More Awesome Than You!

Giggy offered to let me go ahead and post the house I had in mind for this month on his thread, but it looks like it's been deleted.

This months House of Fail comes from Pleasantview. Some of you may remember it from the L&P screenshots from before the Sims 2 was released. It was one of the houses that got me excited about the game. Like a lot of EAxis houses it looks good from the outside, but the inside is full of fail. It looks like it would be a good house for a small family, but none of the bedrooms are large enough for a double bed.

Last month it was proposed that we make this into a contest and the winner would get to post the next months house. What do you think of that idea?

105 Sim Lane
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Orig/outside.jpg)

(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Orig/outside_side1.jpg)

(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Orig/outside_back.jpg)

(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Orig/outside_side2.jpg)

(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Orig/1st_floor.jpg)

(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Orig/2nd_floor.jpg)

Rules, copy-pasta'd from last month:

1. No CC.  Please indicate needed expansions and stuff packs so people who wish to download your lot know what to expect.  Pictures are required, either available for download, on a slideshow, or posted in this thread.

2. By entering this challenge, you agree to take constructive criticism.  If you wish to judge someone else's entry, you should be respectful but honest.

3. Your lot does not have to be Awesomespec, although it is encouraged.

4. You may move internal walls and add external walls but you may NOT move original external walls.

5. Lots may be furnished, unfurnished, or partially furnished.  You can even upload both furnished and unfurnished versions.

*PLEASE NOTE* Since this is an Eaxis-designed lot, it may or may not have level edges.  Place at your own risk.

New for this lot:
6. Front porch must remain. You may change the fence and delete the columns if you wish, or make the porch bigger.

7. (Optional) The balcony must remain.

(Use Clean Installer to install as I got this from my game which has all EPs/SPs. If not, you can get the original lot from a clean install of your game. Just rename the 'Sims 2' folder and run the game to generate.)

Download 105 Sim Lane as a Sims2Pack file (http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Orig/105_Sim_Lane.Sims2Pack)

Use this link if you're using Internet Explorer:
105 Sim Lane in .zip format (http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Orig/105_Sim_Lane.zip)

Oh I like this house, but the upstairs is full of fail. I'll enjoy reworking this one.

Although, it's not really much of a rule if #7 is optional now is it?

Actually that's one of my favourite houses but yeah the top floor is utter fail, so damn cluttered.

Yay!  New house!

I used to love the whole victorian look, but I just can't figure out how to MAKE the victorian look.  All my houses end up looking like boxes with windows.

I'll have to graph it and work on it at work.




Can I still post the remake of the 'hidden' lot, or should I save it for next time?

Sure, I'd like to see it.

For Giggy:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_35c8a009.jpg)

Its the non-custom-content-non-AL-probably-non-awesome Howls Moving Castle. 
Three floors.
Top floor is master bedroom/bathroom + skilling/crafting items.
Middle floor is childs room (shared) + 2 crib-pods.
Bottom floor is kitchen, dining, the one desk and living room.

Edit: Comparison picture:(http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/images/howls_moving_castle_gal.jpg)

2nd edit:
download from here: Howls Stationary Castle.rar (http://www.4shared.com/file/61495455/9aa9f805/Howls_Stationary_Castle.html)
Additional photos here: (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/th_snapshot_00000029_35c8a009-1.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/?action=view&current=578ad988.pbw)

Link! I want that house.

hold up....whats going on now? the other one was deleted?
so were doing this one and not the gaga baba lala nana house, yes?
anyway...this really is a great house...i cant wait to get stated :D

Did a quickie sort of renovation, and I didn't furnish it.  But I have good news to report!  It seems like the lot itself is level, and if you can wrangle around with constrain lot cheats a bit, you can get the entire lot flattened beneath the house so there's no more stupidness.  (Building around slopes can be cool in a hilly hood.  Adding random dirt piles around the house really isn't.)

Since keeping the balcony was "optional," I ditched it.  And yes, I do have a compulsion to add attached garages to nearly every house I make.

Front:
(http://pics.livejournal.com/quinctia/pic/009ep0kt.jpg)

Back:
(http://pics.livejournal.com/quinctia/pic/009eqgy4.jpg)

First Floor:
(http://pics.livejournal.com/quinctia/pic/009eh1h8.jpg)

Second Floor:
(http://pics.livejournal.com/quinctia/pic/009ekq30.jpg)

It's not Awesomespec, but it's easily converted to be.  Stairs and kitchen are easily shut off, there's room in the front room for a One Desk, etc, etc.  Four beds and four baths, though one of the lower rooms could be used for sleeping if the house got crowded.  Two of the upstairs rooms will fit double beds now! :D

The house is just over 41,000.

Download Link (http://www.esnips.com/doc/2a4e93fa-5c43-48a7-a087-6a6ad76995aa/Quinctia---September-Fail-House---U).
Built with Uni/NL/OfB/Seasons

that house looks great, although I would've chosen a different wallpaper for the exterior of the garage because of the uneveness of it but it looks great and is much better than the original

Downloadable original craptastic for those of us who don't have this hood installed/have the lot in use already, please?

I'd just hide it with an extra tall hedge  ;)

I like what you've done.  The house has this whole clean cut vibe about it.  I will be doing a renovation of this house myself, but not ballsy enough to share in a place that I may regret it later.  And I am anal about the roof of a house.  You have this one section on the back of the house (patio I believe?)  with a seemingly seperate roof over it. 

Don't get me wrong - this looks good.  But I wouldn't be able to do that because in my head I would be thinking about the rain water draining towards the walls of the home!  Haha... yeah I know there are no issues with sim's roofs caving in from rain water, but whatever.  I can't help it.

This house is one of my favourites to convert, I too enjoy the colonial/victorian style of it. This is gonna be fun! :)

@Quinctia: The house looks really cute! I would'nt have chosen that combination of windows though, seems a bit messy. The backyard looks great, and it was smart to move the stairs to the back. That small walkway in the back with the greenhouse walls are a great touch. Might steal that feature for myself ;P

Oops, sorry. I uploaded the house to my server, but forgot to link to it. It's fixed now.

Link fails. :(

Hmm. It worked for me, but I went ahead and replaced the spaces with underscores and edited the link. Try it again. What error message were you getting? I can have my husband look at the server logs if it's still not working and try to figure out why.

I would've picked different windows, too--windows are one of my big weaknesses when adding CC to houses I make.  That and walls.  There wasn't a good Maxis stucco that matched with the other exterior walls, so I just went with the siding again because, while the brick generally doesn't show the wall warp as badly, I didn't think the brick fit for that part of the building.

SimBliss:  Just between you and me, the roof bothers me too.  The problem was that I had the right combination of tiles on that back portion that needed to be roofed that would not let me place the half roof in the right direction.  So I finally just gave up and gave the roof I could get up there a really low slope. :D

I dug the lot file out of my N001 directory in program files, renamed it to cx_0000nextconsecutivenumber and put it in my Lot Bin folder in My Documents.  Ah, the trials of those of us who don't use all the EPs and are too lazy to install Base Game Starter...

Well they aren't legal because it's still CC, CC is still banned so no you can't use them.

SortOfBoring:

If you NEED to use that certain bit of CC, do two houses - make one maxis-only, and the other CC-glorified.  That way you're still keeping within the constraints of the challenge with at least ONE of the houses you submit.

Also, don't forget to list the content used.  It's bad form to use CC and not give credit.

try this http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,7263.0.html I don't know if there is newer but it's the most info I can find (I may not be looking deep enough, I tend to do that... it's hidden in the war room.

I downloaded the link and the Installer states that I'm missing an expansion pack. Anyhow, I manage to install using Clean Installer, but each time I try to go into the house, my game will crash.

I have all EPs up to Free Time and no SPs. I'm guessing the lack of AL that's the problem?

It's possible that is the problem, since I did use AL to package the file.

Restore the house from your neighborhood backup, it's more work but should work just fine.

Go to the directory the Sims 2 is installed in (probably c:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims 2\). Then go to TSData\Res\UserData\Neighborhoods\N001\Lots\

Copy N001_Lot59.package and put it in My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\LotCatalog\

Rename N001_Lot59.package to cx_XXXXXX.package (where XXX is one larger than the last number in the list. If the last number in the list is 000167, XXXXXX would be 000168)

@SortofBoring: I love what you did with the little TV nook there, took me forever to figure out what to do with that corner.

-----

I have all EPs, up to and including AL, but only FF and GL SPs on this computer. The exterior is mostly from OFB, the kitchen counters are from Seasons, the beds are from BV, the nursery is from FT, and the spiral staircases are from AL.

I went with a fantasy kind of exterior, and more of a neutral/country feel inside. I left the yard as is, as I'm not really into landscaping. I would've put a huge-arse greenhouse and a very square pond out there, and no-one wants that.

The lot is moderately awesomespec, and has been wanded. It costs $55,402, furnished, with 3+ Bedrooms, 3 bathrooms. The top floor is intentionally unfurnished, as a place for career rewards/witchery items, but can also be used for additional bedrooms.

Front:
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptFront.jpg)

Rear:
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptRear.jpg)

(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptTurret.jpg)

First Floor: Kitchen, Lounge, Skilling area, The One Desk, One Bathroom.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptFirstFloor.jpg)
Note: It's possible to change the dining counters to a table, but walls must be put where the counters are removed, or the kitchen becomes unsafe. Burglar alarm by the door, smoke alarm by the stove, and phone on The One Desk.

Second Floor: Three Bedrooms, Twin Nursery, Two Bathrooms
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptSecondFloor.jpg)
I almost deleted the formerly exterior wall leading from the nursery to the crib pods. And by 'almost' I mean did, until I noticed and corrected my error.

Third Floor: Unfurnished. Potential bedrooms/additional skilling/witchery area.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptThirdFloor.jpg)

The download. (http://www.4shared.com/file/61635659/97e3d9ea/Sept-Faizahs105SimLane.html) No CC included or necessary, though if you already have BUY, sleep clock, baby controller, and/or The Cheat, they should appear in the lot. I did use clean installer to make sure nothing tagged along for the ride, but it can't hurt to double-check the file after download.

