EAxis House of Phail: Feb 09

[Borkedforlife]

@witch:  I agree, the exterior of my prison needed some detail, pics of spruced up exterior and prisoners not having fun to come...

@SalixTree: Stunning and so original! I Iove the whimsy and humour. It looks like it should be plopped down in Disney's resort area! Yoinked.

[BastDawn]

Salix, I love the house, but the description... urgh, my teeth hurt.

[Mootilda]

SalixTree: could you post some pictures of the floor plan?

[SalixTree]

BastDawn, those pixies eat vegetables, not candy! 
Mootilda, here you are, I didn't want to post too many pics, so I put them in a slideshow:

1st floor


2nd floor


living area


3rd floor

[Tingeling]

This months house was far too enjoyable! I have made another verison, a forest cabin inspired one. This lot costs 60,094 simoleons, has two bedrooms, 1 babby room, kitchen and two bathrooms. I have all expansionpacks and all stuffa packs except Glamour life. Enjoy!











Download here

[loripanori]

I agree Tingeling, I'm having way too much fun with this month's house!  I really like your forest cabin...  it has a great layout, looks fantastic, and keeps to the theme really well throughout.  Nice job!

I made another version as well, without moving any trees this time.  I was going to try to make an ultra modern futuristic type of lot, so that I could play around with a bunch of maxis items that I never really use, but then I realized that that type of house doesn't really work on a lot with a bunch of trees...  so I toned it down a bit, and now it's just modern-ish (I think).  It also sticks to a red, white and black colour theme (White Stripes inspired, ha). 

It costs $67,539 and has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.  Here it is!


























Download Here

[pbox]

Hello =)

I went with the no-moving-trees/shrubs restriction (that was fun, thanks! =) and tried to make it look like they could have been planted there on purpose. I also made my lot base game only, and a starter, so it's not very grand, but I playtested it for about a sim week with a family of three (NL/OfB/seasons with no hacks) and it worked nicely -- it's also playable without stupid trees getting in the way. (I moved one of the hibiscus..es? hibiscii? slightly off-grid so that it doesn't poke through the wall, all other trees are unchanged. Pics below are from the original lot except those that say they're from playtesting).


Features:

- Two bedrooms (a double and a tiny single) upstairs, dining/living and separate kitchen downstairs, one bathroom
- Furnished -- as tastefully as I could manage with basegame-only and the small budget -- for 1-2 sims, with fireplace, all basics included (no burglar alarm though! And only the living room has a fire alarm, not the kitchen, because there's no stove yet)
- Is a little awesome in some respects (bedrooms are out of the way; lockable kitchen and stairs; garden is lockable against visitors) but not very much so -- no vampire carport etc.
- Garden has a covered porch and two terraces; the one behind the house would be a nice secluded spot for an outdoor hot tub

In-game price is 19.999§ as pictured. Base game compatible, no CC.


One small error I only noticed when looking at the screenshots: seems like I accidentially moved the door of the small bedroom; it was meant to lead to the corridor, not to the large bedroom.

If you play the lot from the other side -- not the side that the screenshots are taken from -- you will see the big ugly thing underneath the stairs if you look at them from the top floor. If that bothers you, crocobaura has made an "open underneath" version of those exact stairs that you could use instead. I don't mind, since I usually only look at a lot from one angle, and the stairs are not visible downstairs.


Street view:




Street view from playtesting (so that you can actually see the house -- I removed the trees to make room for driveways):




Side:




Other side:




Overview, downstairs:




Overview, upstairs:


(Extra feature I discovered during playtesting: those "mini attics" next to the dormer are very handy for getting rid of ugly townies without having any hacks in .. drop townie in there and let it starve, like in the old days. Also useful as storage space for batboxen and the like.)


Lot overview:




Later on during playtesting:




File is attached below. Have fun with it!

[Emma]

@loripanori; I LOVE this house, it looks awesome! Gorgeous interior design.

[SalixTree]

Pbox, that house is ultra cute, seems perfect for one of my Sims just come out of college.
Loripanori, digging yours a lot too, maybe for one of my darker Sims. Lovely layout, and I like the color theme throughout.
Oooh! Tingeling, a forest house!  That's gorgeous, must have!

[Tingeling]

@Pbox: Your houses always look so real for some reason. I like the color scheme and the porch. The impression is very homely.

@loripanori: I enjoy modeern homes a lot, and I would say that your building does look modern. I especially like the halfwall on the front porch. I would never have thought to use that. The colors are really nice too. I wonder, which expansionpacks or stuffpacks do you have?

[Annan]

@Pbox: Your houses always look so real for some reason. I like the color scheme and the porch. The impression is very homely.

Yes! I was just going to say. It looks like it could be from any Swedish (Scandinavian, even, maybe?) suburb. I like it!

[crunk]

Witch - glad you like it! I admit to abusing the matchy-ness of the seasons expansion pack. Seasons has always been my favorite though, decoration wise.

loripanori - The first house looks great, good co-ordination. Architecturally the house looks great, nice combination of colors. The orange brick-way kind of throws the whole look off for me though. The modern house is good. I like the patio and all of the red throughout.

Strangel - The color scheme is great (who knew MATY was so matchy?) and the house looks like it will be a good fit for a variety of rural neighborhoods. I like the way you fenced off the pool. Is the candle on the dining room table blocking sims from eating at the table?

Emma - You've done a great job of disguising this house! Inspiring for sims who start out a bit more humble then they'd like too. I like the back balcony with the plants.

Tingling - I'm more partial to your traditional style house, but you've done an excellent job doing modern with no custom content. I think a lot of simmers have problems doing that. The cabin looks good - nice use of trees. I'm looking forward to playing all three of your houses.

twooflower - Very cute rambling little house. I want to live in the kids' room.

