Blaze_Bard's Builds (try saying that three times fast :P )

The renovated Modern Classic home looks very nice! :) It was very nice seeing the pictures of and reading about the changes that you made in the new home from the original build. The new playroom area with the sofa seat reading nook, and the battle station and puppet theatre looks very nice. Kid will enjoy playing there or reading a book. Very nice backyard area! Toddlers will have lots of fun playing in the tunnels, ball pit and on the slide! Kids will enjoy playing on the monkey bars and all sims will like using the slippery slide! The floral wall pattern in the new guest room looks very pretty.It is a very nice extra bedroom. It is great that there is now a laundry room!
The second version of the home is very nice as well as the original build :)

Thanks for the kind words, @AvieLeague and @rosemow!

Over the past couple weeks, in between homework, packing for an upcoming trip, and trying to get some new art projects off the ground, I've been working on a Seven Toddler Challenge based on the old nursery rhyme "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do." Which meant I started out by building a fairy-tale-style shoe house. I have to say, my inner child had a field day making this.
https://i.imgur.com/vcIgsHD.jpg
(I only noticed just now that I accidentally left a curtain outside one of the upper windows. I'll have to take care of that next time I play the game.)

This room functions as an entry, living room and playroom. It's also my favorite room in the build, thanks to the rainbow butterflies from Kids' Room Stuff all over the walls.
https://i.imgur.com/hwAL9oK.jpg

Here we have the toddlers' bedroom. It's a bit more "function over fashion" than any of the other rooms in the house, but I think it still looks nice. Also, in terms of gameplay, I have a hard time getting the old woman who lives in a shoe to put her toddlers to bed in the two beds in the corners; unless I make her and her toddler stand right next to the bed before she picks up and tucks in her toddler, she acts as if those beds are somehow blocked off, and I'm not sure why. Could be a glitch.
https://i.imgur.com/ukFFurJ.jpg

The bathroom is pretty straightforward, except I made sure there was lots of room for potty chairs. In retrospect, if I'd designed the floor plan so that the bedrooms and bathroom were on the other side of the house, I wouldn't have had to make that long corridor leading to the door to the side yard. However, you can't see it in this screenshot, but I made that corridor look sort of like a mud room or storage space by putting a couple of wall decorations from Laundry Day Stuff in there -- namely, the broom and dustpan and the ironing board.
https://i.imgur.com/QmWuEKx.jpg

This is the master bedroom -- simple, cute, and slightly countrified. However, I did have a bit of a hard time furnishing this room because it's small and oddly shaped.
https://i.imgur.com/DungtTJ.jpg

The kitchen was even harder to furnish, thanks to those stairs. I wanted to have them there in case I decide to continue playing with this save after I finish the Seven Toddler Challenge (assuming I win); I thought I might use the upstairs as a second bedroom for some of the kids after they outgrow their toddler beds, but for the challenge itself, I wanted to have as much stuff as possible conveniently located on the first floor, so I didn't bother taking a screenshot of the upstairs room because there's not much in there at this point. I also didn't bother taking a screenshot of the dining room because mostly all that's in there is a bunch of chairs and one of the buffet tables from Luxury Party Stuff so that I can have the old woman who lives in a shoe quickly summon food for her family if she needs to. (Yes, that's legal according to Seven Toddler Challenge rules; I checked.)
https://i.imgur.com/bGMVlda.jpg

Lastly, there's a little play area in the backyard, in the shade of the tree with lanterns from Movie Hangout Stuff. After furnishing the inside of the build, I didn't have much room left for a toy chest or dollhouse, so I used the outdoor toy chest and dollhouse from Toddler Stuff. I also used the slide from Toddler Stuff. I didn't take a screenshot of this either, but near the play area, I put the washtub and clothesline from Laundry Day Stuff in order to add an extra dimension to the challenge -- not only does the old woman who lives in a shoe have to take care of her seven tots, but she also has to do their laundry!
https://i.imgur.com/qyO6Ldy.jpg

Anyway, I'm glad people have enjoyed my builds so far. I appreciate all your comments :smile:

Your “ Old woman who lived in a shoe” build looks very nice! :) The exterior design of the home as a shoe looks very great! You have done it so well! The entry, living and playroom looks very nice! The lavender colour of the walls and the colourful butterflies on them looks so pretty! The kids will enjoy siting on the seats reading books there.or having stories read to them. Very nice toddlers bedroom. The diferent colours of the beds is a special touch and the patterned ceiling lights looks very nice. The outdoors play area nook is very nice. Kids will have fun playing on the slide, and with the dollhouse and toychest there. The cherry blossom tree looks very pretty! It is great that there is an outdoors laundry area with a clothes line and wash tub.
I hope that you 7 toddlers challenge continues to go well :)