EDIT: New download link. A couple of changes based on feedback, pictures are in a post further down.

That is very clever, keeping the exterior walls to the point of being original makes it more attractive, and a very good idea to add a third floor.
The only criticism is to move the chair by the fireplace but otherwise very impressive lot.

@SortofBoring. Unfortunately the particular windows you have chosen don't let much light in. The rooms are quite dim and there are places, like one of the stairwells, where there are no windows at all. Plus I would have put some larger windows and doors giving access to the back verandah on the ground floor. Over all the house has a nice South Western sort of look. It reminds me a bit of a rich cowboy's ranch house.

@Faizah. I love the look of the house, quite fantasy looking. Good use of different roofs too. The only comment I'd make is that on the second floor, the stair exit leads either through a bathroom or a bedroom, not very realistic or practical in terms of sim routing.

downlaod for original house dosnt work for me :(


id use the one that came with pleaseantview...but i already remodeled that and i have a family living in it...and i whould rather not move them out



Edit by moderator: the red highlighting is fucking annoying.  Knock that shit off.

Did you really have to highlight that in red? I think I'm blind now.

Hmm. Good point about the stairs, and that bathroom certainly doesn't need to be that large. Or have a door into the bedroom, come to think of it. I'll fix that. (And the chair placement.)

So, this is what I did:

(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptStairwell.jpg)
The bathroom was made smaller, and a plant was put in the empty corner of the enlarged stairwell. Both only have doors onto the hall now.

(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptLounge.jpg)
The armchair was moved to beside the sofa.

Get it here. (http://www.4shared.com/file/61635659/97e3d9ea/Sept-Faizahs105SimLane.html)

@Quinctia: I'm doing a garage too, mine's going to have an upstairs apartment. I love the sunroom on the side.

@SortOfBoring: Love your study. I look forward to exploring it and the rest of the house.

@Faizah: There's a house in my town that looks similar to your design, its blue and only two stories though. I love the turret roof and the layout. I never have gotten the hang of the pointed/domed roofs.

@cockroach: I'll have my husband check the server logs to see if there's a problem on our end with the lot. In the meantime, use the directions I posted on Page 1 of this thread in response to MaayBee to get a copy of the house from the backups.

There's a house with a turret along the bus route into town, I've passed it so many times. It's not pink or three stories either. Heh. Always wanted to live in a big old house like that. (The not-pink real one, not the pink one I made.)

I've always had trouble with those roof shapes, the turrets and the domes, they come out way too wide at the base. That turret is actually just a 1x1 square, with floor underneath to make sure it's weatherproof. I'll be honest, when I'm just building for my own use (which was always, until these House of Fail threads) I'll often bung an auto-roof on there and call it good enough.

I do try to keep the original roofing features if possible, the big roof with the window is almost the same as the lot's original roof there, just a floor higher and a bit shorter around the back. (When I realised I'd made the third floor short around the back I put in the second floor roof to fill the gap.) I weather-proofed the Pleasant Cordial house in the new hood, but I took off the roof to do it, and now I can't make it look like it did before. Rar.

This appears to be an Internet Exploder error message, I use Firefox which is why it's always been working for me. I've uploaded the file in .zip format.

Stupid Microsoft, instead of asking what a user would like to do with a file that it doesn't recognize it tries to display it (as a webpage, like XML or HTML).  ::)

http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Orig/105_Sim_Lane.zip (http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Orig/105_Sim_Lane.zip)

I haven't started BUILDING yet, but I have 3 houses graphed out and ready to build.

It'll just have to wait till I get to the weekend and get a day off to do some hard-core simming.

I'll scan the plans tomorrow and post them up too.

Okay, I've done another. It's big, it's ugly, it's ... big and ugly.

I rezoned this as an apartment, then noticed a bunch of things I had to change. Rar. I kept banging away at it, and made several changes since the taking of these photos. (Except the 2nd floor image, I had to retake that as one of my 'errors' was removing an original wall... again. But I took the photo before changing to an apartment, so the apartment doors don't show. Bah.)

I have this as a regular lot also, if anyone wants that. As before, all EPs, FFS and GLS. No CC.

Front:
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptFlatFront.jpg)
Changes since photo: Cosmetic. Half wall with fence on top (via foundation-related trickery) instead of current fence. Current fence remains to fill the gap between half wall and lot boundary.

Rear:
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptFlatRear.jpg)
Changes since photo: See Front, First floor.

First floor: Common area. Pool room, gym, spa, chess tables, bookcase.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptFlatFirstFloor.jpg)
Changes since photo: Doors added to back patio.

Second floor: Apartments 1 & 2, first level. Kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, lounge area.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptFlatSecondFloor.jpg)
Changes since photo: Changed placeholder doors to apartment doors.

Third floor: Apartments 1 & 2, second level. Nursery, bathroom, kids bedroom, open area.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptFlatThirdFloor.jpg)

Fourth floor: Apartment 3, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, lounge, nursery.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/SeptFlatFourthFloor.jpg)
Changes since photo: Bathrooms furnished. (The small rooms up the back with the black/white walls.) Kitchen walled off. Phone changed to cooler looking black phone. End bedrooms no longer bedrooms, but can be made so by the placing of a bed.

Roof: Common area, musical instruments. (See Front/Rear photos)

Download. (http://www.4shared.com/file/61735305/2eb570ca/Sept-Faizahs105SimLaneFlats.html) Rent ranges from $2,323 to $2,556.

And ... that's it. I'm done. This lot was a monster to tackle on my craptastic computer. But that's my own fault, for making it so huge.

I quite like it. I love how it's got this old inner city vibe to the building. It looks like it would fit in well with both an older section of town for poverty challenges, and in a more affluent apartment complex without a lot of tweaking.

My first attempt at re-making a house. I was thinking of making it a theme house where the top floor is "Heaven" and the basement is "Hell"  but I have to switch some things and restore the CC to my game and I have had enough of this house for tonight!  So this is the basic house.

Front of house
(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/FrontofHouse.png)
Back of house
(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/Basement.png)
Top floor
(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/Topfloor.png)
Main floor
(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/Firstfloor.png)
Basement
(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/Basement.png)


download
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=c6d09d9a6bb6c22bab1eab3e9fa335ca53df296e50ead8a7

I have all the stuff packs, and all the expansion packs up to FreeTime.



**edit - I apparently forgot to put a door to the room by the stairs!

I think I'll be starting to do these too, since I've been planning on redoing all the EAxis houses anyway - they aren't bad, with ALOT of improvements.

@ajcrawly. So, furnish it! Seriously, I don't know what other posters look for most, but I like seeing the decorating style as much as the building. In play it's mostly the inside that's seen. Plus it shares ideas on how to do different types of rooms - useful for me when it feels like everything I furnish looks just the same.

In fact my current apartment building is a challenge to me in just this way. I have four separate houses on a lot, each one furnished in a different style. One is modern, one's more an Eastern look, one will be quite old-fashioned and I'm not altogether sure about the fourth. I'm currently stuck on the Eastern.

So, you don't have to, of course, but I'd enjoy seeing what you'd do with the interior.

As Witch requested, I furnished my house.  I also did a little tweaking after my sister offered me some advice, and after I figured out how to add windows to the basement. ( I like to try to figure things out on my own before I ask how to do it, so the windows in the basement were a little problematic for me- but I got it eventually. (Of course my sister looked at me like I was crazy when I explained how I did it - apparently there was an easier way - oh well!)).  I'm not going to re-post pictures of the outside because I didn't change it noticeably.

Top floor contains the nursery, the master bedroom, and the master bath.  {The bed is CC  and is the Round Bed Ginevra by Ronja - www.simenapule.it.  I like the way it looks, but unfortunately it eats Sims, so it may not be worth downloading.} (see below)  My sister also pointed out since the upstairs is open and noise travels I should put the sound-proof fence around it.  But for aesthetic purposes, I didn't.
(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/105%20sim%20lane%20furnished/Topfloor.png)(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/105%20sim%20lane%20furnished/Nursery.png)(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/105%20sim%20lane%20furnished/masterbedroom.png)(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/105%20sim%20lane%20furnished/MasterBathroom.png)

First Floor contains the Kitchen, TV room, and a bathroom for guest usage.
(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/105%20sim%20lane%20furnished/Firstfloor.png)(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/105%20sim%20lane%20furnished/Kitchenandonedesk.png)(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/105%20sim%20lane%20furnished/tvroomandrecreationalarea.png)

Basement contains a child bedroom, a teenage bedroom, a reading area and a bathroom.
(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/105%20sim%20lane%20furnished/Basement.png)(http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo349/ajcrawly/Pictures/105%20sim%20lane%20furnished/karaoke.png)


Download; http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=c6d09d9a6bb6c22bab1eab3e9fa335ca53df296e50ead8a7


*** EDITED  -- For some reason I had a lot of cra....um unwanted stuff with the original pkg file so this house has been tweaked.  The house no longer has any CC at all, and there are no longer any tagalong files when you download - except possible the phoneline controller.....

jesslla, I like the style of this house too :) Very nice pick.
I recently got the Ikea SP and the AL EP and I wanted to use some of the items in them, so I don't think I kept too much of the style. Here is what I did:
Front and back:
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/front_and_back-1.jpg)
Layout:
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/layout.jpg)
First floor rooms:
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/around_the_house-1.jpg)
Here is the house:
http://thesims2.ea.com/exchange/lot_detail.php?asset_id=745835
I had a lot of trouble trying to decide how to separate rooms on both floors, so I finally decided to leave it open.

@ajcrawly - Nice. A good comfy family home with lots of room to breathe. The only comment is that the island counters you've used with the bar stools won't work because sims like to get behind them to pick dishes up. You might have to put a dining table out in the main room. Weird, your pictures seem to have vanished.

@kalinagn. Great, another large family home. I like the symmetry of the layout and the spaciousness. I like the little touches too, like the books on the endtable.

Witch - I'd done some rearranging at photo bucket and I'd forgotten to update the links. Hopefully they are showing up now?