SalixTree - your style is... bright! Very, very bright! Also very well planned and put together. Looking at the house, beyond the paint and wow! color - I'm really impressed. Once its in my game no one needs to know that I wont re-paint.


Pbox - unsurprisingly, I like your house. I haven't met a house of yours I haven't liked.

[Strangel]

Crunk: Nope!  I thoroughly playtest before offering. I forgot to include that info. lol
It's cramped cozy, but I didn't have any issues with the Ramaswamis, their child, or their dog and cat. Yeah.. I kinda cheat them into a full-on family so I can better test crowd control. I don't have BV, so I have no idea if you can live in a vacation hood or bring pets to it, but this would work just as well in a typical 'hood for a screenshot scene. Same is true of my next one, a dinky little manshack.

[SalixTree]

I like this month's challenge a lot, so many great little houses. That small 2 by 2 size is so easy to play. I hope you all don't mind a few thoughts, just my opinions.

Crunk, this is such a delightful little house. But I have this thing about having a back door, so I added one, easier to get to that veggie garden. And also put in a hallway arch from the living area.

Pbox, on your house, I added more grass to the front area. I didn't like the gravel. Such a cute house! Interesting that the "front" door is around the back. Kinda European that way.

Tingaling, loving your woodsy house. I like that you put in more trees. I did change the pond though, I like it a little asymmetrical, more of a natural shape.

Twooflower, I did paint your house green. I love the layout, the side door entrance is nice. I also like the cramped feel of the whole place, reminds me a little of Irish cottages I've seen around.

All these are going strait into my current neighborhood, as I love tiny lots. Thanks you all.
*waits for more*

[loripanori]

@Tingeling - For exapansion packs I'm using all except for OFB, Bon Voyage, and Free Time.  And I have all Stuff Packs except for Holiday and Family Fun.  Hopefully that works for you, I'm glad you like the house   

Also, thanks for the nice words Emma!  I'm glad you like the design.  It was a lot of fun playing around with the colour scheme when decorating.  And I never thought I'd actually use those futur nu arches in a lot, but there they are, haha.  They were the first thing I put in, and I was determined not to take them out.     

@ Crunk - Looking at my first lot again, I kind of agree about the walkway...  I think I originally put those bricks in to tie in with the deep oranges, browns, reds & beiges used on the interior, but against the dark brown exterior they're probably a little too orange.     

This challenge has been a lot of fun.  I look forward to seeing what else everyone comes up with. 

[Giggy]

Urg, everytime Pbox enters a house, I always get jealous.
Tis not fair! Why are they always good!

Please don't make crap houses, I don't want to get sued

[crunk]

Crunk, this is such a delightful little house. But I have this thing about having a back door, so I added one, easier to get to that veggie garden. And also put in a hallway arch from the living area.

That isn't a bad idea. I guess I just like to have things collect by the front door, and also was trying to strictly contain where visitors and if needed pets could go. If you get bored I'd love to see a picture of what you changed.

[Anebrd]

 It's simple and cheap, under 20,000. I plan to move some newbies in that is why the place is blah. I didn't remove any trees but I did have to move them around a bit.

This is what it looks from the neighborhood view.


Here it standing in the front yard
Have a nice little garden out front and when the money starts to come in, I plan on having a little pond on the other side of the path
and here is the floor plan

Plain inside but Iwanted to keep it under 20,000. Comes in at 18,000 or 19,000.

[Tingeling]

@Anebrd: That looks plain, but interesting. You've kept the color scheme in the blues and greens throughout, which I find is most pleasing to the eye. I bet I could slap some of my neighbourhood trailor trash on that lot. Nice job!

[Kyna]

@Anebrd - Did you remove/move some of the original external walls?  Part of this challenge is to leave the original external walls in place.  I'm always on the lookout for lots under 20K, so can we have a download link?

Here's my first ever house of fail entry, 10 Hilltop Drive.  I figured I couldn't go too far wrong with the box we started with.

I wanted to build something for young upwardly-mobile fortune couples who work in the city, but live in the bush just outside town.  I imagine the lot being surrounded by plenty of trees.  This is why they have plenty of windows, to enjoy the natural bushland, and the trees would provide privacy.

4 bathrooms, 1 bedroom, 1 double nursery.  Wanded it comes in at just over 40K.  All original plants & trees are still in their original positions.  Not quite awesomespec, as the nursery and the one desk are both upstairs and there is no fencing.  No CC apart from some MATY objects (BUY toilet paper, sleepclock, LS coffee machine).  I have all EPs & SPs except for IKEA and M&G, including some store items, but I don't think I've used any store items in the lot.  No wall decorations, this lets your young fortune couples satisfy their "buy a painting" wants, and allows them to stamp their own personality on the lot.

Exterior view.  It's in my test hood here, but if I were playing the lot, I'd probably put it somewhere like on that hilltop near the bridge in PV, with plenty of trees around.


Ground floor.  Two bathrooms downstairs, lockable kitchen, lockable stairs.  The original building is now a dining room/skilling area.  Small sitting room.


First floor.  Two more bathrooms, twin-capable nursery, one bedroom, the one desk.  The spawn pods are each large enough to take a single bed + bedside table.  If not needed as a nursery, the nursery play area could become a skilling area.


Download here: 10 Hilltop Drive.Sims2Pack

[keirra]

Kyna, I really like what you did with this lot. Can we have a download link?

[Kyna]

Link now added.

[Emma]

Kyna, that looks great, I love those windows, they make a lot look really modern 

[Tingeling]

@Kyna: I like the white, sleek and modern look you've got going here. And as Emma said, those windows are great for that purpose. Not bad for a first entry. 

[keirra]

Kyna, I moved a couple into that lot and have been playing it all night. Beautiful lot. Baaaaaaa!