EAxis House of Fail: August

[snowbawl]

Jim, that is awesome.  Great job on the exterior decor...walls and landscaping.  Nice use of purple without being IN YOUR FACE PURPLE.

I love the flow of the house.  Small exception would be the red, blue and orange spawn room.  I would have tied in the purple again...but I love purple, so that's just me.

Very nicely done!  I can't wait to tackle this one when I have the time.  I have some good ideas, but wonder if someone will beat me to them.

Excellent choice of house for this month's EAxis Crap Makeover.

[kalina]

Jim, I like the colors that you used. It looks a lot happier than the original!

Here is my makeover:
http://thesims2.ea.com/exchange/lot_detail.php?asset_id=729600
I have all EPs and SPs except for Ikea

Views from the front and the back


Floor Plan:


Around the house:


I cheated a little when I placed the stairs to the basement - I removed one of the outside walls, placed the stairs to the basement and then re-built the wall the way it was. Is this OK?

Great idea about the monthly makeover challenges btw!

[Strangel]

Orsum. And one of my first sims lived in the original. lol
Oddly enough, her last name was August.

[witch]

@jim: I too, love the dining and lounge room. I've a real fondness for that zigzag grey floor. You've managed to create good space in quite a small area. Something I am quite phail at.

I do have one criticism, I'd have the stairs from the ground floor to the first floor turned in the other direction. Sims have to walk around the stairs to get to the next flight, then they end up one square away from the wall.

Well, maybe another, the colours in the nursery are from a different tonal range, heavier,they don't fit with your light touch elsewhere.

Otherwise, I really like it.

Oddly enough, her last name was August.

Doo doo doo do.

@kalinagn : Very nice and tidy and functional. Good routing and spaces in the main areas too. I always prefer double wide staircases. The blue bathroom is luverly! I like the souk look of the raised bath. I'd be interested in seeing you do more with colour though; the walls seem rather bland to me.

I'm also getting bored with seeing that same floor throughout so many houses.

[Liz]

Kanligan, that's quite nice! I like how the kitchen came together - a bit country without being, y'know, country. And like witch, I love the use of the stage in the bath! I may have to seal that am glad I thought of it. 

[Cimaronna]

Jim, I love the use of the balcony for your sims music sessions! Never would have thought of that and like everyone else, your use of the purple was great! It's not overdone but a beautiful accent, instead!

kalinagn: I, too, love the use of the stage for your tub. I'm not a huge fan of earth tones personally but I think you made a nice combination of them. I also think that a few more accenting colors here and there to draw the eye to key features would spice up the decor nicely. Overall lovely job!

[floopyboo]

Gran's Kitschy Cottage

$105,120 - Beware, this lot was made from the original, terrain-wrecking lot. If you have the lot explander thingery and the motivation to fix things, I'd love a non-terrain-fucking version of this lot. Otherwise, download at your peril.





The kids have moved out & have kids of their own, and that holiday to Twikki Island sure gave Gran some fun decorating ideas, so when Pa said he wanted to turn the basement into a den, she decided to throw in a bar to compliment his growing model railroad. She continued the theme outside, turning the barbecue area into an oasis-themed garden with water feature.






Puss, the geriatric kitty that helped raise the kids now lives in the warm sunny spot under the window outside Gran's sewing room, where she makes toys & bobble-hats for the grandkids.








Much of the orignal house retains the same charm it had when Gran decorated it as a newlywed, much to Pa's delight. There's nothing like the warming glow of the radiation king as you balance your tv dinner on your knees & watch Sale of the Century.








Inclusions: 2 Bed, 1 Bath. The One Desk downstairs in spacious study. Fully lockable kitchen & stairwells. Viewing deck spacious with points of interest, access to bathroom & tv. Well-appointed kitchen has feeding dish with fully-washable rubberised mat to enable quick cleanup. Bird cage in stairwell foyer. Two 1x1 storage closets.















Exclusions: The kitchen sink. Yard only partially fenced. Pet toys/litter tray not included. Nursery not included. Room for driveway if you're clever about it, not included because original game driveway pieces did not match the theme.


Not playtested at time of upload.