My first attempt.

I don't like this house much.  I made it bigger, but it's just not my sort of house.

Download: 105 Sim Lane_1.rar (http://www.4shared.com/file/61996881/8f5b0705/105_Sim_Lane_1.html)

Front of house:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_d5cdd926.jpg)

Backof house:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_95cdd9cf.jpg)

Yea, I kinda thrashed the sports activity and playground objects a little - but I hate sims that do nothing.

Bottom Floor:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_d5cdd93e.jpg)

The pool was originally ment to be level with the rest of the flooring, but it wanted it on terrain.  So terrain it got.

I don't like the half-walls + full walls thing going on in walls-up mode, but it was literally the only way I could think of to get natural light into that pool area.

Top Floor:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_f5cdd937.jpg)

Spawning room, Childs room, two teen rooms and a master bedroom.  They have to share a bathroom (hahhahah!).


Additional notes:
I don't like the AL wardrobes all that much - if you don't put a wall behind them they are just open.  I would prefer they were like the photo booth crossed with the dressers - you get a solid object with Woohoo and clothing functions.

There are no lights in the house other than what it came with.  I got annoyed and forgot them.

Not play-tested.  I stole the fountains in the pool idea from a previous challenge.

I've deliberately held off looking at this thread till now, so I've some catching up to do.

@Faizah: Your first house is amazingly like my aborted attempt at a traditional house. I like the way you've varied the roof: it's a roofer's nightmare, but very authentic.

@AJCrawly: This is another house where I'd happily move into the basement.

@Kaligagn: I like the cool blue theme you've got going, and the fact that the house actually looks lived in.

@Yecats: Your pool is great.  It tickles me that we were all moaning about having a pool in the living room  with the Haven house, and now we seem to be converts.  I would have liked to see witch's hammerhead suspended over it. I know what you mean about this not being your kind of house.  I felt the same way, and gave up halfway through.  There are virtually no traditional wall coverings I like, and the walls influence what you do with a room so much, that it's hard to keep working on a room that's looking heavy and dark.

My own offering - 105 Jim Lane Revisited

Revisited several times, primarily to add a visitors' bathroom downstairs (pace, Emma), lighting in the kitchen and a phone - just a few little inessentials.  Duh.

This started out as a traditional, heavily furnished, relatively dark Victorian house, in keeping with the original facade. It just looked too gloomy and cramped, so I ended up going too far the other way and overdosing on windows. Unusually, I put big windows and floor to ceiling mirrors in the bathroom, with no curtains.  My playtester Sims, exhibitionists one and all, don't mind stripping off for the neighbours at all. However, I've stuck a big tree outside to thwart the peeping toms, just in case the pixelation ever fails.

This is a two bedroom, two and a half bathroom (eventually) family house, which conforms to awesomespecs, so far as I can tell.  The garden looks a bit messy, with monkey bars and a tent etc., but the kid loves it, so the Garden Club will just have to lump it. There's room for a greenhouse near the pool, but it will also fit a football goal, or a basketball hoop, if you prefer your food non-sparkly.

Front and garden side:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2835854781_56c93f560a.jpg?v=0)

Back and pool/play side:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/2836691766_9815bacdeb.jpg?v=0)

First floor layout:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3011/2836691996_8d1297fa95.jpg?v=0)

Master bedroom and bathroom:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3174/2835857663_eae31ca1cd.jpg?v=0)
I obviously still had move objects on when I snapped this. You might want to bring the bedside table all the way into the room.

Kids' bedroom, on an arctic theme, which I think will be appropriate in winter, with those windows:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3100/2835857343_515d80d5bb.jpg?v=0)

Family room:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3044/2835857471_c5134c9d12.jpg?v=0)

Ground floor layout:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3189/2836691302_c2fb6eff6a.jpg?v=0)

Dining room:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3187/2836691462_8a3d1f1c8c.jpg?v=0)

The smallest kitchen ever - Sims have invented a new holiday dance, the 'Kitchen dos à dos':

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3286/2836691160_a502bd2116.jpg?v=0)
It does have lights now.

Hall, seating, bar and the one desk:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3187/2835857171_d3cc3eb514.jpg?v=0)

I have all EPS and no SPs.  The lot comes in at $157,393, unwanded.

Available here: http://tinyurl.com/6meuwp (http://tinyurl.com/6meuwp)

Jim that's fantastic! I love the modern feel of house. The "arctic" theme for the kids bedroom is also very inspired and unique. *steals idea*

I love the windows on that, jim.  It's funny, I always seem to enjoy the looks of other people's modern lots, but I never think to use the style very often myself.  I also think the way that kids' room is decorated is adorable.

@Jim: I really like the modern theme of the house and love the windows you chose for the stairwell (is that from AL? Ugh... must wait a little longer). Anyhow, the thing that made me giggle is the fact that you put huge cabin bear into a kids' bedroom. Don't know why, it just seems funny to me.

It seems we're all keen on using the stairs in that little bay-window type thing.

Nice place for them though.

I predict all his huggy squeezy bits will be bald, and they'll call him George.

Jim, you have the touch all right! I see you've fallen for those new windows too. I just love this lot of yours. So light and airy, cool and calm.

I decided to do something constructive for a change.
I have made hardly any changes to the building, just internal walls, and my usual boring decorating style. i can't bring myself to use furniture, walls or floors that I hate.
It can be awesomespecced. I divided the garden to allow for private stuff. There's one door dividing the house. There's no nursery, so not a spawning house as is. There are 2 public bathrooms and space for a public pond and/or pool should they be desired. Bedrooms are unfurnished. I always delete the beds from others' lots anyway as I insist on high comfort.
I don't do landscaping. I just dumped a few bits in so it wasn't too naked. (See treeless 'hood in background for further proof)
See the wonders of a virtually unchanged house.
Front: See the treeless hill, but faked garden!
(http://i389.photobucket.com/albums/oo335/LlanaB/House%20of%20Phail%20-%20September/Sep1front.jpg)
Downstairs: Marvel at the sameness of the house!
(http://i389.photobucket.com/albums/oo335/LlanaB/House%20of%20Phail%20-%20September/Sep2downstairs.jpg)
Upstairs: Be awed by the cramped emptiness
(http://i389.photobucket.com/albums/oo335/LlanaB/House%20of%20Phail%20-%20September/Sep3upstairs.jpg)
Living room: Be grateful I didn't furnish your house!
(http://i389.photobucket.com/albums/oo335/LlanaB/House%20of%20Phail%20-%20September/Sep4living-1.jpg)
Dining room: Oooh! Chairs!
(http://i389.photobucket.com/albums/oo335/LlanaB/House%20of%20Phail%20-%20September/Sep5dining-1.jpg)
Kitchen: I'm running out of fake enthusiasm!
(http://i389.photobucket.com/albums/oo335/LlanaB/House%20of%20Phail%20-%20September/Sep6kitchen-1.jpg)
The back bit: Decorated walls and caffination station!
(http://i389.photobucket.com/albums/oo335/LlanaB/House%20of%20Phail%20-%20September/Sep7stairs.jpg)

* double edit
105SimLaneLanaB.Sims2Pack (http://www.4shared.com/file/62645522/cefeee71/105SimLaneLanaB.html)
^ different link ^

Lana B, I really like the elegant simplicity of the house. Could we have it, please?

Jim's is a "must have" for me.  Go Jim!  It has a certain modern elegance.

I added a link to the file. I tried playing it, but I have no idea whether it will stand for proper playing.
I have everything up to and including AL, but managed to include the phone hack and Pes' Humble computer so use Clean Installer.

Lana, can I get you to come over and decorate my house? I love what you did with it! I like that you kept the original feel of place, and how you decorated the inside of it. I can't wait to play with it.

Since I couldn't do July at the time and missed out entirely on August, I decided that I was definitely doing this one. I'm not entirely happy with it, though. Maybe some of you can spot what needs fixing. I now have everything up to IKEA. I just haven't installed AL, yet.

(http://dc89.4shared.com/img/62382276/b9418ca3/105_Sim_Lane_Front_View.jpg?sizeM=3)
The exterior is almost the same as before. I rather liked the style but not the house.

(http://dc89.4shared.com/img/62382283/4eb364e3/105_Sim_Lane_Rear_View.jpg?sizeM=3)
Since I upgraded last month, I couldn't resist playing with it a little bit. Maybe it's overdone?

(http://dc89.4shared.com/img/62382262/a73779fb/105_Sim_Lane_Basement_Entrance.jpg?sizeM=3)
Because I loaded the yard so much, instead of doing a full garage as usual, I decided to add a basement. The entrance is (hopefully) hidden well enough from the front and is accessible from the deck.

(http://dc89.4shared.com/img/62382254/65798f0d/105_Sim_Lane_Second_Floor.jpg?sizeM=3)
The second floor is fairly basic. I did have fun playing with the new wallpapers and such, though.

(http://dc89.4shared.com/img/62382267/d75d8d74/105_Sim_Lane_First_Floor.jpg?sizeM=3)
The first floor has a sitting room off of the kitchen which also leads to the smaller of the back decks. I left the dining area open to the kitchen but it is lockable. The stairs leading both upstairs and down to the basement have lockable doors. A small bath for guests and a larger bath for the family are included. I didn't decorate as much as I usually do inside. There is room for more items as you wish should you decide to download.

(http://dc89.4shared.com/img/62382258/6ccfc326/105_Sim_Lane_Basement.jpg?sizeM=3)
The basement is for skilling, partying, hobbies, and if your sims insist on instruments, let 'em make their noise downstairs!  ;)

Here they are unfurnished:
http://www.4shared.com/file/62382321/5b908772/105_Sim_Lane_Cim_v1_Unfurnished.html (http://www.4shared.com/file/62382321/5b908772/105_Sim_Lane_Cim_v1_Unfurnished.html)

and furnished:
http://www.4shared.com/file/62382365/3891866f/105_Sim_Lane_Cim_v1_Furnished.html (http://www.4shared.com/file/62382365/3891866f/105_Sim_Lane_Cim_v1_Furnished.html)

??? download link won't work for explorer.  ???

