it's nice to see a couple new people.
@60smusicluvr I popped over to your thread. I haven't gotten far yet, but I like what I've seen. Although I'm not adverse to CC, I do get creeped out by a lot of the shaders I see used in CAS. I'm especially spooked by some of the children I see "modeling" styles over on The Sims Resource. Give them white eyes and they are straight out of Day of the D4mned. :D I'm generally content with the results I can achieve with the game itself.
Well, it's been awfully quiet here. I've been busy actually playing my game and keeping active in other threads.
One of those threads is the Tiny House Challenge, which is what it sounds like. I think I've mentioned it before. Building small houses on small lots with as much character as possible.
Recently there has been some discussion of tiny worlds built specifically for these types of builds.
So, last night, with all the talk of tiny towns, I started playing with a variant of an idea I'd seen elsewhere. On another thread about customizing rabbit holes I'd seen someone bury a standard rabbit hole and build something unique on the property above it. Since I am currently playing in Lunar Lakes, I kept driving by all those (ugly) rabbit hole pylons. Then I realized something.
They were small. And all the same size. 9x8. After some experimenting I learned that this means I would be able to place any rabbit hole that has a Lunar Lakes variant on a lot as small as 13x15 while leaving an exterior wall with only a minimum of one floor that can be designed to suit any town aesthetic. Of course, the exterior could be larger if wanted, but that wouldn't require burying the pylon.
Now, this technique is not new, nor my own. But, I've never seen it applied to the LL public buildings or specifically to reduce the footprint of those types of buildings without being stuck with the LL aesthetics. (EDIT: I did find some refererence to this while doing some research today.) Unfortunately, my experiments were conducted on a much larger lot. Now that I know the minimum lot size, I will replicate the process on that size as a template to build others upon. Getting the building the correct depth underground should be interesting on the smaller lot, since I accomplished this by stacking a couple layers of basements. But, since these measurements leave a two tile wide area for a set of stairs to get from street level to the actual building entrance, I may have just enough room to make this happen. If not, I may have to increase the lot size a couple squares.
I know it is an unusual lot size, but, of course, it could be placed on any larger lot. I want to keep the template as small as possible.
I've started researching constrainfloorelevation more, but don't see that being of any help. Not yet, at least. My goal is to be able to build on the main floor above the buried pylon. Perhaps providing a double duty lot. Build an Ambitions firehouse on top of the police department. Or a consignment shop on top of a grocery store. Hmm, I may have just hatched a solution using CFE after all, will have to test it and report back.
Surprisingly, though it's mentioned in a couple places, I'm not finding the actual solution. I'm reaching out to a couple Simmers that I've had contact with in the past that have referenced it in other threads. Hopefully that will prove fruitful.
Okay, it is literally just a meter too high in the ground. When I create the new template I merely need to place it a bit lower and I will be able to build a ground floor over it. Would love to be able to use an elevator.....
Oh, yeah. I've seen that before. A lot of people don't like how sims have to go away in a rabbit hole, so they try to make a building that would have what you would expect to be in those buildings. Certainly makes it a little more fun to play. I wish you luck on your Lunar Lakes builds. I love that world so much. It's just beautiful in my opinion, but I haven't played it because the lots are a little too unusual for me. I should check out the exchange for lots for that world 'cause I would love to play it, sometime. I look forward to seeing the pictures whenever you're ready.
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