Strangetown: Trading Places (Makeover Contest)

Here's the house:

Since we can't really remember how we got here, we (Circe and I) are a little conscious of security, so after we had torn down all of the bizarre platforms to regain some cash we worked on securing the site.

As you can see, the garden and rear entrances are enclosed, with a locked gate protecting our private rooms. Inside, there is a reception area with recreational activities, so that any visitors do not suspect our secret businesses.

There is a secure foyer between the ground floor reception area and the laboratories, and all of the doors are protected by keypad access locks. Circe's lab is to the left, with a small sun room and doors leading to the garden. My lab is top right, and I have rear access should I wish to go outside. Circe and I have a connecting door between our labs as we like to share ideas from time to time, and we also have a small bathroom there.

When we are not working, we have a living area with attached bathroom on the first floor. We can cook and relax whilst we listen to music, and we can even invite visitors up here. There's a terrace too, but it is very hot outside.

Our bedroom is on the second floor, and as you can see Circe has been decorating in her favourite colour, lab overall green. Circe has a dressing room, and she has quite a collection of wire coat hangers in there. We have an ensuite bathroom, and a private terrrace. The view is good.

On the next floor is a room where Circe keeps her pet.

You know, I'm not really keen on her having pets- this one seems none too bright and he has some sort of nervous disorder- but he was with us when we arrived here, and Circe wanted to keep him for testing purposes. This room is the only area of the house he's allowed in- he has a bed and a chair, and I was all for keeping him in the dark but Circe gave him some battery lights. He doesn't need a lavatory as he goes in the shower! Circe's pet has access to this area and the adjoining roof terrace via external stairs, so he does not ever have to enter my quarters.

Right up on the top terrace we have some equipment to harness wind power, and also an antenna. Power and communication are very important when you are interested in the sciences, as Circe and I are.

Here's the lot price:

Yvelotic2001	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	4.5	4.5	4	4.5	5	22.5	Stylish house for a manly man. I find the fence in the front of the entrance is a bit distracting. Ajay’s bedroom is huge and seems a bit empty. While the dÃ©cor is absolutely stunning in some places other parts are empty — I feel as if you have not reached your full potential here.
Judge Two	4.5	4	4.5	4.5	5	22.5	I like the exterior industrial look but am not a fan of the dark wood. There are seemingly random strips of brick inside. I love the stairwell. A lot of empty space upstairs but a poky kitchen.
Judge Three	4.5	4	5	5	5	22.5	The house definitely has kerb appeal now! I really like the window detail to the front aspect of the house very functional and decorative too! I have taken points away because of the lack of landscaping- sorry.

NatteryakToad	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	4	4.5	4	4.5	4.5	22	A handsome house. The roof does cover the windows a bit and you can work on that. Inside there are too many empty spaces. Try to move the furniture away from the walls where possible and arrange them differently. I don’t see mushrooms and there is no sign of Ophelia’s interests.
Judge Two	4.5	4	4	4.5	5	21	I like how you made it a traditional gothic-looking house with suitably gothic interior. There's a bit much empty space making it look a bit sparse inside. The kitchen looks awkward especially access to the fridge. I didn't like the orangey brown carpet with floral black wallpaper. I like the secret entrance to the basement.
Judge Three	4	4	4	5	4.5	21.5	The butterfly wallpaper in the niece’s bedroom is very cute. The rooms seem overly large or under-decorated in my opinion. It is also quite difficult to see what is in the rooms as they are all so dark. I can’t see an air quality item for Olivia.

Muridae	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	4	4	4	4.5	4	20.5	You have started this lot very well with the pretty cutouts in the walls but you have not pulled it through all the way. No lawn for PT9 and no dolphins or even a toy for Jill?
Judge Two	5	4.5	4	4.5	4	22	I love the exterior and the use of the small rooms as al fresco. Good layout upstairs. The foyer and kitchen look empty. It's a long way from the kitchen to the outdoor eating area. There's no indoor eating area for when the weather isn't so suitable. To me the lounge room wallpaper clashes with the carpet and brown seating and I'm not a huge fan of the kitchen wallpaper. No reference to Jill's love of the sea or dolphins and there's no lawn!
Judge Three	5	3.5	4.5	5	4.5	22.5	I really like the look of this house from the outside. The cut-out porches are gorgeous. I like the planting around this part of the house too-I wish you had continued it some more around the rest of the space. Unfortunately you missed the lawn and there is nothing for Jill to play with or anything to do with her aspirations or dreams. I feel that the whole house is rather sparsely decorated and furnished. There is a huge hallway without much in it.