For those of you having trouble downloading with explorer and don't want to install a new browser, try using getright.
It has an inbuilt explorer that will open the webpage into it's componants.  You can then locate the file and download it without IE having a heart attack.

It will also usually resume the file if you fail to download the first time.

It didn't work for me. Still got nothing but error message. :(

Lana, I downloaded your house through Firefox, but when I tried to install it the clean installer gave me an error message.

It looks like a really nice house though.

I've been following the competition since July but this is my first entry.


(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm159/Angie_Baby_album/105%20Sim%20Lane/front.jpg)

It now has 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and a basement.
The cost is 110,417
It's furnished but I've kept the decoration very basic and only staged the living area and kitchen for pictures  because I hate clutter. All the external walls are still there but I did get rid of the fireplaces. The garden is very bare and awaiting the talents of people much better at that sort of thing than me.
More pictures can be found here
http://s295.photobucket.com/albums/mm159/Angie_Baby_album/105%20Sim%20Lane/ (http://s295.photobucket.com/albums/mm159/Angie_Baby_album/105%20Sim%20Lane/)
and most of them come with a description.

It was made on my clean account and the random Sim guy in the pictures was my tester and does not come with the house.
I have all the expansions plus FF and GL.

Download link
http://www.4shared.com/file/62628944/5f738db/105_Sim_Lane_-_Angie_Baby.html

Oh sorry but I forgot to change the name of the lot.

Boo. Hiss
I have put the file somewhere else and changed the original link. The quoted link still points to the original upload which I will leave in case it works for some.
105SimLaneLanaB.Sims2Pack (http://www.4shared.com/file/62645522/cefeee71/105SimLaneLanaB.html)
If someone gets it to work, please let me know.

My effort. 3 bed 5 bath, separate nursery. costs §201k unwanded and needs all eps & sps.

Front of lot

(http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll294/Emma_M_71/105_Sim_Lane/105_Sim_Lane-Front_Of_Lot.jpg)

Back of lot

(http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll294/Emma_M_71/105_Sim_Lane/105_Sim_Lane-Back_Of_Lot.jpg)

First floor

(http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll294/Emma_M_71/105_Sim_Lane/105_Sim_Lane-First_Floor.jpg)

Second floor

(http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll294/Emma_M_71/105_Sim_Lane/105_Sim_Lane-Second_Floor.jpg)

Third floor

(http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll294/Emma_M_71/105_Sim_Lane/105_Sim_Lane-Third_Floor.jpg)

Not playtested as yet. I will take individual room pics when I do playtest.

105_Sim_Lane_Emma.zip (http://www.4shared.com/file/62649127/f34b0d9a/105_Sim_Lane_Emma.html)

Thanks Lana. It downloaded OK and the clean installer didn't throw the error message this time.  ;D

I've also fired up the game to check it out. and everything seems to be hunky-dory.

Emma that's amazing. I love the colour scheme, and it looks like a great blend of form and function. And... Could it be? THREE bathrooms on the same floor? You've outdone yourself. It looks like I could easily convert it to accomodate my beloved Spiral Stairs too.

*downloads*

Just to do something different, I decided to go medieval on this one.

It has 3 bedrooms + nursery, 3 bathrooms, garden, pond, and orchard. I also dug out a basement, but didn't use it at all, so there is no entrance to it. I figured it could be used for storage and/or batboxes and such. The lot weighs in at a hefty $198,203 non-wanded. I have EPs up to AL and Teen Style and Glamour Life Stuff. I'm pretty darn sure I didn't use any GLS in this, but I did use TSS for some of the gothic stuff. I haven't playtested it.

I turned it into a Tudor period house and I tried to stick to that theme for the interior and the gardens. Of course the kitchen and bathrooms could benefit the most from cc in this kind of house, but I did the best I could with what I had.

Front
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/leaths/105%20Sim%20Lane/snapshot_00000005_95d67d53.jpg)

Back
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/leaths/105%20Sim%20Lane/snapshot_00000005_55d67e38.jpg)

Areal View of the Grounds
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/leaths/105%20Sim%20Lane/snapshot_00000005_15d67ec9.jpg)

First Floor
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/leaths/105%20Sim%20Lane/snapshot_00000005_55d67ef1.jpg)

Second Floor
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/leaths/105%20Sim%20Lane/snapshot_00000005_35d67ed5.jpg)

Kitchen
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/leaths/105%20Sim%20Lane/snapshot_00000005_d5d67fc9.jpg)

Dining Room
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/leaths/105%20Sim%20Lane/snapshot_00000005_35d67f32.jpg)

Master Bedroom
(http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/leaths/105%20Sim%20Lane/snapshot_00000005_55d5c50b.jpg)


More pictures (http://s293.photobucket.com/albums/mm50/leaths/105%20Sim%20Lane/?albumview=grid)

Download (http://www.4shared.com/file/62744594/b789264f/105_Sim_Lane_by_leaths_2.html)

Thanks Alex. I forgot about the spiral stairs-can you believe it? :D

Leaths, that is really nice. I love the kitchen with the fireplace-very rustic!

I iz in ur contest, stealin' all ur houzes.   ;D

Seriously, I'm thinking of entering this.  My personal sim building specalty seems to be making the most of tiny, cramped spaces, though, so this isn't really the kind of house that I'm all that good at.  I always seem to end up with horrible boring boxes, too, so being forced to build in and around the existitng shape will help me avoid that.

I absolutely love many of you ppl's renovations, especally the look of leaths's which just blow's me away (well, the pics look awesome anyway; havn't loaded it up in my game).  I'm already using Faizah's in game (moved Armand DeBateau and his daughter into it from their craptasticly unplayable appartment) and I love it!  (Armand is marrying Samantha Cordial and they'll probably have a set of twins (I changed his LTW to Grad 3 kids from college), so the rather large house will be put to good use.   ;)

By the way, Faizah, I love the way you set up the kitchen/dining area in your house.  It works awesome and it's certainly something I hadn't seen before.  I also love the stairwell with the spiral staircases.  And it's all so bright and cheery!

Most of the houses in this thread will be put to good use in my game, since I am currently planning a new neighbourhood based on Victorian-esque ideas of family honour.  This style of house will fit in perfectly.

Gastfyr, I do recommend entering, it's a great way to stretch your building muscles. Prior to this, all my houses were a series of 4x4 boxes within larger, and suspiciously box-like, shapes. One house was craaazy, I used 4x5 boxes. Gasp!

Most of the things I've done in these houses (that kitchen/dining, for example) I had never done before. I never actually intended to share my July entry, it was just something I banged out at the end of the month because I was bored. If it comes down to it, you can muck about in there and keep it to yourself, as a kind of practice run.

I'm basically just throwing stuff together to see what works. (Personally I prefer my first pinkish-purple house entry to my second block of flats, but, I just wanted to see if I could build from the same house in two different ways.) It's fun, and I'm learning. Win/win!

i hate eaxis when do this things
(http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/805/screenhunter1hm0.jpg)
hell, my house was shiny, but they have failed again  >:(

That sucks. How about using moveObjects and snapToGrid and just placing the windows without walls? Would that work?

@Emma--Thanks. This was one house that I really wished I could use some cc in to make the kitchen even more rustic. The refrigerator and stove kind of messed up the look for me, but meh. I really love your makeover. It makes me wish I wasn't so strict about the look of the houses I put in my hood because that style just wouldn't fit. I'd love to stick a family in there, though.

@Gastfyr--I'm glad you like it. Unfortunately, I can't plop it into my own hood, but I'm glad someone will be able to use it. You should definitely try the challenge. It's really good for forcing you to choose different building and decorating styles than you'd usually use.

and @Jim because I meant to comment before and I forgot--I love what you did with the house. Those AL windows look gorgeous and the arctic bedroom is a great idea. I already snagged it.

@Angie Baby
usually the windows with snap turned off works bad or didn't work, also the idiotsims probably will be blocked so they will fail too...

anyway I've made it :)
(http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/6789/topeg2.jpg)


(http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/8228/snapshot0000000cd5d8102as1.th.jpg) (http://img395.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot0000000cd5d8102as1.jpg)
Welcome :)

(http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/9132/snapshot0000000c35d8104mc1.th.jpg) (http://img395.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot0000000c35d8104mc1.jpg)
Kitchen

the file is here...
mmmm... i fail too.. i didn't have cleaner so the file is originally extracted by the game, and i'm not sure about which expansion i've used  ;D
i suppose UNI SSN AL maybe IKEA

the file (M3D105SimLane.Sims2Pack.7z) is here (http://www.sims2max.com/public/shots/M3D105SimLane.Sims2Pack.7z)

 I like how you left the fireplaces in and kept the basic shape.*Downloads*.

In fact with the danger of gushing I'm downloading and loving all the houses here.

My 2nd house for this month (not counting the 'hidden' lot).

(http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/th_snapshot_00000029_f5d1b182.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/?action=view&current=40c141a9.pbw)

Apparently I forgot to take photos of the front of the house.  I didn't change the outside at all, so there is really no point in taking front-end photos.

Top Floor:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_f5d1b182.jpg)

2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, study room.  I did some creative move-object staircase work to get the walls on the 2nd floor to work.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_b5d1b09a.jpg)

The study nook. 

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_55d1b18b.jpg)

Ground Floor.  Kitchen, Dining, Bathroom, Livingroom, Study.  Decorative fountains.


(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_d5d1b1b8.jpg)

Living room.  Not sure of the fire hazard - I've never really used fireplaces before. 

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_15d1afae.jpg)

Close-up shot of the decorations.  I'm loving the white-on-dark waterfeatures.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_35d1b1dd.jpg)

Study Room with TOD

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_35d1b237.jpg)

Kitchen

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/snapshot_00000029_d5d1b25a.jpg)

Dining room and side-shot of kitchen.  I'm aware there are issues with the long tables.  If this occurs, remove the middle chairs.