Thank you, @rosemow, @AvieLeague and @KittenAntlers! I put a lot of work into making the exterior look like a shoe, so I'm glad it turned out well. And honestly, when I was looking over that build right after I finished it, even I had to admit that I had gone kind of overboard with the cuteness. :smile:

Anyway, lately my Sims 4 gameplay has been taken up with trying to corral seven toddlers instead of building, so I thought maybe I'd share one of my older builds. I made this one last April; the idea behind it is that it's a ruined castle that was repurposed as an art gallery, with a more modern addition built onto the side. Why I decided to put a ruined castle in the middle of Newcrest, I have no idea -- it definitely would've fit better in Windenburg. I called it the "Chateau D'Escargot" because of the sized-up snail statue that I decided to put on top of the tower for no particular reason.
https://i.imgur.com/PfiXpMz.jpg

Here's a closer view of the castle tower. I put a lot of easels around the edge so that artistic Sims could look out over the surrounding countryside and paint landscapes (which, technically, could be done in the game if the Sim takes a photograph of the landscape and then uses "paint from reference").
https://i.imgur.com/lQ3hHR9.jpg

This is the more modern part of the building -- a little place where Sims can get some food and drink in between making or viewing works of art.
https://i.imgur.com/HkKeF2h.jpg

Here we have the interior of the ground floor. Once again, I left too much empty space, like I did with a lot of my early builds. This is also probably one of the first times I did a build with gendered bathrooms and included some kind of difference between the two in order to be able to tell easily which was which. This time around, it's pretty obvious that the bathrooms are color-coded.
https://i.imgur.com/ksrjd8u.jpg

The second floor has lots of easels on the outside and lots of musical instruments on the inside. I imagine that an old castle would probably have awesome acoustics.
https://i.imgur.com/5dgRyul.jpg

Finally, on the top floor, we have more easels on the outside. On the inside is a woodworking table, a smaller table with some lumps of clay for Sims to play with, and an activity table for the kids.
https://i.imgur.com/Su79C90.jpg

Chateau D'Escargot is a very nice castle themed art gallery! :) The layout of the build, with the different levels looks great! The tower is very nice! It is a great touch that you have placed an enlarged snail on the top level. It is nice that there are outdoors easels on the levels for sims to enjoy painting in the sunshine. Very nice inside music room for sims to enjoy playing the musical instruments or listening to the music being played. It is great that there is a food and drinks area for sims to enjoy sitting at the table or stools having a snack, a drink from the bar, or a cup of coffee or tea. It is great that the top level has an area where sims can enjoy crafting on the woodwork table and kids can do artwork on the activities table.
It is a very nice castle art gallery for sims to enjoy visiting! :)

Sorry I haven't been around in a few months; grad school has been kicking my pants lately. I have been able to play Sims a little bit in between assignments, and I've done a few builds.

I finished this build in late March. It's a bohemian-style beach cabin in Brindleton Bay.
https://i.imgur.com/IYB7Cws.jpg

I was actually intentionally following a concept in which this had been a fairly plain cabin until the current inhabitants moved in and refurnished the place in their own style, and their style happens to be very bright and colorful but nothing matches. I apologize if this aesthetic makes anyone go "Ow, my eyeballs." It's supposed to be a bit much.
https://i.imgur.com/ZrX7DrJ.jpg

Here's the toddler's room, with a desk and an activity table for when the toddler ages up. I imagine that the toddler's parent(s) are the kind of people who place a high value on creativity and would encourage their offspring to be creative.
https://i.imgur.com/c1Rw50C.jpg

At least the kitchen and bathroom are a bit less painful on the eyes, although that artistic toilet is completely nuts and therefore perfect for this build. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that item is unlocked in the writer career...?)
https://i.imgur.com/U2zGPZY.jpg

The master bedroom is upstairs. And I just realized I forgot to put a laundry hamper in it. Oops.
https://i.imgur.com/DqvuolK.jpg

Last but not least is the side yard. I put the wash tub and clothesline here, as well as a toy chest and a dollhouse for the toddler to play with. There's also a yoga mat and a meditation stool from Spa Day underneath the big tree with lanterns from Movie Hangout Stuff for when the adults in the household want to commune with nature.
https://i.imgur.com/APRl9r6.jpg

The bohemian style beach cabin looks great! :) Very nice design of the exterior of the home. The blue windows and front porch looks very nice. Very nice bohemian style furnishing of the interior of the home! The patterned and colourful furnishings used look very nice! The different patterned dining chairs is a nice touch. Sims will enjoy sitting on the patterned stools using the bubbles machine. The patterned curtains add a very nice to the rooms . The toddler’s room is great! They will enjoy using the activity table to do creative artwork. The candles are a nice touch on the bedside table in the master bedroom, and the type of ceiling light and closet used suits the bohemian home theme very well. Sims will enjoy the nice aroma of incense in their bedroom. Very nice outdoors areas! It is great that there is a wash tub and clothesline to do outdoors laundry. Kids will have fun playing with the mushroom dollhouse. Nice yoga and meditation stool area, for Sims to restfully do yoga and meditate under the shade of the tree.
It is a very nice bohemian home :)
I hope that your Grad school studies are going well.