Made with love & the following EPs & SPs: TS2 Holiday Edition, Uni, NL, OFB, FFS, GLS, Pets, Seasons, BV, FT.

[witch]

The kitchen is just so granny it's awesome!  I also like the sewing room. I suspect most people will change the entranceway to one side or another, looks good the way you've done it.

[jim]

@Witch: You're so right about the stairs. I didn't see it before, but they're crying out to be changed. I'd stick with the nursery colours though - toddlers like bright colours.  The rising young yuppy would probably want to do a nursery in aluminium siding, but I couldn't do that to a child.

@Floopyboo.  I do love your decor - it is so old lady.  I find it hard to inject the owner's character into a house, but you've managed that really well. I like the idea of grandad and his mates sipping cocktails while playing with his railway. Mr Jim is jealous.

[Emma]

Floopy, that's gorgeous!

Witch, you are so right! I'd already planned to move the entrance

[J. M. Pescado]

The design is fail. Never, EVER, diagonalize a multi-tile object. If you diagonalize multi-tile couches, they become TOTALLY FUBAR. DON'T DO IT.

[floopyboo]

Aw, you noticed me! Have a bobble hat!

I don't really think that the diagonality of couches really matters so much when the original lot is terrain-wrecking FAIL! If it matter so much, change them to suit your own needs when you download it. I promise not to get in a snit about it.

[kalina]

@ witch and Cimaronna: thanks for your feedback! Yes, I was also thinking that most of my houses need some more color. I will try to work on that and re-upload. Will it help if I say that I made a few rug recolors, so that not all floors are the same? Here they are:
http://forums.boolprop.com/viewtopic.php?f=116&t=34369

@ Liz: I have to say - the idea about using foundation in the bathroom is great, but unfortunately it isn't mine... I saw it in a few houses that I downloaded 

[Cimaronna]

Floopy, that's gorgeous! I can imagine my maternal grandma there right now! 

[floopyboo]

I appreciate all the feedback. To be honest, I'm biting down hard on the urge to redownload that merged hood just so I can pop Coral & Herb Oldie in there & watch them go at it. I kind of had them in mind when I made it.

[Yecats]

My first house of the month!

From the Road to Nowhere to the Road to Somewhere.



3 bedrooms, 2 crib-pods and 3 bathrooms later, I have brought the little house of shame into the 21st century!
The house is 3 stories, plus a basement.  Driveway *might* not work due to lot borkage. 
Telescope on the roof to help cater to every strangeville residents inner need to stargaze.  Fencing on all decking to ensure that no-one takes a tumble while looking to the heavens.



The back of the house sports a lovely deck, pool to the side and greenhouse, as well as a fishable pond to catch dinner for the family.



From the top down we have the master bedroom, master bathroom and crib-pods.  Fridge on site for midnight feedings and changetable in easy reach for those nasty messes.

 

Two childrens bedrooms either hold 4 children (8 if you use the grand trinion bunks) or remove a bed to create 2 roomy single bedrooms.  (Note: These rooms are not big enough for a double bed.)
Bathroom has two toilet stalls, one sink and one bath.  If you have 4 kids, you'll need both toilets.



The main floor.  Kitchen is decorated in natural tones, which change into a bright, fast-food-style dining area.  Gate to kitchen is lockable.  The One Desk is situated in the small, but cosy, study.  No longer will you have guests clambouring up the stairs to use a bathroom, as there is one right beside the entrance.  Stairs are lockable.
Living room contains modern comforts; a large screen tv, a stereo, and two elegant sofas.



Basement is designed for the inner mad scientist.  Ample room to store all your reward objects, relax with a good book, practise your trick shots or belt out a tune.  Drain in the floor for those... messy experiments.

For a full tour, slideshow is linked below.



Download from here: Road to Somewhere.rar
All EP's, No SP's.  Not a starter house by any means.