Download link
105 Sim Lane 2brm.rar (http://www.4shared.com/file/62909510/45dd7733/105_Sim_Lane_2brm.html)


This is more my style than the last one I posted.  I still have one more to go - it's an apartment but it's not looking how I would like.   I'll post it once I take pics.

All ep's no sp's.

I'm so looking forward to having time to go through this thread properly, I've been marking all weekend and am really pissed off I've had so little playtime. I've had quick skims though and the lots I've seen look great. I'm hoping I get time to actually enter this month!

I just need to retake all my pictures - since they seem to have gotten misplaced - I'm actually rather happy with it, even with the glitch on the fireplace.

  Okay. 
   Decorating for form as well as function is difficult for me at best.  Combine that with EAxis choices and I am usually lost.  The house challenges have been so tempting and are probably the reason that I've actually registered this time.   This is me learning something new so I do welcome any and all criticism. Last month I think that I had at least eight false starts.

 
  I've enlarged the house just a bit, dug out the basement because I wouldn't want a house w/o a cellar at least and decided to try out the cone roof.

  I have all SPs and all EPs upto Freetime installed. AL is sitting on the shelf waiting for me to finish this house.  I've used much of IKEA, even though I'm not a fan of the comfort levels, and a CC bookshelf that is an unlocked IKEA item( I think).

  Unfurnished - $53,500
  Furnished - $109,500  (unwanded-the wand is hiding again)
  Front
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk190/tryclyn/MATY%20-%20House%20challenges/September%20-%20105%20Sim%20Lane/front.jpg)
  Back
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk190/tryclyn/MATY%20-%20House%20challenges/September%20-%20105%20Sim%20Lane/Back2.jpg)
  Second floor
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk190/tryclyn/MATY%20-%20House%20challenges/September%20-%20105%20Sim%20Lane/Secondfloorfurnished.jpg)
  First floor
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk190/tryclyn/MATY%20-%20House%20challenges/September%20-%20105%20Sim%20Lane/firstfloorfurnished.png)
  Basement garden area
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk190/tryclyn/MATY%20-%20House%20challenges/September%20-%20105%20Sim%20Lane/basementgarden.jpg)


More images
http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk190/tryclyn/MATY%20-%20House%20challenges/September%20-%20105%20Sim%20Lane/?action=view&current=2e8fce55.pbw

  The garden in the basement is actually productive and I've play tested the house through all seasons w/o any hacks, save LordDarcy's IKEA fixes. 



  Oh, I almost forgot.
  http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=0581aed48c2ae03eab1eab3e9fa335caded6ba08db991cc3
  Furnished and unfurnished should be available.



Edited because the second floor image is not what it is supposed to be and I will have to fix it later, my pillow is calling.

 Edited again.  I realized why the second floor looked wrong.  I had mistakenly moved an external wall.  Adjusted house added to download.  Images replaced as well.

 

Well... I made my own version of this house (without any custom content). It's far from perfect, but this is the best I could do, without custom content. (This would have been much easier with custom content, lol).

Pictures:

Front:
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm290/sirnh1/sims2FailHouse/Front.jpg)

Back:
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm290/sirnh1/sims2FailHouse/Back.jpg)

Top view (First floor):
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm290/sirnh1/sims2FailHouse/MainTop.jpg)

More pictures at: http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm290/sirnh1/sims2FailHouse/?albumview=slideshow (http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm290/sirnh1/sims2FailHouse/?albumview=slideshow)

I know that I also fail at taking pics, sorry about that...

Build with all EP and SP installed. Don't really know how much it costs but the last time I looked at the price it was around 128.000 simdollars...

For those of you, who want it for any reason it's up at: http://www.4shared.com/file/63198363/68904031/105b_Lane_of_darkness.html (http://www.4shared.com/file/63198363/68904031/105b_Lane_of_darkness.html)

I love so many of the houses in this thread!  I need to go on a downloading rampage in the very near future.  Comments on some:

I dig the dollhouse feel of faizah's house and love the use of color in Lana B's- nicely implemented without being garish.

jim uses combinations of Eaxis buildmode items in a way that makes me see them in a whole new light.  I especially love the windows.

Emma-  Wood!  You are almost unfairly good at turning these fugmo houses into something beautiful.  The landscaping is gorgeous, too!

leaths-  I love houses that have such a unified feel inside and out, the fact that it's so well done doesn't hurt.  I think I'm going to turn it into a small dorm for my tudor-style university.

tryclyn-  If that were a real house, I would sell a kidney to live there.  I'm a sucker for big, slightly eccentric looking homes with porches and lots of green.  I would probably want the dining area to be closer to the kitchen, though. 

Introducing ... the Eco Home (http://www.4shared.com/file/63334934/cbbaa213/105_Sim_Lane_-_floopy_style.html).

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/outside1.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/outside2.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/rosegarden.jpg)



This spacious, eco-friendly family home comes complete with three and a half bedrooms, two bathrooms and formal dining.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/bed1-1.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/bed1-2.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/bed2-1.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/bed3-nursery.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/masterbed1.jpg)



A sun-drenched family room adjoining the main house has it's own private access, and allows parents to keep an eye on the kids playing in the spacious back yard.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/family1.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/family3.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/family4.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/familyaccess.jpg)



This innovative design separates the main house from the bedrooms via sunny balconies. The main living area features a sunny nook and two aquatic feature windows that lead to the private areas of the house.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/nook1.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/nook2.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/balcony1.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/balcony2.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/balcony3.jpg)



The modern kitchen is clad in green marble, and is accented by a brown marble feature wall.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/kitchen1.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/kitchen2.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/lounge-dining.jpg)



This lovely modern home has all the amenities and is a steal at half the cost.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/floorplan-roof.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/floorplan-secondlevel.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/floopyboo/maty%20comps/floorplan-firstlevel.jpg)



POA.

OK, I decided to give it a try too as I could use some pointers on getting better at building.  This is actually my second attempt as I deleted the post with my first attempt.  Basically what I did in this iteration is gutted the entire house, expanded the second floor, and then set it all up.

Front view.  I don't have Pets installed right now, but I put the fence in out of deference to AwesomeSpec anyway.
(http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/f90aa8bfc8acfc6700b105e905e2cb7a5g.jpg)

Back view.  Deck #1 with the grill, tables, and chairs is enclosed, while the door from deck #2 to the hot tub and the swimming pool can easily be replaced with one of Inge's beach doors.  I love those things.  No more guests wandering all over my Sims' houses in their swimsuits.
(http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/79852aba2e0007f46561574d4196b7cc5g.jpg)

First floor.  My solution to the nook with angled walls was to put the dining table there.  I know the house isn't up to AwesomeSpec as I've never cared whether guests wander all over the house, for instance -- but I'm openminded on the matter.  My own less-than-Awesome criteria include double staircases at the back of the house, as well as un-shoo-able bathrooms.  The One Desk is there too of course. 
(http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/208904009bcba3e4ee2a7ad54bf59b2e5g.jpg)

Second floor.  The Sim family I'm testing it with consists of a husband and wife and their two sons, teen and child.  We will see how the two boys fare sharing that bedroom and ensuite bathroom, but it will probably be fine.
(http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/0abf91f34fcb8c7eb9a65a43a24d76e95g.jpg)

Living room:
(http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/903e3981975c92ecc233d7882a62547d5g.jpg)

Kitchen, along with dining room and outdoor grilling area:
(http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/4b8f56fb9ba221fc6af17699826a42225g.jpg)

Master bedroom:
(http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/66c29b21e0b991e2762971aae67d3ffe5g.jpg)

As presented here, the lot costs $103942.  I was hoping to get below $100k but alas no dice.  I'm going to consider it finished now, but I will welcome any suggestions for the next time.  I'm running base+UNI+AL only (hence no car, driveway, or garage).  The house is 100% Maxis content, checked with Clean Installer.

And finally, click here (http://www.mediafire.com/?8mx6uzhf2ka) to download.

Thanks for looking!  :)

I can't believe I'm unlurking. It's a tad uncomfortable. Anyway, on with it...

Here's my take on the lot, leaning heavily on AL build content. I raised the roof, added a basement, and moved the interior walls. Then I squeezed in a driveway and gave the decks an overhaul. Finally I redecorated the whole place, changing the windows and all.

The lot is decorated to suit a family of two adults, one child, one toddler and one dog. It isn't quite Awsomespec, but it's perfectly playable. I have all expansions and stuff packs up until and including AL (and I think I even used one item from FFS, which would have to be a first for me).

Pics:
Front view...
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo279/Rybka_bucket/snapshot_00000001_75dda0c5.jpg)

... and from the back.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo279/Rybka_bucket/snapshot_00000001_15dd9ee6.jpg)

Ground floor: entrance hall, living room, dining room, kitchen, study, and a bathroom. Two wooden decks with barbecue and bar.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo279/Rybka_bucket/snapshot_00000001_75dd9f73.jpg)

First floor: master bedroom, two smaller bedrooms, two baths, and a fairly spacious landing.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo279/Rybka_bucket/snapshot_00000001_95dd9f9f.jpg)

Attic: a bathroom and a large room with plenty of space for aspiration rewards and such. Or for a double bed.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo279/Rybka_bucket/snapshot_00000001_75dd9f9d.jpg)

Basement (access from outside only): entrance hall with woohoo-closet, sauna, shower, wc, a room for aspiration rewards, and a silly-entranced secret extra room for super secret aspiration rewards. (I wouldn't want my neighbours to know about it if I had a money printing device.)
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo279/Rybka_bucket/snapshot_00000001_35dd9f57.jpg)

Can I have more pictures? If so, here are some interiors:

Living room.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo279/Rybka_bucket/snapshot_00000001_f5dda340.jpg)

Dining room towards kitchen and living room.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo279/Rybka_bucket/snapshot_00000001_f5dda2a9.jpg)

Master bedroom.
(http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo279/Rybka_bucket/snapshot_00000001_55dda1df.jpg)

More pics here: http://s383.photobucket.com/albums/oo279/Rybka_bucket/ (http://s383.photobucket.com/albums/oo279/Rybka_bucket/)

Download link: http://www.mediafire.com/?2jmnmnnzbct (http://www.mediafire.com/?2jmnmnnzbct)

Right, that's it. Hope you like.
/Rybka

Edit: Download link now pointing to the right version of the lot  :-[

Rybka, that is gorgeous! I love the first floor layout and the interior decor is really nice. Good job!

