Willow Creek Starter

This is for The Sims 4 Challenge.  This week's challenge was "Building an affordable Home on a tight budget".  Challenge accepted!

Willow Creek Starter has 2 bedrooms 1 bath, several skill builders and plenty of space to add on over time....all for only $17k.  20x30 lot.  No CC.

Find it in The Sims 4 Gallery under Origin user name ruthless_kk

Serenity Modern 4br.3ba.

The request: a modern one story family home with 3 bedrooms.  Apparently most modern homes are 2 stories  (which I didn't realize until I started looking around) and sure enough...by and large the moderns are 2 stories or more.

So..for those of you who like to play a one story house, here is Serenity

4 bedrooms

3 bath 

large open floor plan for entertaining

spacious backyard with plenty of room for family projects ( like the spaceship)

30x40 lot size     $108k    No CC

Find in the Gallery under Origin user name: ruthless_kk

Where the $#%& is it!?! Using Search and Filters in the Sims 4

Ever spend long minutes combing the build catalog over and over to find that one particular item you KNOW is there but you cant seem to find?  Does deciding on a paint color mean endless clicking between different walls to see which ones have a blue option?  Cant remember where the heck trashcans are located in the catalog?

Welcome to the club.  

It's time to remind you of two handy features that can seriously cut down on the hair pulling frustration: Search and Filters.

The search mode is something many simmers have been dreaming of for a long time: a fast, easy way to find objects in the build buy catalog.  We now have it...so use it! 

 Just start typing in the name or description of whatever you are looking for in the search box and the game will automatically bring up anything that has those letters in the name.  To help pin point your search, it tells you both the name of the object and where in the catalog it is located.

Click on any of the listings and you will be shown that object and its place in the catalog. 

Some things to know about the Search Function:

* The search function can be used from any Build mode screen.  It doesn’t matter if you are in Objects by Room or if you are in the Roofing menu.

*You don’t have to know the exact name of the object to find it.  In fact, you don’t have to know the name at all.  You can use a descriptor word such as modern or small to narrow your search.

*Hit the x button in the search field to clear out your old search and start a new one.

*The search function will find any object in the Build catalog, including outdoor and construction items.  It is not limited to furniture.  

Filters

Another handy way to save time and easily locate objects is the filter system.  You will see the filter option on the right side of the control panel while in Build mode or in Objects by Function.

Open the filter panel to access the different ways to pinpoint your search.  You can filter by style, by colors, or by content. You can use one or all of these filters at the same time. When a filter is active, the build buy catalog will only show you those items that fit the categories you have selected.

 Style

To filter by style, select one or more of the listed styles in the list. You may select as many or as few as you like. With the filter now active, the catalog will only show you those items that fit that tag.

Using the style filter can be tricky and often frustrating. The modern tag, for instance, yielded almost no objects even though there are plenty of things in the build and buy sections of the catalog that I would consider “modern”.   What you consider “contemporary” and what the game considers “contemporary" could be two completely different things.  Proceed with caution.

Colors

This is an extremely helpful filter to use when you are decorating your house! Click on the color filter and select the color (or colors) you are looking for and when you browse the catalog, you will only see items in those colors.

The convenient part of this is that you don’t have to click on individual styles and check the swatches to see which colors are available.  Everything that is blue will be right there in front of you.  This works for construction items too. If you are considering a particular paint color, using the filter for your search will help you see all of your options in one place.  It can make decision making and decorating so much easier.

Content

The final filter you may employ is the Content filter.  Content currently offers two tags: purchased and unlocked. Purchased will no doubt become much more useful in the future when DLC is released.  In the meantime, “unlocked” can be a handy tool to locate objects your household has unlocked through achievements. 

Don't forget to remove the filters once you are done with them.

Hopefully these tools will help cut down on the frustration of finding objects in the catalog and make the building experience faster and more enjoyable. If you haven't used the color filter yet, I highly recommend it.  

Hillsdale Cottage

Here is the latest in my "Affordable Homes" series.  Hillsdale Cottage is modeled after my Grandma's house and has plenty of room for a growing family.  I even left room on the side of the lot to expand the house if you need more space and are feeling adventurous. ( it is a very simple design to expand..if you need specifics, drop me a line and I will show you how.)

Hillsdale Cottage includes:

3 bedrooms
3 bathrooms ( 1 ensuite)
Large open plan living/dining area

$39k on 20x30 lot
No CC

Find it in the Sims 4 Gallery under my Origin user name: ruthless_kk

Quick and Easy How to: "custom" doorways

By now you might have noticed that if you use medium or tall wall heights, the door catalog does not offer much in the way of a selection for door or archways.  If you don't like using the shorter doorways in taller rooms, here is a way to basically design your own using columns and spandrels (spandrels!)

It gives you a chance to add a little something extra to your interiors and the best part is that the doorway can be as wide as you like.  You are not limited to a one unit or 2 unit opening.

Step one:

Mark out the place on the wall you would like your doorway to be and place a column on each end.

Step two:

Add the spandrel across the top.  The spandrel will replace the entire length of wall.

Step three:

Replace the walls you want to keep, leaving just the doorway open.

Since the columns and spandrels both auto adjust for wall heights, you can do this on any size wall.

Try experimenting with various column and spandrel combinations to get different looks

This method also makes an interesting way to divide up a large space or add definition to an area.

See what you can come up with and have fun building!

How to make a Loft/Two story Foyer

There have been some questions regarding two story foyers in The Sims 4.  Many people are finding that it is difficult to make an open landing without the game auto-filling in the floor tiles. 

You CAN do an open landing or loft space in The Sims 4 and here is a quick and easy how-to:

Step one:

Since the game recognizes room units and deletes floor tiles as a room unit, you need to make sure that the second floor area you want "open" is its own room.  The space that you want to use on the second floor should be another room.  You can subdivide it later.

(I have placed brightly colored floor tiles and paint so you can see the areas clearly)

Step two:

Delete the floor tile of the area you want to be open to the first floor. Add your stairs.

Step three:

Delete the walls around your landing or loft. You will see the floor tiles in the "open area" auto fill.  Don't worry about it!

Step four:

Demolish the floor tiles in the area you want to keep open.  The ones the game auto-filled for you...those tiles.  Delete 'em!  They wont come back this time.

Step five:

Add railing around your landing and divide up the space as you see fit.  Decorate accordingly.  You now have a loft or a two story landing!

NOTE:  if you have a roofing section cutting through the open space of your loft or landing, it will show.  The game uses room units to determine roofing collision. This means this technique works best in areas where roofing does not cut into the space.

Southwestern Suburban

Continuing my "Affordable Homes" series, this is an Austin themed family home well suited for Oasis Springs for under $40k.

Includes 

4 spacious bedrooms

2 baths

large open concept living/kitchen 

No CC

$39k on 20x30 lot

Find it in the Sims 4 Gallery under by origin user name: ruthless_kk