Simoleon37	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	4.5	4	4.5	4	5	22	Good placement of furniture but the house is very dark. (A rug or carpet here and there would break up that floor). The roof in combination with the large windows- will look better with a different edging that can make it look higher. I like the Greek decorations although perhaps the statue in the kitchen may have looked better in another room.
Judge Two	4.5	4	4.5	4	5	22	The roof looks a bit too flat. Perhaps a low fence or border to lift it a little. A bit of landscaping was needed. I thought the flooring was too dark- perhaps something a bit more industrial or modern. I wonder about access to the oven which is in the archway as well as the narrow mezzanine behind which a Sim could get stuck. There appears to be no shower or bath in the main bathroom which has a lot of empty space. Cute little patio area and great that you have something for Nervous to wear himself out.
Judge Three	4	4	4	4	4	20	Nice use of the CC windows. There is so little landscaping and terrain sculpting here! I like the ballet barre in Nervous’ room. But where is the nuclear reactor that Loki is making I can’t see anything that would allude to that. I do like the cow plant —very funny! Is the bar useable on the diagonal? Also there is a one tile walkway that will most probably cause foot stomping issues.

Kukamuukaanmuka	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	5	5	5	5	5	25	A Perfect Job ðŸ˜Š I would have given you a bonus point for making that stupid entrance usable for something if I could ðŸ˜Š
Judge Two	5	5	5	4.5	5	24.5	Amazing — unrecognisable! I love the landscaping. I just took half a point off for access to the pool even though he's a loner. (Some visitor might decide to invite themselves for a swim.)
Judge Three	5	5	5	5	5	25	I really like the look of this house. You have packed so much into it! I like the fishable pond as a way of making money and you even managed to sell the boot!

Modder	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	4.5	4.5	5	4.5	4.5	23	One of my favourites in this round. The contrast between the two floors are terrific. I also really like the fence. Nervous should really have some exercise equipment (read the rules — something for every sim) — even if it is just a yoga mat.
Judge Two	5	4.5	5	4.5	4.5	23.5	I'm loving the stark industrial look suitable for secret research. It has a great clinical look with a suitable glass-walled room for observation - fantastic. I'm not a fan of TVs facing outwards in the middle of the room and I don't like the lift entrance/exit being right next to the TV.
Judge Three	5	4	5	5	5	24	Great attention to detail here! Love the layout and use of items- and poor Nervous! More landscaping would’ve made it even better though.

Quicksylver	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	4.5	4.5	4	4.5	4.5	22	I like the outside of the house. The windows can be placed better. Love the colours and the rugs. The inside walls are a bit empty and there should be an outside light on the roof porch. A special hobby item (or more) for Ajay would be nice too.
Judge Two	5	4	4.5	4.5	5	23	I like how the small spaces at the front are used as a stairwell and reading nook. Nice spacious kitchen but Sims sitting at the breakfast bar would have a cupboard in their face. I like the pops of colour.
Judge Three	4	4	4	5	4.5	21.5	The house definitely has a southwestern vibe going on there! I’m not sure that this house says masculine to me I’m afraid. The bright bedroom colours look eclectic. I like the old fashioned typewriter

Motheringthesims	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	3.5	3.5	3.5	4	5	19.5	I think this can be the start of some amazing building to come. The roof is not perfect and it covers the windows- so rather use a flat roof to avoid that. Since you aimed for a modern house a flat roof would be more modern. I appreciate that you have tried to landscape the whole garden but the plants seem scattered; putting them in groups would make a huge difference — the garden should reflect the modern look as well. Your dÃ©cor has a good start but do not put beds against curtains. (again blinds may have been more modern) Try to avoid large empty spaces (living room and kitchen) and I feel the dining table and chairs need a tile wide space around them for sims to sit down and get up easily. I also like that you made a back porch.
Judge Two	4	4	5	4.5	5	22.5	Nice big windows. The roof needs some work - try to get the ridges meeting. Take pics without grid lines showing (easily done by clicking on the swatch tool). There is a fair bit of empty space in the foyer kitchen area. I felt there may be a playability issue with the table and chairs- with a Sim potentially being stuck in the corner. I love the splashes of red.
Judge Three	4	3	4	5	4	20	I like the red colour scheme in the kitchen and lounge area and I like your choice of bedding in the bedrooms. I am not too keen on the exterior of the property. There doesn’t seem to be anything for Ajay to make money from on the lot though.

Randomlyyellatstuff	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	4.5	5	4.5	4.5	4.5	23	One of my favourite entries as well in this round. Very pretty roof- lovely outside and inside. I just wished you moved that entrance.
Judge Two	5	4.5	5	5	3.5	23	I really like the exterior. Nice design! There's a good use of space and it feels homely. Interior decoration is great. I like it. However I'm not getting a sense of the characters from the bedrooms apart from Kristen.
Judge Three	5	4.5	5	5	5	24.5	Gorgeous inside and out! The only negative is it could’ve done with some more landscaping! But at least yours has some! I like all the little dÃ©cor touches in this house- definitely decorated for females

Flickstar	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	4	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	22	Good effort from you. I like the landscaping. The roof choice is not the best one. Good to see landscaping at the back of the lot and a nice porch. The inside is well done- and I like Olive’s room. I also like what you did with the basement. I don’t see something for Ophelia’s interests?
Judge Two	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	22.5	Your blurb is written like it's being sold generally and not to a family with specific requirements. Ophelia's requirements are not mentioned. Nice little kitchen but there's a bit of empty space beside it. I like the pond and the 'excavating' tools.
Judge Three	4	3	4	5	4	20	I like the interesting array of things in the basement for Olive to do. I can’t see anything for Ophelia to monitor the air quality with though. I would’ve liked to have seen more landscaping. There seems to be quite a lot of unused space. The images are very dark so it makes it quite hard to see what has been placed.