@Rybka: That's a lovely house! I really like the carport, I would never have thought to build one despite parking underneath one every night.

Rybka, your lot download contains a mailbox and garbage can as game objects. Are these just deco objects that you included? Love the layout and your inside decorating.

@Cimaronna: I loved your house, the decor, the garden, the basement, the whole thing. I particularly like the cool blue/green theme throughout, spiced up with brilliant red.

@MaximilianPS: You've managed to make the house look spacious and airy, very elegant. Nice.

@Tryclyn: I like your 'minty fresh' colour scheme, particulary the downstairs bathroom, with those swanky green tiles. Once again, I'm wishing I had stuff packs.

@Rybka: I wish you'd entered houses in the earlier contests.  This is a great house, which I could definitely use in my hood.

I decided to knuckle down and finish the Victorian style house I started and gave up on this month. It's not the sort of house I'd normally use in my game, and I won't be using this one either.  It's just too dark and fussy. 

105 Jim Lanes comes in at $210,587 unwanded (must learn to wand sometime).  It has three double bedrooms, a large (and very dark) family room, 3.5 bathrooms, nursery, dining room, lounge and kitchen, pool and play area/garden. Room for 1 car.

Front

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3268/2868816466_7724e3cee8.jpg?v=0)

Back

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2867984733_81f1a79d49.jpg?v=0)

Ground Floor layout

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2868817002_809f444a72.jpg?v=0)

Lounge

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3039/2867985295_e5d40c9225.jpg?v=0)

Note: totally stolen the idea of scattering family debris on tables and floor, here and in the family room.  It does make the place look lived in.

Dining

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3042/2868817320_827e257da1.jpg?v=0)

Kitchen

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3251/2868817440_2a78e4a8a3.jpg?v=0)

I do like the kitchen, but the Sims aren't keen.

First floor layout

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3233/2867985009_af496f640c.jpg?v=0)

Seem to have gone too far down the pink route on this floor.

Bedrooms 1 & 2

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3110/2868817662_d0c541006d.jpg?v=0)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3130/2867985643_ecd2415782.jpg?v=0)

Both bedrooms lead on to a little balcony, with bench, which my playtester Sims thought was very ordinary.

Top floor layout

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3151/2867984879_5467df38b8.jpg?v=0)

All my attempts to lighten up Victorian decor ended in abject failure on the top floor, with an unbearably twee children's room, and a dark, dark family room.  Only the bathroom is clean and light.

Very violet bedroom

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3206/2868023719_8fc280c6b2.jpg?v=0)

Addams family room

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3010/2868817786_6aa0b23b7b.jpg?v=0)

It's awesomespecs (that's become second nature now), and playtested without problems. I have all EPs and no SPs. Available here: http://tinyurl.com/3ov2c9 (http://tinyurl.com/3ov2c9)

Jim, I love your kitchen too! I think the whole place would look great converted to a witches' mansion ;D All dark wood flooring and cauldrons!

keirra: Well, I screwed up. Trashcan and mailbox should not have been included. I have corrected the download link so that it points to the truly cc-free lot. Thanks for the heads up!

Jim, very nice house! I have your first makeover in my game and I am really enjoying the style!

After about three days of trying to get this darn thing uploaded without losing all my pictures, here is Mannered Manor, an ode to the Apartment Life bohemian collection. Comments and criticism welcome!

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/Spikus/Sims%20Houses/snapshot_0000001e_75dd9129.jpg)
(the bench on the far left is gone, and the hack making my garbage can invisible was removed before uploading)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/Spikus/Sims%20Houses/snapshot_0000001e_b5dd9148.jpg)

Disclaimer:  I have all the EPs, SPs and store stuffs.  The only thing packed with the house that will have a cc star is the Spooky Stuff gargoyle. Quick stats-  3 bed, four bath, one nursery and a partially furnished basement that can easily fit at least two more bedrooms.  

Grounds and Features: Orchard, soccer net, small, fishable pond, playground area and parking for one.  More flora than I usually use, but playtesting yielded no access issues.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/Spikus/snapshot_0000001e_75df18b8-1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/Spikus/Sims%20Houses/snapshot_0000001e_b5dd9340.jpg) (an alternative name for the lot was "Two Guardians")

Third Floor/Attic and Features: Seasonal storage, reading and craft areas with access to sekkrit room (perfect for undercover witches and/or hiding from the kids).  
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/Spikus/Sims%20Houses/snapshot_0000001e_15dd907b.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/Spikus/Sims%20Houses/snapshot_0000001e_55dd91a0.jpg)

Second Floor and Features: Master bedroom with balcony and bath, double single and single single bedrooms, common bath, skill room (that can be converted to a bedroom) and skilling areas.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/Spikus/snapshot_0000001e_55df16f1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/Spikus/snapshot_0000001e_35df1833.jpg)

First Floor and Features: Entry way with One Desk, sitting room, dining room, kitchen, nursery with easy access to kitchen and a bathroom with tub (something I always forget, so I end up with temporary tubs in the hallway).  I'm playing a legacy with three cats, so I threw in a small pet room.  
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/Spikus/snapshot_0000001e_d5df1301-1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/Spikus/snapshot_0000001e_d5df12a9.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/Spikus/snapshot_0000001e_15df12b7.jpg)

Basement and Features: Full bath and sports themed television room.  The rest is free for aspiration/career rewards or expansion of living areas.  
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/Spikus/snapshot_0000001e_95df19c4.jpg)

Download:
Furnished (http://www.box.net/shared/hqfgnpngsl)- Wanded to $126,416
Unfurnished (http://www.box.net/shared/uksbhnvx8t)-  Wanded to 62, 026

@Batelle: Ooh. I love that house. Excellent use of colour, and I love a house with big empty rooms. Expansion is important! I also love the pet room, though I so rarely play with pets myself. I can see a witch living here (with the witchery items in the secret attic space) with a family, and a familiar. I could even see the basement entertainment room converted into another bedroom, for the teen (or adult) who wants to get away from their parents without actually getting away.

Oh my gosh! All of these houses are so lovely. I want to live in them all.
Batelle, I love your house, especially the exterior. That shot of the playground is great...it feels very autumnal. And I like your use of archways to make lots of little interconnected rooms.

My husband has been playing Pink Floyd non stop for several days, so this house grew from that.
A tribute to Pink Floyd, here is "Pink Void"

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/01-Pink-Void.jpg)
the "play side" view

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/02-Pink-Void-front.jpg)
front view.. the dark side

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/04-top-floor-1.jpg)
bottom floor, albatross view

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/04-top-floor-2.jpg)
top floor, albatross view

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/05-anybody-out-there-1.jpg)
Is there anybody out there?

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/06-music.jpg)
The show must go on. Outdoor music stage, David on guitar, Richard on the weird new electronical instrument

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/07-live-room.jpg)
What shall we do now? Living room

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/08-dine-1.jpg)
If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding!

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/09-kitchen.jpg)
Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast, Kitchen

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/10-bath.jpg)
Dark side of the moon, Bath

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/11-bedroom.jpg)
bedroom, with art from Pompeii

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/12-2LostSoulsInaFishbowl.jpg)
2 lost souls, living in a fish bowl

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/13-stairs.jpg)
Stairs

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/14-careful.jpg)
Careful with that ax, Eugene

I've made this using all expansions (no stuff packs) up to Freetime
The house is here to download:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?zwmigz0ndyd (http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?zwmigz0ndyd)

RIP Richard Wright

Rybka, I love the color of the rooms, it's a beautiful house. *downloads*
I know what you mean by uncomfortable unlurking. I've only just unlurked myself recently. ( And still treading softly. ;) )

@SalixTree - I love the Pink Floyd inspired house. I always think night clubs or community lots when I see that decor so never really thought to try it in a house.

I have installed both the Ikea SP and AL since starting off my house. I had a look at it yesterday and it still loads fine so I may get it finished and up today. It's got a distinctly blue theme to it at the moment but that may change with some of the new content. It's more or less complete but I like to playtest them first to check for any design stupidity or missing essentials.

@SalixTree. Love it. I wasn't so taken with the outside of the house until I saw the inside and then the picture caption theme running through. That caught my fancy and I got where you were coming from. I like the grunge look with the eccentric streak, as you portray it. And all in hot pink!  :D

I keep seeing the houses are wanded down to X amount of dollars. What does that mean? Also, how do I extract a lot from my game?

That's exactly what I was going to say, but witch said it first. So instead I'll just quote her and say ditto.

Me too! Excellent theme, Salix ;D

Thanks, all.
Pink Floyd was my fave band in the old days.
I just noticed though, I was putting in CC of K8's flowers just now.. (want to upload onto Parsimonious maybe). I  had a gravestone of Richard on the lot, and when I packaged it up, and set it down again to make sure all was well, the gravestone was gone. I thought a grave would stay with the lot, or no?

I dunno, I assumed that too. ??? Strange...

Aren't gravestones typically associated with character files? In other words, it is a Very Bad Idea to package a lot with them? I may be wrong, however.

Lana_B: I'm with ElfPuddle, I love how elegant, yet simple your house feels. The colors are very cozy.

Jwaas: I'm amused that your first house contained urinals. But, aside from that, yay for being the first person this
month without spiral stairs!

Cimaronna: I love the outside path to the basement. I must learn to make basements like that instead of the
usual way. Aside from that, lol for disco gym!

Emma: Fantastic landscaping and outdoor arrangement. Also, I like colors you used for the exterior. It actually
looks like a house from my old neighborhood :)

leaths: I absolutely love the whole look and feel of the medieval house. What really sealed the deal on
the authenticity is the stone fireplace in the kitchen.


SalixTree: What an original and colourful house! I've never imagined using so much hot pink in one house!

Batelle: I love the exterior, especially the roof look. Does that roof come with AL? Also, I love all the free space you left for expansion.

