Landscaping

I leave the landscaping blank :smile:

I think many plan the outside like they plan the inside and roughly sketch it out beforehand if there's a lot to it. I would look at pictures of gardens if I were unsure of what to do.

I never use floor plans for houses but that's a good idea.

I would say, it depends on the type of the houses; modern, traditional, hunted, alien, spell caster, vampire, etc.

I'm not saying that my way is the best, but, what I did is,

1. I place the tree first
2. Then followed by the flowers/bushes that I want, either around the house or just below the windows, or even along the pathway. Play with the height & colours.
3. You can also add in the little wildflowers under your trees to make it looks nicer
4. Then use the terrain paint under the trees, bushes, & the flowers.

How do you decide where to place the foliage though? How about setting up patios and things like that?

"Mariefoxprice83;c-17588038" wrote:
How do you decide where to place the foliage though? How about setting up patios and things like that?

I usually place the foliage at every corner of the house, then start placing the rest, if I feel that it needs more. Else, I just place them on the pathway like what I did here,



And here is what I meant by placing the wildflowers under the tree.



I mostly have patio at the back of the house which either lead to a pool, garden, or BBQ space. Or you can make a little gazebo either at front or at the back too.

I'm not really great with the outdoor spaces either. What I do though, that I think helps me, is I look at the background in the neighbourhood around me. I see what plants they used in the set dressing around the lot I'm building and I try to use things that blend in with that, if not exactly the same plants in some cases (for a more wild area). If nothing else though, it helps to inspire me . :)

I usually don't landscape cause I'm bad at it but recently I've been trying to work on it and i noticed few things

1. smaller lots are much easier to landscape cause less space to fill

2. its somehow easier to landscape when you do not center the house on lot

3. fenced areas and bushes are actually pretty cool

4. when in doubt add a big terrace instead so you don't have so much lawn to fill

5. make logical pathways with rocks, terrain paint, floor tiles and such and design around that

6. consider neighbors ideas cause grass is always greener next door - meaning look at other yards in your sims neighborhood

Before I build, I usually:

go into terrain paint mode and start sketching out where I want the house, the patio, the trees, the bushes, hills, paths, fences, ponds and swimming pools. I also make sure I leave enough space for game play objects such as swings, a vegetable garden etc. and ensure that routing makes sense.

create elevated areas, if any.

build the house, including interior and exterior features such as the patio, sheds and a glasshouse.

fill the garden based on the sketch I made: Fenced off areas first. then undergrowth/flowers, then scrubs and small trees and then bigger trees. Finally I add stones and re-paint where necessary.

Done.

"Mariefoxprice83;c-17588038" wrote:
How do you decide where to place the foliage though? How about setting up patios and things like that?

Excellent question!

-I've found that over-doing it can just clutter it up. !!!
-I've looked at others landscaping from the gallery for ideas.
-A theme of the house/lot/neighborhood is usually what I go with.

Unlike some, I try not to have the edges of the lot filled and not synchronous, in other words looking out-of-place compared to the hard-programed landscape outside the lot. Generally I try to have the edges blend at the borders.

-Also, I try not to fill it all up at once, but leave it open and un-cluttered for filling stuff in later based on my own whims as I play.

Here's an example. I have done quite a bit more since this screenshot. But like I said 'baby-steps'. ;)

https://i.imgur.com/19qJMNQ.png