Edited to include download

[Emma]

WARNING! This lot has uneven edges. Don't put it anywhere you really care about or at 'sea' level. It will bork your terrain and cause it to flood. Okay, now that is out of the way:

My topsy-turvy version of 73 Road to Nowhere requires all EPs and SPs and probably the Ikea lights extracted by Havelock. It is fully furnished and costs about §177k. Features 2 double bedrooms and a nursery that can be converted to a bedroom, 5 bathrooms, a large skilling/crafting basement, which can be converted to bedrooms and bathrooms if needed, kitchen with separate dining room, living room/study, covered hot-tub area, pond and pool. No driveway or garage, or street parking as I couldn't turn the driveway. If you really want one installed then you can delete the pond and place one there. Not quite awesomespec as the nursery is not on the same floor as the kitchen, but it is on the first floor! I designed this house so the main entrance is on the second floor, where the main living area is! There are lockable stairs to stop visitors heading for the pond, pool or hot-tub and also on the second floor there is a viewing deck where I have placed a telescope. Grilling eqiupment and seating can be placed there too. Bedrooms and 3 bathrooms are locked away on the first floor, and if you decide to give visitors access to the hot tub, pool etc and visitor bathroom on the first floor, but not the rest of the house then stairs are lockable at the bottom too. Trouble is, they will have access to the basement too, but all equipment down there are in lockable rooms. I raised the basement to the correct level and enlarged it. I changed the original entrance to a feature window-and forgot to take a snapshot of it. Duh. Anti-wolf fence, kickable gnome and the one desk are all in place. Anyway, some pics:

Front



Stairs to main entrance


Entrance



Pond and Hot-tub area



Viewing deck



Back of lot



First floor



Second floor



Third floor



I didn't take any interior pictures. Laziness. Sorry. Oh, and I went mad and put plants everywhere! You will probably need to install Perfect Plants by TwoJeffs. I have restricted access around the back and side of the lot to the sims as the terrain is really uneven, so they will find it hard to trim shrubs.

Download Lot.

[floopyboo]

Emma, that's a lovely lot. Very crisp & visually cooling, a great piece of archecture for the desert. It's a little plant-heavy for my tastes, though.

[jim]

You've made that poky little house look lush and spacious. It would fit perfectly into my neighbourhood - damn the edges on this lot.

FWIW, I've just playtested my house, to find it's completely unplayable. The first set of visitors resulted in a visitor/sim/visitor sandwich that could neither get in nor out.  It's not going to be easy getting the corpses out of that stairwell.

[floopyboo]

Oooh, good point. I should playtest my lot & see if it actually works.

[msalwaysright]

Unlike last month, when I held off looking at other's entries until I finished mine, I'm scoping for ideas on what to do with that firggin' useless narrow entry.

I had fiddled with a plant related thing & now everyone will think I stole it from Emma! I didn't, although I might not admit it if I did.

Looks very tropical, though, and you can see the original lines of the house, which I think is a good thing when doing an EAxis redo.

[Eleonora]

I went a bit nuts...



I must apologise for the size of the pictures, but I couldn't be arsed to load up my game again just to take new pics.





Lot is 95% unfurnished, I only did the bathroom. As for playability, I only tested the staircases, and the upstairs rooms to see if the roof wasn't too low. When playing, the plants along the walls will probably obstruct the view a tad too much, so you might want to nuke 'em. Edges are completely flat.



Download here

Edit: Forgot to add, I have all EPs up to Seasons, Glamour, FFS, H&M and IKEA.

[Alex]

Unlike last month, when I held off looking at other's entries until I finished mine, I'm scoping for ideas on what to do with that firggin' useless narrow entry.

Oh absolutely. That thing is such a bitch. I'm toying with ideas of what to do with it. I thought about making it a corridor, but then considered turning it into a basement stairwell, but everyone will think I stole kalinagn's idea (which I will do partially).

[Emma]

I had fiddled with a plant related thing & now everyone will think I stole it from Emma! I didn't, although I might not admit it if I did.

Steal away! I don't care I'm happy if people copy stuff I have done, this contest is all about sharing ideas.

I forgot to say, my lot has not been playtested as yet. The only problems that there might be are routing ones, but I hope I've fixed it by not allowing access to uneven terrain.

Eleonora, your house is gorgeous! I love the bay window on the second floor.

[jolrei]

Eleonora, your house is gorgeous! I love the bay window on the second floor.

That feature caught my attention too.  Extremely nice.  "Stacey" is also quite good at this building thing, IMO.  I love the basement rec room on that house.