All these houses are beautiful, really! Salix, I'm not a fan of Pink Floyd, and I don't know most of the songs, but I did get the themes to each room, which was pretty awesome way to do the house in my opinion.

 I'd upload mine... but... well, it's not done yet. Between my computer crashing every ten minutes or doing Very Bad Things with the graphics in the game, I haven't wanted to work on the lot. I may upload it, if I feel like wrestling with the game to finish it, but I can tell you that my version of the house has an attached garage!  ;D My very first, I might add. If I do, I'll have to get ahold of the clean installer and figure out how to scan my packaged lot. Yes, I am a newb at most of this stuff (mainly just working with the build cheats and the clean installer), even though I've been playing the Sims for about 3 years.

This was a fun house to redo. I have all expansions and the K&B and Ikea Stuff Packs. Not available for download yet. A microcrap service pack update borked and semi fubared my system so I can't FTP to my own server, hence the Image Shack links.

Click on thumbnails for larger images or view slideshow http://img255.imageshack.us/slideshow/player.php?id=img255/4098/12222406988nz.smil (http://img255.imageshack.us/slideshow/player.php?id=img255/4098/12222406988nz.smil)


(http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8490/front001br9.th.png) (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=front001br9.png)
(http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/5609/firstflrxj0.th.png) (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=firstflrxj0.png)
(http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8965/misc003jk5.th.png) (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=misc003jk5.png)
(http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2638/misc002vt3.th.png) (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=misc002vt3.png)
(http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/2570/firstflroverview2za9.th.png) (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=firstflroverview2za9.png)
(http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/871/firstflroverviewdj9.th.png) (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=firstflroverviewdj9.png)
(http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/9614/misc001lv4.th.png) (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=misc001lv4.png)
(http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5262/backmu8.th.png) (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=backmu8.png)
(http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7460/overalled1.th.png) (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=overalled1.png)
(http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/9924/front002mb1.th.png) (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=front002mb1.png)
(http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/5728/topflrfo0.th.png) (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=topflrfo0.png)

Minena, I like the dark mansion style. Will deffinitely download when you provide a link.

I did another remake of the house and this time I tried to make it more modern looking.
The house is meant for a single sim, or to be used as a vacation home.

Here is the front:
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/front.jpg)

And the back:
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/back.jpg)

The second floor (party room?):
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/2nd_floor2.jpg)
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/2nd_flor1.jpg)

Here is the layout of the 2nd floor:
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/layout_2nd_floor.jpg)

On the first floor we have the only bedroom in the house:
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/bedroom2.jpg)
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/bedroom.jpg)

and the living room with the small kitchen and a small dining area:
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/living_room.jpg)
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/kitchen.jpg)
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/dining_area.jpg)

and here is the layout of the first floor:
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/layout_first_floor.jpg)

and there is a basement that can be used to store career rewards, energizers and so on:
(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e279/kalinagn/layout_basement.jpg)

Here is a link to download:
http://thesims2.ea.com/exchange/lot_detail.php?asset_id=751285 (http://thesims2.ea.com/exchange/lot_detail.php?asset_id=751285)

(http://minena.prismbaby.com/files/matyeaxis/front002.png)


DOWNLOAD HERE (http://minena.prismbaby.com/files/matyeaxis/Minenas%20105%20Sim%20Lane.rar)

Got FTP working again so lot is available. It's was packaged from it's original location in Pleasantville and not done from the lot provided in this thread.

Enjoy.

I had another go at this one. I'm not fond of the exterior, but it's okay, I guess. Price comes in at $67,278 after the wand treatment. I tried to keep it as intact as possible, I added a basement beneath, but kept the exterior walls as exterior.

(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/Sept3Front.jpg)

Basement:
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/Sept3Basement.jpg)

First Floor:
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/Sept3FirstFloor.jpg)

Second Floor:
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p282/Lady_Faizah/Sims/Sept3SecondFloor.jpg)

I used far more decorative items than I normally would (ie, any) and there's a large unfurnished area on the ground floor. But I think I like the overall feel. If needed, the place where the nursery pods are could be remodeled to fit another bedroom, just knock down the pod walls and put another wall in, on line with the bathroom walls.

As is, the place has three bedrooms - one double, two twin singles - and a twin equipped nursery. There are five full bathrooms, but the only bath tubs are on the nursery level.

Get it here (http://www.4shared.com/file/64405380/50a2994/Sept-AnotherFaizah105SimLane.html).

@SalixTree - hey, cool thing just happened; I was _stumbling_ around the net and your Pink Void popped up on Parsimonious as a stumble! I'm so pleased I'm starting to stumble on good sims sites. On the other hand, that might be why MATY is having a n00b influx, maybe we've been stumbled.

@Faizah - I like your look, especially the outside. I wouldn't have picked the wrought iron fences to go with the logs, yet it works! Not too keen on pink/blue symmetry myself, but apart from that the house looks nice and airy.

To be honest, the pink/blue is not something I'd normally do. I just needed some colour to offset the massive amounts of wood/neutral tones. (If I was just building for myself, my own game, it would be all neutral tones.)

Yea, I like to put K8's lovely flowers in all my lots, so this Pink Void has those, plus bootbrisket's gravestone. Turns out Maxis gravestones don't package up with lots, and I had to have a gravestone!
The image of you stumbling around the net is funny! But stumbling is cool, you never know what fantastic artist or weird plant you will discover.
As for n00bs, well, seeing as I've only unlurked myself recently, you might say I'm a n00b here myself. :o

here's the pic with CC:

(http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l467/SalixxTree/Sims%20houses/main-pic.jpg)
get it here:
http://www.parsimonious.org/realestate2/pages/home_small/strpink_void.shtml (http://www.parsimonious.org/realestate2/pages/home_small/strpink_void.shtml)

Does painting a house like that violate any local zoning ordinances or something?

Only in America.


*witch attempts to remove foot from mouth with dignity

Download in 7-Zip format (also opens with WinRar) (http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_1/105%20Sim%20Lane_2.7z)

I added a garage with an attached apartment, a basement apartment, and an upstairs apartment. The first floor is a common room with computers, a television set, stereo, bookcase, chess board and exercise bike. I tried to keep the old house feel to the decor while adding some modern touches through artwork and sculpture.

Outside front and back:
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_1/Pics/snapshot_00000001_55ea4ef4.jpg)
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_1/Pics/snapshot_00000001_55ea4f4f.jpg)

Two bedroom basement apartment:
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_1/Pics/snapshot_00000001_d5ea4f6b.jpg)

Garage with apartment entrance:
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_1/Pics/snapshot_00000001_d5ea4fa0.jpg)

First floor common area:
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_1/Pics/snapshot_00000001_15ea4fbf.jpg)

One bedroom garage apartment:
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_1/Pics/snapshot_00000001_35ea4fb2.jpg)

Two bedroom second floor apartment:
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_1/Pics/snapshot_00000001_95ea4fd1.jpg)

Both two bedroom apartments have The One Desk.

Ooh, Jesslla! I love this, especially the first floor layout-very nice! I love the apartment over the garage too-an idea I will definitely be stealing :D

That is really very nice, I love odd little nooks and crannies with hidden things. I wouldn't mind living above that garage.  ;D

@witch and Emma: baaaaaaa for the kind words!

My second remake of the month. Download it in 7-zip format (http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_2/105_Sim_Lane_Residental.7z)

I didn't make very many changes to the outside of the house. I overhauled the landscaping, added a carport, and redid the color scheme.
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_2/Pics/Outside_Front.jpg)
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_2/Pics/Outside_Back.jpg)
(There's a bench of sorts around the willow tree in the left corner)

I added a basement using Hecubus' trick to get outdoor lighting for a pool area.
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_2/Pics/Basement_Pool.jpg)
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_2/Pics/Top_Basement_Pool.jpg)

First floor:
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_2/Pics/First_Floor1.jpg)
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_2/Pics/Kitchen.jpg)
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_2/Pics/Top_1st_Floor.jpg)

Second floor:
(http://www.linuxbit.net/Sims2/EA_House_Challenge/105_Sim_Lane/Redo_No_2/Pics/Top_2nd_Floor.jpg)

I really love the spiral stairs from AL. :D

I like this one too Jesslla, the carport looks great!

Your kitchen is gorgeous.  It makes you itch to start cooking up steaming goulashes, red hot chillis and sear-your-mouth curries - nothing bland could emerge from that decor. Then out you step into cool grey/green elegance and calm. Love it!

My 3rd house for this month (from memory).

An Apartment building of awesomeness.

105 Sim Apartments.

I took far too many photos of this building.  22 in all.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/front-1.jpg)

Front of the house.  I think it's a little more modern yet has a victorian feel.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/back-1.jpg)

The back of the house.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/3rdfloor.jpg)

2 single bedrooms, one master bedroom, one bathroom.  Full kitchen + seating and dining for 6.  Includes a few luxury skilling items.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/2ndfloor.jpg)

2 double beds - maybe for 2 flatmates or parents and their teen. 
Same for the last floor with bathroom, kitchen and living room/dining.


(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/commonlobby.jpg)

The main hub of the apartment block.  A library/study, an area to complete assignments or do homework, a bar for those late night social gatherings, a train set and a pool table to satisfy the inner child and inner pool shark.
Full bathroom attached.
NB: The gate on the bar area may need to be removed if it interferes with social activitys.  I suggest swapping it for the DMA Bar set so you have a tender on tap.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/basement.jpg)

The final level of this house.  2 crib-pods, one master bedroom with walk-in closet and 1 childs room with twin beds.  Perfect for vamps, zombies and those people who hate natural light.
Full bathroom, kitchen and dining along with a living room fit for a king.

Slideshow with individual room pictures:
(http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/th_front-1.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v457/yecatsnz/?action=view&current=35d1d4df.pbw)

Download: http://www.4shared.com/file/64791714/d04a7990/105_Sim_Lane_Apartments.html

Each flat is in the 2500 range. 
Terrain is NOT flat - I couldn't fix it.

Enjoy.


