Build a house or get one off the gallery?

I do both. In previous versions, I would only build my own or use the Maxis premades. In this one? I play with this integrated rotation of characters. It is pretty cool because most of the townies are of my own making or I've edited them at some point, so I'll generally recognize the townies who are walking around at any given time.

I work with the Maxis lots, I've built certain houses and lately I've seen the value of downloading. I built my own cinema with my own features but I've done things like download an ice rink, library or park to add some variety. I'm pretty picky and I look for lots that might be a unique building style that I want to incorporate. I might edit some of those lots further to suit my sims. I did build my own cemetary which is a tiny park where my sims go to mourn when one passes.

I like building but sometimes I want fresh ideas from a well-made lot that I can adapt for my sims. I tend not to spend a lot of time doing extra decorating before I get into gameplay, so I appreciate that someone else took the time to add architectural features. I might appreciate a layout that I haven't thought of. It just depends on what I need the lot for and what exactly I want to do.