EAxis House of Fail: July

[Liz]

Witch, that is amazing! Very gorgeous concept. The pond views throughout work beautifully. Also, it looks like it would convert to a dorm or hotel pretty nicely too. That's one hell of a get-away/summer house!

ETA: I agree with keeping the rebuild/remodel challenges together as a monthly thing. Kind of nice to have a group activity (besides poking n00bs, of course ;p).

[Lady Moiraine]

What is the deadline date for this?  I think this looks like a fun challenge!

[Liz]

Seeing as how it's the July challenge... July 31 or Aug 1?

[jolrei]

Play testing this today. It's a fun house, love the pool inside!



Is the image showing now?
(Still haven't play tested, will post new pics tommorro. or hopefully later today.)

I got the image, but only after loading the URL for the .jpg separately.  Not sure what the problem is.  It's a fine remodel though.  Round side room is a nice feature.  If you're serious about this challenge, we'll want to see interior layouts.  Try posting pictures on Photobucket or some other fileshare site - those tend to link quite well.

I don't think I can cap Witch's entry.  Extremely nicely done.

[floopyboo]

Hang on a tick, is CC okay or not okay, because I'm having some mad roman thoughts & this place would look great with $900 marble paneling.

[Zazazu]

CC is supposed to be a no-no. But, eh. I think someone posted a CC-version in the June thread.

[floopyboo]

Damn. Without my Roman CC I won't try, because I can't outdo witch's efforts without it.

[Tingeling]

@Witch: That house looks great! It is a keeper.

I have a question tho. I want to do a house makeover of this property too, but I have a problem with the picture taking. I can't take a photo of a lot with a pool in it without the game slowing down to a snails pace, which is quite annoying. Does anyone have a suggestion why that is? I have very little cc, lots of space on the harddrive, about 2 Gigs of memory and a 3.2 dualcore processor.

[Alex]

Try tinkering with the settings or using Print Screen instead or something.

[jolrei]

Damn. Without my Roman CC I won't try, because I can't outdo witch's efforts without it.

Oh, I'm still going to make an entry, I just don't think it will even approach being as good as Witch's.

[SnootCB]

I have a question tho. I want to do a house makeover of this property too, but I have a problem with the picture taking. I can't take a photo of a lot with a pool in it without the game slowing down to a snails pace, which is quite annoying. Does anyone have a suggestion why that is? I have very little cc, lots of space on the harddrive, about 2 Gigs of memory and a 3.2 dualcore processor.

If you don't get too much of a slow down when you Alt+Tab out, you can just PrintScreen and copy/paste the pics into MS Paint or something.  Actually that's what I do because I can never find the pictures I took after I get out of the game.

Hang on a tick, is CC okay or not okay, because I'm having some mad roman thoughts & this place would look great with $900 marble paneling.

I think it would be OK if you uploaded a CC-free version too, or maybe some pictures of what it looks like without the CC.  That rule was mainly added to avoid someone downloading a lot with bunch of CC that (1) is not credited to the original creator (2) causes glitches on the lot that were not caught because the lot was not playtested properly or (3) is just plain fugly and has to be hunted down and put out of its misery.

I am having trouble trying to figure out something unique and useful to do with this lot.

[floopyboo]

All I'm going to say about this is that I have unusual tastes in decor (as my poor husband found out to his horror last Thursday) and if I can't use the CC I need to use to do a good Roman house, well, it's going to be more than a little kitschy. I may well be the Gali of interior design.

I'll see how I go with it tomorrow, CC-free.

[Cimaronna]

Witch, that house is incredible! This one is in reserve for a favorite(s)! 

[Liz]

Damn. Without my Roman CC I won't try, because I can't outdo witch's efforts without it.

Oh, I'm still going to make an entry, I just don't think it will even approach being as good as Witch's.

It really was mean of witch to whip that out so early in the month, wasn't it? Intimidated Liz is intimidated. Still, it's not an actual contest or anything (yeah, right ;p). I love seeing what everyone is doing with these pool/pond obstacles. Thinking this will be a great chance to nab some Vacation Houses for my sims with Twiiki/Takemizu-envy. Three so far and looking forward to more!

Floopyboo, last month some people submitted a CC-version after their "rule-abiding" entry, so maybe you could do that.

[reggikko]

In my makeover, I decided to keep the general exterior look of the house the same. I wanted it to still be recognizable as the same house. I did add on a bit at the rear, changed windows, doors, and exterior paint. I totally revamped the interior. The ground floor has the dreaded pool, along with hot tub, bar, and a family room. Upstairs is the kitchen, master bedroom, kids' room and nursery. The house now has 3 full baths. It isn't fully Awesomespec because that isn't how I play or design. Also, I added a lot in the way of landscaping to make the house feel like a "Harmonious Haven".

I have all EPs up to Seasons plus FFS & GLS. Fully furnished, the house sells for §106,496. Unfurnished is §42,116.

Aggh. Please excuse the picture quality. I forgot to change my settings on my new clean account and I don't have the energy to redo them right now.




More pictures and download HERE.

[Liz]

Lovely job, Reggikko! It's totally recognizable as the same house, and at the same time, y'know, not. 
Ground floor is v sexy, and I like the long, thin family room. Landscaping is gorgeous - lush but not overwhelming.

[keirra]

I really like all the entries so far. Witch, you are one of my favorite remodel/builders. I have so many of your lots in my game. I can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with.

[SalixTree]

Here's mine. I thought it made a nice fun house. Good for pleasure Sims.



slideshow: click on the lil pic


download Haven of Delights here: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ocumov0jjyj

[Liz]

Wah, what a fun house, SalixTree! I *love* the turret bedroom, and you've incorporated the pond beautifully.
So, we can haz download?

eta: yay, downloadage!

[Alex]

That looks amazing! I really must steal borrow the curved bridge idea. It would fit in perfectly with the theme I'm working into this house.

[Cimaronna]

WooHoo!

These are fantastic! I do love to glean new ideas. *Nabs and dashes* 

[Emma]

Reggikko and SalixTree, I love yours too! Mine is....not so good. I'll finish it and post it tomorrow. I think this will be my only entry this month though as this house is evil to remodel.

[Tingeling]

How much of the pond are we allowed to modify? Can we move it or only expand?

[Liz]

I think when it comes to the pond and pool, we're only expanding if desired and not moving them. Makes them a bugger, but that's (supposed to be) the fun of it this month.

[Hecubus]

Mine is rather modern. This version costs §115.5K - 2 bed, 2.5 bath



Construction changes:
-removed roofs and replaced with flat roof
-extended house on left side
-added greenhouse on first floor
-removed all interior walls; rearranged top floor, added half-bath to bottom floor
- changed stairwell
-opened second floor area for fountain-gazing
-created kitchen area with half-walls
-extended front balcony, added side balconies

Landscaping changes:
-flattened most of lot
-extended ponds as shown
-added awesomespec fence
- added trees and other plants
-removed most terrains

More exterior shots:






Ground floor:






Second floor:







(If Maxis had full-length blinds, I wouldn't have had to do all this masking with plants. Bah.)

Ground Floor Plan:


Top Floor Plan:


What I know is not to awesomespec:
- kitchen; I just couldn't bring myself to close it up!
-stairwell; I did not block it off
Also, I seem to have forgotten to add a chair to the one desk.

Download here.


(I plan to make a cc version at some point, as now that I've made the changes to the lot, I rather like it.)