This will my thread for all my Sims 4 building fiascos. Er, adventures. First up is a house I called Desert Arches
Notable for its extreme naivete and simplicity, because I don't know how to do anything. (The roof was my big accomplishment on this one.)
Here is the floor plan .
My sim has moved out now and taken all her furnishings, but the kitchen is on the right, LR on the left, bedroom in the corner. Forgot to leave space for a driveway, because I never think of that.
This last picture was taken before she moved out. I think it's the only shot I have of it then .
This is by way of showing you how very far I have to go, both in scale of project and complexity of interiors. Everything I do is very plain and simple, and I am easily daunted when I try to copy a house and run into trouble. (I did just recently learn how to make a split level on the 1st floor though, so maybe my houses won't be quite so boring in the future!)
Can someone advise (by posting a link to pictures) of a project that will take me to the next level, without overwhelming me? (Nothing Victorian, please!)

When I first began building, I would lay out the furniture on the ground, before I even began building, to get a sense of proportion for each room. When I am following a floor plan, I use different color floor covering to designate each room. I am going to give links to some projects that you should take a look at, before you go on. You might want to try reproducing them.

Two questions: Do you want to build in TS4? What style of house are you looking for- modern, fantasy, basic suburbia...?

Simple can be attractive and functional. I really like Plasticbox's Newbie series fro TS2:http://www.modthesims.info/browse.p...&showAll=1&gs=1
Look at Newbie Road 32: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=112465

For TS3, Rocket Jane has some basic yet lovely houses: http://www.modthesims.info/browse.p...u=9146975&f=143
She even has a TS4 house: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=574794

I picked the above because they are stater homes, and give a basic understanding of form and structure. Look at them, see what you like and dislike, and then post again so we can find some floorplans for you to try. You can upload screenshots right to your post by clicking "Go Advanced" and then scroll down to image upload.

Good luck.

Thank you Attuned! I love plasticbox's builds! It never occurred to me to try to build someone else's SIMS house! What a good idea! Right now, I am limited to building in TS4, so yes, I do want to. As far as style, my goal is to be able to reproduce favorite places, inspired by books, movies, and various vernacular styles, so style runs the gamut from hyper-modern to medieval to sci-fi and fantasy. Almost everything BUT typical suburban.
Yesterday I realized everyone but me seems to know how to make a ceiling. So I looked that up on youtube, looking forward to trying it out when I get a chance. Then I will try to copy a house and when I run into trouble I will ask here. Maybe I'll try Rocket Jane's to start, the TS4 one...

TS4 is the only version of the Sims that I have used, so I can't compare it to the earlier versions. But building in it is the best thing about it in my opinion. I'm a big LOTR fan so I have done lots of fantasy style builds,but also modern styled builds. I'm a retired architect, so it's nice to be able to build something and share it. A few general remarks-

I usually start of with a concept, like "ancient Roman villa" and find me some photo reference on the subject so I have an idea of how the place should look and feel. A build should tell a story. Who built it, and why? Who lives there?

Having a good layout is important. You can build on 6 different levels, but having your sims constantly going up and down stairs and constantly having to look for them takes enjoyment out of the game. Basic layout should be kept simple and the main functions should be kept on a limited number of levels.

A big thing about starter homes on small plots: I notice that few builders make use of the underground levels that the game allows. If you want to build a small starter home and run out of space- don't go up, go down! All that underground space you can use and it won't interfere with the look of your project! It's even possible to build an underground rocket silo!