Building a better large house - ideas

[MisterV]

So my original question was - how to build a better large house, one that would look good from any angle.

My problems:
- I could build an enormous palace in the traditional style. No big deal. I want a modern one.
- It turns out too messy (eclectic isn't even the right word), and in the end looks ugly from the outside; it's the furthest thing from a box (in fact, too much irregular geometry), but in the end it looks pretty heavy; in fact, the end result is like the mansion of some druglord with zero taste (I haven't started choosing floors or wall paints, I want to get the shape right first), possibly because I'm trying to fit in everything I want at once. :|

[...]
To reiterate, my question is - does anyone have particular recommendations regarding the building process, or maybe finished works that I should take a look at?

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EDIT:
Well, something I found (the Park of Harmony) gave me an idea - the idea and the form is what matters in large houses (well, everywhere, really, but large houses are even more special in this category).

Nothing can give it form as much as a roof. Therefore the Park of Harmony had the perfect solution for me.

Well, this is my first attempt at a house that has a wing as its idea (called it Ala de Angel - sounds more pretentious :rolleyes: ).
<sorry, large screens, had to do thumbnails>
Day:
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/2934/ala1t.th.jpg (http://img708.imageshack.us/i/ala1t.jpg/)

Night lighting:
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/6644/ala2f.th.jpg (http://img168.imageshack.us/i/ala2f.jpg/)
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/9863/ala3z.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/i/ala3z.jpg/)
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/5596/ala4.th.jpg (http://img408.imageshack.us/i/ala4.jpg/)

The keen observer may notice that it's not really finished - the roof is supposed to be like that (I'm pretending it's glass), but tha garden and grounds aren't. My Sim is working hard to earn that money (no simoleon cheats), so I'll soon get around to the garden and stuff, otherwise it looks bare.

Now, note that whereas this type of roof is actually pretty easy to create, there are several problems that arise...
//the process is: build your walls, create the grid with the Stream Of Consciousness fence, then apply the CFE false cheat and raise the ground, then use the smoothen tool to, well, smoothen the curves, then CFE true, and you can flatten the terrain, build the inside, etc.//

The most annoying of them would be that the ground near the walls is raised on one side and lowered on the other, because the attached fence (that makes up the roof) is raised on one side and lowered on the other - and can't be flattened, so you either get uneven floor near the walls, or

I decided to handle this creatively:
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/5993/ala5.th.jpg (http://img121.imageshack.us/i/ala5.jpg/)
Some kind of zen-garden-like installation along the wall. I dunno, I like how it turned out - white sand and rocks is a good combination (that's not white sand actually, it's one of the carpets, but it looks that way).

Also, I discovered that you can build more than one level of basement, eh... yes, I'm slow sometimes. As you can see, this particular house isn't very practical for, well, living in (in all honesty it should be a museum), but I manage - lots of basement space after all.

On a side-note, I'd like to try taking this concept further - doing a false half-wall flat roof (with dark tiles probably, and fence grid just for reference - can always delete later), and then curving that. May actually be possible to make something like the Zentrum Paul Klee (scroll down) (http://aedesign.wordpress.com/author/alecgagnon2009/) near Bern, although I don't think I'd ever have any patience for that. Could be nice to build a cool community like that.

[vividlylove]

I use floor plans, reccently anyway xD I'm still really bad at building but it helps. Before my places were really box like, a disaster organizationly, and just really...bad. I'm getting better. I think like houseplans.com has some? You can search by room, like select four bedroom + or something.

Find one thats easy to build and you like, and it will help the rooms / walls work out better, I think. But thats all the advice I got, sorry!

[MisterV]

Well, thanks, but my problem was not boxes, as I said before, and I don't care about the practical side of things...

I came up with something new and edited my first post.

[babycakehoe]

the easiest way to build modern houses to make it wild. try using 2 floors only, but if you really need 3 make the rest very thin and small.
buy modern i am thinking you mean retro.
if you mean the everyday houses you see out side, try using LOTS of windows. make it a open space. use the roof that matches the wallpaper. Try not to over do it though. If you do, it will look elegant and you don't want that i am guessing.

[Volvenom]

Well, sometimes it's very easy to think in terms of known boxes. Thinking outside of the box is difficult.

When I'm building modern houses I build it room by room. It's easier to just take a shortcut outside of the bedroom and overall frame to get an interesting angle for the bathroom. I add balconies and stuff outside the main frame of the house, or inside. Just trying to make it interesting really. But somewhere in my head I have an overall plan for how I would like the house to be, but I make it room by room to be able to use different structures and shapes.

When I build a big house I try and fill the plot I have with the house and it's gardens. I like the roman floorplan a lot, with open places inside the house open to the element. They can form little gardens with statues and fountains.

Modern houses is more difficult I think because they have no fixed tradition to follow.

[DaveyDaVinci]

I kindly disagree, volve. I find modern houses to be easier for that very reason, IE, not having a fixed "tradition" to follow.

Basically, for larger homes, I find it easiest to sketch out what I need, and base it around what I know the building engine is capable of doing. So many homes are lost to the abyss of the limitations of the building engine.

Also take into account scale. If you're going to have a large house, you're going to want a large landscaping project, or at least make sure the plants fit to scale with the home.

Also, as far as using floorplans is concerned, A larger home's floorplan is more difficult to remake in TS3 than a smaller home's. I suggest looking at pictures of just the exterior, and making your own floorplan.

So basically, sketch things out, and go with trial and error. Big homes take a lot of time, but they are also very popular, as we all dream of having a wonderful mansion!

[mickey4741]

When I build a house I plan how many squares everything takes up. For example, I think 5 squares wide is
a good size for a foyer, living and dining. But then I want a garage - 9 squares. I add it all up to 24 squares wide and I decide on a 30x30 lot, or whatever

[TingTong]

I use eplans.com and alot of constrainfloorelevation. Think about how the upper floors interact with the ground floors...eg. have a balcony from the master bedroom over looking the 2 story great room and clever roofing also helps! Adding a roof slope to a 2 story lounge really adds a feel of realism and prevents the space from becoming square and boxy. Also think about using CC. Especially build mode CC, as many EA objects arn't really appropriate in many builds.

Split level....have a look at some tutorials and practice on small houses to get a feel and tricks to doing this....split level/feature stairs you can see from the main living space looks awesome.

Eg: open gallery upstairs with balcony over looking lounge that features a sloping roof and L shaped stairs leading into the lounge.

http://www.eplans.com/

Choose simple plans for your first few builds before progressing onwards.... good luck

[Volvenom]

mickey: I sometimes have to count squares to find out how much space something needs. Like if I'm gonna use a doble door and to staircases in a hall. I only count squares if I risk running into some game limitations. In a really big house like the one the starter of this thread makes, you will have tons of room anyway.
DaveyDaVinci: we can just settle on not agree. A modern house has so many more options you can use.

Oh yes ... 1 more thing. I would try to be a little realistic here :) Like ... drop the family you have and just build a house. Get the money you need ... but why do I even bother! I mean I would have been bored to death before I had even started on that roof. So all possible honour to you for your patients. :!: