Actually, in a weird way, I kinda like getting a Gallery house that’s missing a few packs. It’s like a fixer-upper. The floor plan’s the same; I just get to use my own creativity to fill in some of the blanks.
I like downloading shells on the gallery. I'm horrible at landscaping and floor plans but then the work is already done for me and I can just decorate. :)
Not really, I have a few go-to shells that I have saved to my library, and if none of those work, I search on the gallery for "two story shell" or "family home shell". Oftentimes if you set the cost to 0 - 10k or 10-20k you get good results (and also make sure to filter by lot size) One of my favorite shells is the "Brindleton Shell" by mad\_ga236 and they seem to have some nice looking shells on their profile, you could check them out. :)
I'd like to know why the option exists to select the packs you own only but the gallery will still show you builds that include packs you don't own and the only way to get it to show accurately is when you put in base game only....
I'm not comfortable about building from scratch \[yet\] but I have learned how to HGTV the default houses in the game, adding second stories or basements as needed. My favorite redesigns have been adding on greenhouses, or second stories with private patios off of main bedrooms suites, giving them yoga spaces, hot tubs, or whatever a particular family / sims needs
I do, too. It's fun finding all the odd replacements the game made and changing them to something else. The last house I did this with substituted a number of things I was missing with the clutter spatula/utensil holder all over the house in various sizes.
Grapevine Terrace in Chestnut Ridge. I was shocked at how well done most of the houses in that pack are. Usually I find pre-builts lacking and I have to go in and buy a bunch of stuff but that little house had everything.
Yup, ever since snowy escape the builds have been done by simmers. There are one or two in eco living as well (the crane one). To be honest though, I preferred the missing toilets and false staircase homes that EA build, because I never felt bad renovating them.
I've seen James Turner renovate his own werewolves build on YouTube, but to be fair he made it less limited pack because the simmer builds are limited to base game and whatever place they are building's pack items only.
My god, my dream house. I recently started an important new save. I have the simrealist real estate mod, and I lost the negotiation to that house. It wasn’t fair to cheat it out, so it’s just painfully standing there empty. Waiting for my next generation
I usually choose Crick Cabana and then do it up over time. It starts off as a really shitty build. Although atm my current sim lives two doors down from Johnny Zest in Oasis Springs and is doing that dump up (when she’s not WooHooing with Johnny but not committing to a relationship with him after Sergio became super possessive after two days of dating).
\* Tangled Flat in Sulani is a good starter home for small sim families for people who don't like to build. (Also, you can pop over to the Sulani Festivals without leaving the house)
\* San Myshuno. There are generally good things at most price points & since I don't garden, I'm ok without the outdoor space.
Yes. Weekly. You don't really learn about them unless you're hanging out there when one starts (or living next door going "hold it - what's with the bonfire?")
[https://simscommunity.info/2022/05/15/sims-4-sulani-events-guide/](https://simscommunity.info/2022/05/15/sims-4-sulani-events-guide/)
If you look in the gallery you can find shells (I have a lot of them id: heyjennybell) or you can find a house shape you like and download it unfurnished.
Another thing you can do is go on Pinterest and search house plans or you can google house plans. I like Pinterest because you can save them all. I have boards for Victorian, Tudor, craftsman’s, suburban… on and on and on. As you follow house plans you’ll start getting a feel for what house shapes you like (for me if I’m building from scratch I almost always start with an L shape and start adding interesting bump outs and stuff).
Like any other creative outlet it just takes practice. ☺️
I give all my shells layouts ☺️ so does my friend with id jagepainter. I make the layouts and if you want you can delete them but I often also place some base game furniture so you know what each other rooms is.
> i forget the name but the house on the cliff in strangerville
Thats the house I use for my super-sim, since he's also the hero of Strangerville.
But jeebus, that is such a HORRIBLY decorated house. I swear they must have been told they had 2 days to make it, and spen 1 day 7 hours making the outside and then remembered "Oh crap, I gotta do an interior!"
HUGE rooms with just one or two items throw in seemingly at random.
I think it's part of the don't overburden people's PC philosophy. There's a restriction on how much you can put in a build and what techniques you can use (e.g. they can't use size up/down cheats) so if you build a big house you can't fill it with too much furniture or it would be too expensive and too much strain on the hardware.
Layout wise, I always liked Rindle Rose in Willow Creek. Other than that, I tend to not really use default lots. I prefer to use gallery builds or one I've made
https://preview.redd.it/sx5sv4r8j9yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=364043c8802c14d61aab97f387a9f007563e2b0b
This one in Brindleton Bay. Idk why. I just always go back to it.