PS:  I have one more coming, but it may not be up on time.  If I do post it, it'll be unfurnished.

@jim: That's what I was going for. I wanted an exotic feel to the kitchen, someplace warm and inviting where exciting meals are cooked. Also wanted something you wouldn't expect just by looking at the outside of the house.

@yecats: I love your huge kitchen and dining area. What a fantastic layout! I also love the living room area with the walls for the couch and how the apartments are similar without being exactly the same.

How do you get that cone roof to work right? Every time I try it I either get it off center or a message saying it can't support the weight.

Here's mine... Its definitely not awesomespec but the stairs can easily be locked by changing the arch to a door and the kitchen can be locked the same way. I didn't decorate, but I never do, since I hate predecorated houses. It's mostly Maxis save for a terrain paint from Parsimonous, a window and door from the Lafenetre set by Windkeeper, HP's shrubby shrub, fence by Holy Simoly and the floor out by the pool by a creator at MTS2 that I can't remember at the moment. Requires all EP's, no stuff packs.

I've not done much to it on the outside, just brought out the dining room a bit, but I completely changed the floor plan.


(http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f138/photo_me2004/Sims%20Pictures/SeptHouseofFailFRONT.jpg)

(http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f138/photo_me2004/Sims%20Pictures/SeptHouseofFailDOWNSTAIRS.jpg)

(http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f138/photo_me2004/Sims%20Pictures/SeptHouseofFailUPSTAIRS.jpg)

(http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f138/photo_me2004/Sims%20Pictures/SeptHouseofFailGREENHOUSE.jpg)

(http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f138/photo_me2004/Sims%20Pictures/SeptHouseofFailPOOL.jpg)

(http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f138/photo_me2004/Sims%20Pictures/SeptHouseofFailPORCHFRONT.jpg)

(http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f138/photo_me2004/Sims%20Pictures/SeptHouseofFailPORCH.jpg)


http://www.4shared.com/file/64818950/5fbe319/105_Sim_Lane.html

Photo:

From what I can see, you removed the rounded nook from the plans.  That would of ment removing external walls.
Otherwise, nice layout.

Jesslla:

It's a bit of a hit-or-miss when it comes to those rooves.  I've had them fail more than I've had them work.  That one in particular was drawn over a space 5x5.  I think the point of the cone needs to be in the middle of a square for it to work.  if it's on a corner, it'll settle itself to be in a square - hence the off-sided cones.

Don't quote me on that one though.

I believe you can extend which is what I did. I could be wrong though.

You may extend the house out larger, but you may not remove original external walls. Hence the gnashing and wailing about last month's house, which had a sod of a narrow entranceway.

I welcome you to my house :D

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_15ecbbb7.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_d5ecbbab.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_f5ecbb92.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_55ecbb47.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_b5ecbb4a.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_95ecbb4d.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_15ecbb50.jpg)

Now for the download:
http://www.2shared.com/file/4009057/41bc3558/105_Sim_Lane.html

EDIT:Nearly All EPs are required, SPs: K&B, IKEA and TSS EDIT2:GLS as well

It's a lovely house Erry and I would love to download it but colour me stupid I can't find the download button? The little green, blue and red bundle and the '105 Sim Lane.rar' are not clickable and I can't see anywhere else that might be the goodies.

The download button is on the bottom right, where it says: 'Save file to your PC: click here'. Click on the 'click here' to download the file.

Well duh. Couldn't see for looking, thanks.

I finally found the time to have a quick install and test of this month's house. It uses all EPs and thanks to AL sports a nice new set of windows as the originals were from OFB so had defaulted to a bright shiny red rather than blue. I think I prefer the new look. Testing has been very brief - moved in a new family and checked that all the facilities work. Cost is ~73k after wavimg the magic wand.

The house has been transformed into a sleek, modern des res.

Front with pet-proof fenced area and parking for one car.
(http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/spacedcat/Lot%20Building/105SimpleLane/FrontOfProperty.jpg)

Rear with plenty leisure facilities - separate gym, fishing pond, covered hot tub and swimming pool.
(http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/spacedcat/Lot%20Building/105SimpleLane/RearOfProperty.jpg)

Original features retained and incorporated into a modern design.
(http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/spacedcat/Lot%20Building/105SimpleLane/OriginalFeatures.jpg)

Outside Gym, toilet and shower included.
(http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/spacedcat/Lot%20Building/105SimpleLane/Gym.jpg)

Ground Floor - entrance hall with desk for bills, large study with one desk, dining room with separate visitor proof kitchen and lounge.
(http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/spacedcat/Lot%20Building/105SimpleLane/GroundFloor.jpg)

First Floor (second for Americans) - double bedroom, child's bedroom and nursery plus plenty balcony space for stargazing.
(http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/spacedcat/Lot%20Building/105SimpleLane/FirstFloor.jpg)

Top Floor - for future skillination
(http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/spacedcat/Lot%20Building/105SimpleLane/SkillinationZone.jpg)

Outdoor hot tub & swimming pool - plenty cover to stop the neighbours spying on you.
(http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j136/spacedcat/Lot%20Building/105SimpleLane/PrivateHotTub.jpg)



Download from here: http://rapidshare.com/files/149509980/105a_Simple_Lane.Sims2Pack (http://rapidshare.com/files/149509980/105a_Simple_Lane.Sims2Pack)

Required EPs: all, it was saved from AL. Required SPs: FFS, GLS, H&M, K&B, Ikea. I'm not sure that I've used something from each but I'm pretty good at random mix 'n' match.

Covering the hot tub with a CLEAR awning will do nothing to stop the neighbors from spying on you. It will, however, ward off the fall of Thor's hammer. Incidentally, cars are superfluous under AL Awesomespec, as Walking is back in style, just like it was in my day, AND WE LIKED IT!

I like the modern look eevilcat! I've looked at your outside wallpaper a number of times and never really found somewhere to use it, but it looks good how you've done it. I really like the little gym and the covered/sunken hotpool. I'm glad I thought of it.  :P

I'm thinking "cover" refers to the plantlife.

No, it refers to the canopy above the pool.

Lovely, Eevilcat! I love the style of the exterior and the hot-tub area is very pretty! The gym is really nice too.

@Erry. I do like the look of your house. There's one bit with the corner window I'm going to pinch.  ;D
I found it a bit hard to see the interior though, you are zoomed quite a way out and it's hard to see the detail.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/nz_witch/Erry.jpg)


@Eevilcat, this was the bit of your house I especially liked, I was going to try to describe it, then thought, sod that, I'll take a picture.  :D
I like that single wall as a pillar effect. Very nice.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/nz_witch/eevilcathouse.jpg)

PS. I wish we had real curves.

Well, would you like interior shots? :p

So, here's my entry for the month. I'm not too happy with my landscaping and the whole outdoor look of the house; but, I worked pretty hard for the interior. I've actually changed the structure around 4 times.

Some pictures contained my test family, the Rothsteins.

I have all EPs up to Freetime and no SPs. This house costs about $205 000 (yup, it's a costly bastard)



Slide show
(http://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c354/maaya2021/105Sims/th_105SimsFront.jpg) (http://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c354/maaya2021/105Sims/?action=view&current=4d5aeadd.pbw)

Download it here:  http://www.4shared.com/file/65161160/6e952884/105MainRoad.html

Anyone have any thoughts as to October's lot? Getting to be that time... (I may have an idea or two...)

Yeah, gowan!

Faizah, that's excellent. Very posh, very classy.

Oh, ty.

Anyways,

2nd Floor lounge & landing
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_d5ee6ab4.jpg)
Ground Floor Bathroom
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_95ee6b07.jpg)
Hidden Room on ground floor
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_75ee6aef.jpg)
Teen/Child Bedroom on 2nd floor
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_75ee6aba.jpg)
Adult/Teen Bedroom on 1st Floor
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_55ee6ac6.jpg)
Master Bedroom on 2nd Floor
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_55ee6a9b.jpg)
Bathroom on 1st Floor
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_35ee6b0a.jpg)
Kitchen
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_35ee6afe.jpg)
Teen/Child Bedroom on 1st Floor
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_35ee6abe.jpg)
Living/Study/Dining Room
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_15ee6ae3.jpg)
1st Floor landing
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/erhama1995/snapshot_00000010_15ee6ace.jpg)
And that's all ;D ;D

Well! Interesting juxtapositions of styles.  :D That pink single room is kinda kooky. I like the secret room too.

So, post a house already! ;D I want to play.

Yes, hopefully I'll get time to do one in October, I've been too busy to do one this month.

Alright, October's House (http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,13271.0.html) is up!

Hooray!

Late to the party I am, but this was done before the deadline.  I am just late posting it.  You can tell where I started to get bored, but at least I remembered the stairs this time.  :P

105 Sim Lane:  1 bedroom, 1 nursery, 2 bath...103,638 price tag.  I have EP's up to FT, FFS and GLS packs.

Front view:
(http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd16/therealsnowbawl/ScreenShot036-15.jpg)

Side view:
(http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd16/therealsnowbawl/ScreenShot037-14.jpg)

Back view:
(http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd16/therealsnowbawl/ScreenShot038-12.jpg)

1st Floor:
(http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd16/therealsnowbawl/ScreenShot039-14.jpg)

2nd floor:
(http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd16/therealsnowbawl/ScreenShot040-14.jpg)

Random Interior:
Living
(http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd16/therealsnowbawl/ScreenShot041-14.jpg)

1st Floor Bath
(http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd16/therealsnowbawl/ScreenShot042-14.jpg)

Master Bed and Landing
(http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd16/therealsnowbawl/ScreenShot043-12.jpg)


Download Here (http://www.4shared.com/file/64856019/2c574c5/Snow_105_Sim_Lane.html)

Very nice. I particularly like the main living area with the stairs coming down.

Me, too, 'bawl. And the colour scheme throughout is quite attractive; it's both stylish and comfortable at the same time. :)

Me three.

I love this challenge! It's so much fun to see what we all can come up with. I haven't seen a makeover yet that I haven't liked, which is really saying quite a bit considering how crappy maxis stuff can be at times.