Emerald1234	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	3.5	3.5	3.5	4	5	19.5	The house is pretty. I like the green walls. The landscaping (or the lack of it) — remember that ground cover is free and it can be used to create a variety of effects. Inside the walls are very empty and one bedroom has no window. (I know the budget is hard for 4 bedrooms). The bedrooms are well divided but the passage is only one tile wide and that may cause some stomping. The screenshots need to be without the UI — I can live with the size but the gridlines bother me.
Judge Two	4	3.5	4	4	3	18.5	Some plants or landscaping would be good. I'm not seeing characters reflected in bedrooms or activities. (Leopard print doesn't necessarily say romance to me.) The front bedroom has a large waste of space while the hallway is narrow (potentially a problem for 4 Sims). Downstairs also has wasted space while the lounge is poky. There are no windows in the back bedroom and ensuite which would have brightened them. Could have done with a bathroom upstairs instead of 2 downstairs. Nice kitchen.
Judge Three	4	3.5	4	5	4.5	21	The house has an interesting layout. The dÃ©cor is very basic and there aren’t many dÃ©cor or furnishing items to enhance the rooms. Landscaping is non-existent.

Marleen267	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	4.5	5	4.5	4.5	4.5	23	I love it. I think the back entrance should be the main one- perhaps with a path leading there instead of the front one- which I see as not very playable. A bit of groundcover could have been used at the back (shame poor Nervous) — good use of the basement. You did not give Nervous anything though.
Judge Two	5	4	5	4.5	4.5	23	Nice aspect. Stylish exterior and interior decor. However there's lots of empty space in the top bedroom. I would have liked more interior shots.
Judge Three	5	4	3.5	5	5	22.5	I like the choice of wall coverings for the exterior. The two labs work very well in those two front rooms. The bedroom and bathroom for Loki and Circe are very basic though. There is very little landscaping

Simsample	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	4	4	5	4.5	5	23	Winning the story part in my opinion. I would have liked to give a bonus point for that — especially for Olive’s imaginary friend ðŸ˜Š Somehow you did get that house to look better even without changing that awful roof and some other awful things. The inside dÃ©cor is spectacular and so is what you did with the basement. I love the boots on the back porch. Surely Olive could have marked her future gravesite with some groundcover or something since she has plans to start digging?
Judge Two	4	4	4.4.5	4.5	5	22	Congrats on keeping everything on one level. Good use of space although I still don't like the kitchen being in that corner. Colourful decor - someone likes green!
Judge Three	4.5	4	5	5	4	22.5	Great build I love the way you’ve done the windows on the corners to the front aspect. You have an eclectic colour scheme going on but it works! Nice and bright too! Needed some more landscaping for me though. There is no hint of dead husbands and no graves. I do like the added solar panel and the weather station for Ophelia.

Aysarth	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	4.5	4	4	4.5	4.5	22	The outside is good but space should be left for the graves. The top floor seems very empty to me even if I keep space for dancing in mind - but I like the party lights. The bedrooms are nice - again a very empty area between them and that green wall behind the stairs need something to make it interesting. Love the mushrooms in the basement!
Judge Two	5	4.5	4.5	4.5	5	23.5	Nice exterior and terrain paint. Interesting having the main living areas upstairs. However there's lots of empty space. There was room for the table and chairs to be more centred. The fireplace to one side looked a bit odd to me. A lot of grey and brown. I love that you had reference to Ophelia's hypochondria.
Judge Three	4	4	4	5	4	21	Interesting layout choice - making the bedrooms on the ground floor. I feel the living area needs more adding to it as it’s rather sparsely decorated. I can’t see any evidence of Olive’s late husband’s either. How does Ophelia monitor the weather?

Mordant17	Build	Outside	Inside	Playability	Suitability	Total	Comment
Judge One	4.5	4.5	4	5	4.5	22.5	I like the gardening here and the large windows. I love the fact that you got rid of that entrance and the new one looks good. I would have liked the roof to have a different edge to make it seem a bit higher with the large windows. Inside there are some empty spaces and empty walls and the sofa in front of the television is against a counter with a kitchen sink (it could be placed one tile forward).
Judge Two	4.5	4	4.5	5	5	23	Nice bachelor pad! A nice use of space with an original layout. I love the cactus garden.
Judge Three	5	4	5	5	5	24	This screams bachelor to me I love it! I really like how you’ve moved the front entrance and filled up the space left behind with plants. I think I might have made all the windows and doors the same colour though.

	« First < Prev 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > Last » Jump Jump to page: Page 7 of 25

Sign in to Mod The Sims