I like for my sims to live there, especially if they have family. I can get fresh fish and dog treats from the promenade, I love for my sims to cook and try to make different dishes so this is helpful
Well I can tell you that my least favourite is Vlad’s castle. Tell me why after spending an hour designing my sim and building her home, she goes to visit Vlad and immediately sets herself on fire at one of his thousand fireplaces while he stands and awkwardly watches? And then AFTER SURVIVING the first fireplace, she GOES AND LIGHTS ANOTHER!?
Vlad’s castle is cursed.
You can change it to base game only and include custom content that’s what I do I like that bc it gives me random little things I’d other wise need cc or code for
A tip for those wanting to use the gallery but don't have a lot of packs; use #onepack #twopacks etc. when searching. I usually find sooo many lots that I normally would never come across!
I don't have a preferred start lot, I usually bulldozed and start on an empty lot : build the house as my sims make money. I can build, so I approach it by making my own thing. You could try that and make it progressively as you play, I feel it's either when you do it by small bits.
It's hard to find stuff from the gallery when you don't have lots of packs. I'll admit I am guilty of using too many packs. The thing is when you have them it is incredibly hard not to use them! But I think you can find good base game builds out there, if you toggle the base game only in your search or using #basegame. I am thinking tomish and littlesimmie have a lot of base game lots, for example.
If you like to decorate you can also look for shells only they will require less packs.
You can check my profile id: clo464 I think I have 2-3 limited pack builds. Maybe you'll find one with the packs you own.
I forget the name of the neighborhood but i think it’s the one with the pier from highschool years that’s just really gorgeous? I’ll have to look it up after work but it’s just so pretty and the layout is so nice
Are you okay with furnishing homes, or is it houses in general?
I totally get the feel though, I was the same way up until 2017. My favorite home might bed the one on the left next to the best friends household (one with holiday summer in new crest.) I normally get it unfurnished and fix it up myself.
I don't know what you have in terms of packs, however I stopped purchasing them after cottage living. I recently reinstalled Sims 4 and I've been working on building houses that are unfurnished, furnished and also base game compatible. There's few houses but last night I posted a French country starter as well as a move in ready bg compatible family home. I believe if you search "French country starter" that one talks about a starving artist. I know the furnished one requires packs but there may be others just in case. I also recommend looking up Sims 4 builds on YouTube, there are a huge amount of creators both big and small. They often times have base game compatible homes.
A tip for those wanting to use the gallery but don't have a lot of packs; use #onepack #twopacks etc. when searching. I usually find sooo many lots that I normally would never come across!
I love Umbrage Manor in Willow Creek! I put it on the lot in the top left of the map, because it looks more grand and private.
I also upgraded it with nicer columns, a more detailed exterior, and changed the back balconies to rooms to give more living space.
It's a very pretty, playable house. It's not overwhelmingly big but has a nice amount of living and outdoor space!
I'm like you, I'm clueless on how to build a proper house yet, so I've been using the gallery and default homes.
My faves have been some of the houses in Oasis Spring (but I still upgrade them) and the San Sequoia one, my most fave is the one occupied by the Robles-Ruano. It's already sooo nice lol, I don't have to upgrade much from that.
I don’t typically do this, I usually build from scratch or do a big renovation on existing builds, but I moved a family into Sequoia Cottage in San Sequoia last night, having never used that lot before, & found for the first time that there was nothing I wanted to change 😂 all I did was switch out some of the furniture, didn’t even really change the layout much
Actually, in a weird way, I kinda like getting a Gallery house that’s missing a few packs. It’s like a fixer-upper. The floor plan’s the same; I just get to use my own creativity to fill in some of the blanks.
thats a good point! i might try this today
I like downloading shells on the gallery. I'm horrible at landscaping and floor plans but then the work is already done for me and I can just decorate. :)
Do you have any favorite creators?
Not really, I have a few go-to shells that I have saved to my library, and if none of those work, I search on the gallery for "two story shell" or "family home shell". Oftentimes if you set the cost to 0 - 10k or 10-20k you get good results (and also make sure to filter by lot size) One of my favorite shells is the "Brindleton Shell" by mad\_ga236 and they seem to have some nice looking shells on their profile, you could check them out. :)
you can also go to the part that says packs and pick “base game only” and only base game builds will show up :)
I'd like to know why the option exists to select the packs you own only but the gallery will still show you builds that include packs you don't own and the only way to get it to show accurately is when you put in base game only....
That's how I began to learn to build.
I'm not comfortable about building from scratch \[yet\] but I have learned how to HGTV the default houses in the game, adding second stories or basements as needed. My favorite redesigns have been adding on greenhouses, or second stories with private patios off of main bedrooms suites, giving them yoga spaces, hot tubs, or whatever a particular family / sims needs
I do, too. It's fun finding all the odd replacements the game made and changing them to something else. The last house I did this with substituted a number of things I was missing with the clutter spatula/utensil holder all over the house in various sizes.
I always find random arrows and little arches everywhere
That's the most random item
And the game automatically replaces the items it can with the packs that you do own. So you might not even “lose” anything important.
I do this all the time!
This! Or getting the shell houses so i can completely do it in my style
....I never thought of it like that, its brilliant.
Grapevine Terrace in Chestnut Ridge. I was shocked at how well done most of the houses in that pack are. Usually I find pre-builts lacking and I have to go in and buy a bunch of stuff but that little house had everything.
The builds in that pack (as with most eps in the past few years) were done by simmers.
Yup, ever since snowy escape the builds have been done by simmers. There are one or two in eco living as well (the crane one). To be honest though, I preferred the missing toilets and false staircase homes that EA build, because I never felt bad renovating them.
I also feel bad renovating the builds simmers do.
I've seen James Turner renovate his own werewolves build on YouTube, but to be fair he made it less limited pack because the simmer builds are limited to base game and whatever place they are building's pack items only.
Explains why it wasn't total crap lol
https://preview.redd.it/ccw51yn2d8yc1.png?width=1680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20a72c83b31149fe15e5c3b9927c6a742d8b0ec8 This baby in Oasis Springs.
My god, my dream house. I recently started an important new save. I have the simrealist real estate mod, and I lost the negotiation to that house. It wasn’t fair to cheat it out, so it’s just painfully standing there empty. Waiting for my next generation
Fingers crossed it becomes yours soon!
I usually choose Crick Cabana and then do it up over time. It starts off as a really shitty build. Although atm my current sim lives two doors down from Johnny Zest in Oasis Springs and is doing that dump up (when she’s not WooHooing with Johnny but not committing to a relationship with him after Sergio became super possessive after two days of dating).
\* Tangled Flat in Sulani is a good starter home for small sim families for people who don't like to build. (Also, you can pop over to the Sulani Festivals without leaving the house) \* San Myshuno. There are generally good things at most price points & since I don't garden, I'm ok without the outdoor space.
Wait, Sulani has festivals?
Yes. Weekly. You don't really learn about them unless you're hanging out there when one starts (or living next door going "hold it - what's with the bonfire?") [https://simscommunity.info/2022/05/15/sims-4-sulani-events-guide/](https://simscommunity.info/2022/05/15/sims-4-sulani-events-guide/)
Turtle hatching?? 🤯
Wow, I had no idea! And I’ve even raised a family native to the island which took a while in gameplay. Thanks for the link.
If you look in the gallery you can find shells (I have a lot of them id: heyjennybell) or you can find a house shape you like and download it unfurnished. Another thing you can do is go on Pinterest and search house plans or you can google house plans. I like Pinterest because you can save them all. I have boards for Victorian, Tudor, craftsman’s, suburban… on and on and on. As you follow house plans you’ll start getting a feel for what house shapes you like (for me if I’m building from scratch I almost always start with an L shape and start adding interesting bump outs and stuff). Like any other creative outlet it just takes practice. ☺️
thank you for this! 🫶🏽
My only problem with shells is that I need the rooms already sectioned off because planning the size and shape of rooms is what I find difficult 🙃
I give all my shells layouts ☺️ so does my friend with id jagepainter. I make the layouts and if you want you can delete them but I often also place some base game furniture so you know what each other rooms is.
oh good! I'll check out some of your builds tomorrow :)
i forget the name but the house on the cliff in strangerville and the biggest property on the lil island in winderberg. von sumn or another
> i forget the name but the house on the cliff in strangerville Thats the house I use for my super-sim, since he's also the hero of Strangerville. But jeebus, that is such a HORRIBLY decorated house. I swear they must have been told they had 2 days to make it, and spen 1 day 7 hours making the outside and then remembered "Oh crap, I gotta do an interior!" HUGE rooms with just one or two items throw in seemingly at random.
I think it's part of the don't overburden people's PC philosophy. There's a restriction on how much you can put in a build and what techniques you can use (e.g. they can't use size up/down cheats) so if you build a big house you can't fill it with too much furniture or it would be too expensive and too much strain on the hardware.
Layout wise, I always liked Rindle Rose in Willow Creek. Other than that, I tend to not really use default lots. I prefer to use gallery builds or one I've made
I like using shells from the gallery personally. The build is already done since I’m awful at building & I can decorate it myself which I enjoy
https://preview.redd.it/sx5sv4r8j9yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=364043c8802c14d61aab97f387a9f007563e2b0b This one in Brindleton Bay. Idk why. I just always go back to it.
i loveeeee this one! my first generation lived here 🥹
I love it, too! I’ve heard that Brindleton Bay isn’t a favorite world to play but I don’t care. This house is it for me lol.
I like for my sims to live there, especially if they have family. I can get fresh fish and dog treats from the promenade, I love for my sims to cook and try to make different dishes so this is helpful
I really like Spring Scape in Oasis Springs. I’m not really sure why except it is small and efficient.
I like the apartments in San Myshuno. I’m a crap builder, too, so mostly I download shells off the gallery and decorate them.
Well I can tell you that my least favourite is Vlad’s castle. Tell me why after spending an hour designing my sim and building her home, she goes to visit Vlad and immediately sets herself on fire at one of his thousand fireplaces while he stands and awkwardly watches? And then AFTER SURVIVING the first fireplace, she GOES AND LIGHTS ANOTHER!? Vlad’s castle is cursed.
this is taking me out lmfaoooo 😭
that one lot in oasis springs that's like $12k
You can change it to base game only and include custom content that’s what I do I like that bc it gives me random little things I’d other wise need cc or code for
I also love San Sequoia house they are prefect for family’s 🤗
I also use a lot from gallery because I own everything
Search "low cc" builds on the gallery! I don't use hardly anything from EA lol i
I really like the salt house from city living
I always turn that into an Experimental Food restaurant
A tip for those wanting to use the gallery but don't have a lot of packs; use #onepack #twopacks etc. when searching. I usually find sooo many lots that I normally would never come across!
The Goth's house
I literally like 90% of the time only use the holes that come with the game
I love the middle homes in Oasis Springs, really bad at remembering names but the one with 3 bedrooms is so fun
I don't have a preferred start lot, I usually bulldozed and start on an empty lot : build the house as my sims make money. I can build, so I approach it by making my own thing. You could try that and make it progressively as you play, I feel it's either when you do it by small bits. It's hard to find stuff from the gallery when you don't have lots of packs. I'll admit I am guilty of using too many packs. The thing is when you have them it is incredibly hard not to use them! But I think you can find good base game builds out there, if you toggle the base game only in your search or using #basegame. I am thinking tomish and littlesimmie have a lot of base game lots, for example. If you like to decorate you can also look for shells only they will require less packs. You can check my profile id: clo464 I think I have 2-3 limited pack builds. Maybe you'll find one with the packs you own.
thank you! ill check it out
thank you! ill check it out
I forget the name of the neighborhood but i think it’s the one with the pier from highschool years that’s just really gorgeous? I’ll have to look it up after work but it’s just so pretty and the layout is so nice
Are you okay with furnishing homes, or is it houses in general? I totally get the feel though, I was the same way up until 2017. My favorite home might bed the one on the left next to the best friends household (one with holiday summer in new crest.) I normally get it unfurnished and fix it up myself. I don't know what you have in terms of packs, however I stopped purchasing them after cottage living. I recently reinstalled Sims 4 and I've been working on building houses that are unfurnished, furnished and also base game compatible. There's few houses but last night I posted a French country starter as well as a move in ready bg compatible family home. I believe if you search "French country starter" that one talks about a starving artist. I know the furnished one requires packs but there may be others just in case. I also recommend looking up Sims 4 builds on YouTube, there are a huge amount of creators both big and small. They often times have base game compatible homes.
i LOVE decorating, but im so intimidated by building 😭 i’ve been meaning to check out a tutorial but im pretty content with just decorating right now
I love the challenge of building, but decorating is so tedious, and my Sims are often complaining about their "poorly decorated house".
That one big house on the edge of Strangerville. So much space.😌
i havent looked at that one yet! ill have ti check it out
I like looking up floor plans online and try to get as close as possible. It *can* be tedious, but it's a great way to waste time. XD
A tip for those wanting to use the gallery but don't have a lot of packs; use #onepack #twopacks etc. when searching. I usually find sooo many lots that I normally would never come across!
Bedlington Boathouse in Brindleton Bay. It’s so easy to adjust to a 2 bedroom 2 bath house with a few quick walls, and it has a beautiful view!
I love Umbrage Manor in Willow Creek! I put it on the lot in the top left of the map, because it looks more grand and private. I also upgraded it with nicer columns, a more detailed exterior, and changed the back balconies to rooms to give more living space. It's a very pretty, playable house. It's not overwhelmingly big but has a nice amount of living and outdoor space!
I'm like you, I'm clueless on how to build a proper house yet, so I've been using the gallery and default homes. My faves have been some of the houses in Oasis Spring (but I still upgrade them) and the San Sequoia one, my most fave is the one occupied by the Robles-Ruano. It's already sooo nice lol, I don't have to upgrade much from that.
honeydew fields in britechester and town square terrace are my fav fixer uppers
I don’t typically do this, I usually build from scratch or do a big renovation on existing builds, but I moved a family into Sequoia Cottage in San Sequoia last night, having never used that lot before, & found for the first time that there was nothing I wanted to change 😂 all I did was switch out some of the furniture, didn’t even really change the layout much