BLAZE_BARDSBUILDSBLAZE_BARDSBUILDSBLAZE_BARDSBUILDS

Do I win??

In all seriousness, really nice style with your buildings!

@TheDismalSimmer Nice job saying "Blaze_Bard's Builds" three times fast! Have a cookie! *reaches across the internets and offers an imaginary cookie*

Also, thanks to you and to @rosemow for your kind words. I'm almost done with grad school, and not long ago I bought Cool Kitchen Stuff as an early graduation present for myself, so for my latest couple of builds I've been combining Cool Kitchen Stuff with Dine Out and some other packs to make restaurants that have ice cream on their dessert menus. One of those is a 1950s-style diner/ice cream parlor that I call the Rock It Diner. I actually made this build for my new Sims 4 story blog, Space Case; I haven't had a chance to show off the diner in the story yet, but it's there for when my Sim characters want to go out for a meal.

Here's the exterior of the diner, seen from the front. Out of all the screenshots I took, this one gives the best view of the rocket launchpad on the diner's roof. (Rock It -- rocket, get it?) I used the retro rocket unlockable from the Interstellar Smuggler branch of the Astronaut career in order to fit with the overall theme of the build.
https://i.imgur.com/ztbIDGF.jpg

This is the entrance and some of the first floor seating. I tried my best to nail the look of a 1950s diner, although I imagine that a few things might have been added over the years, like the yard flamingos greeting customers outside. Yard flamingos are more '70s than '50s, I think. You can see one of them peeking through the front door in this picture. You can also kind of see that I added a jukebox into this build -- can't have a '50s diner without a jukebox, amirite? -- but even though this is the best screenshot I got of the jukebox, unfortunately most of it is behind a wall near the right side of the screenshot.
https://i.imgur.com/dOaFMZC.jpg

I also added counter seating like the kind you'd find in an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Except that there's no soda fountain in TS4 -- actually I've never seen a soda fountain in any Sims game for that matter -- so I used the cupcake machine instead.
https://i.imgur.com/n6e7FQk.jpg

Here's the cupcake machine from another angle, this time with the walls down so that you can see the kitchen and the bathroom, too. The cabinets from Cool Kitchen Stuff look pretty nice in the kitchen of this restaurant, if I do say so myself. Also, I used the less expensive version of the talking toilet from City Living to give the bathroom a bit of a Jetsons-y retro-futuristic technology vibe, although I don't think the toilet bowl itself really screams '50s. Maybe the bathroom was renovated sometime over the course of this restaurant's history.
https://i.imgur.com/1ZZTaom.jpg

There's also a small upstairs area with a couple of booths and the bar from Bowling Night Stuff. I used a lot of Bowling Night Stuff in this build, in addition to Cool Kitchen Stuff and Dine Out. The main reason that this room is here is because it has a door leading out to the rocket launchpad.
https://i.imgur.com/JFvCdFD.jpg

Last but not least, we have the outdoor seating and kids' play area in back. I figure that the playground equipment, fences and light poles also would've been added to the restaurant in more recent decades. My idea was that the parents would sit at the outdoor dining tables and supervise while their kids played. Also, I chose the spaceship playground to go with the retro space-age theme of the build.
https://i.imgur.com/zUIFfMg.jpg

Rock it is a great 50’s themed diner! :) It looks very nice the way that you used the items from Cool Kitchen, Bowliing Nght Stuff.. and Dine Out in the build. The rocket launchpad , name of the build and the spaceship for kids to play on all suit the theme of the build well! It is great that there are both indoors and outdoors dining areas. It looks very nice the way the booth and the counter stool dining areas are set up inside the diner, and Sims will enjoy dining at the tables on the outdoors patio whilst the kids have fun playing on the playground equipment of the tunnels, slide and ball pit. The colourful jigsaw floor patterning adds a great look to the area! It is nice touches that there is a cupcake machine and a juke box to enjoy listening to music in the diner.
Sims will enjoy visiting and dining at the Diner! :)