Courtyard House

This is converted into an apartment building. The building contains six apartments.
Front left bottom: 1 bedroom
Back left bottom: 2 bedrooms
Front left upper: 1 bedroom
Back left upper: 1 bedroom, 1 office/bedroom
Front right: duplex apartment: 3 bedrooms and an ensuite and downstairs cloakroom
Back right duplex apartment: 3 bedrooms and an ensuite and downstairs cloakroom

All kitchens have a smoke alarm hidden behind the cooker hood (cos they're ugly!)

I have included the following communal areas:
playground. BBQ area with chess tables, gym, arcade games, pool table, games room.

No CC used intentionally

Nicely done! And in on time

Thank you

Thank you I'm off to bed now (12.45am!)

So when I finally opened up the contest lots and looked at the floor plans for each house, I got a bit nervous--each one had rooms that were just a tad smaller than I'm used to/like for my playstyle. (It's almost like someone purposely designed these lots to be difficult to renovate or something... ) I love a good square bedroom and then I wanted to build something that I would actually use in one of my hoods that I'm already building stuff for. So I was concerned.

But I'm actually really happy with the way my first entry came out--even without using cc. I thought for sure it'd be more of a struggle not to use my old favs to keep the aesthetic consistent, but again, I really like the result and think it'd fit great in my Downtown. I can see myself putting copies of this lot around Mendoza Lane, maybe across the street, as a 2-story option for the block. I can also see myself changing the roof a tad, slapping some new colors on and then putting it in Pleasantview. And I like the floorplan I came up with, too! If I was able to get rid of some walls, I might have made a nook in the second floor bedroom to recess some dressers next to the closet, but, eh. The room doesn't really need it. I tried to use every inch of space in a practical way, and I hope that shows. So without further ado, my Downtown House:







Background:
This lot is meant to be a "Flip;" the house has been extended and staged to be move-in ready for middle to high income buyers looking for a 2-bedroom, 3 bath. The original house walls are cement, so they have been stuccoed in modern, neutral colors to give the house some curb appeal and a modern feel. On the inside of the house, where the extension meets the original walls (first floor living room and bedroom, as well as the second floor bathroom) the stucco was kept and made for a nice use of color blocking on the first floor. Don't worry about drafts; heaters have been placed to make sure sims stay cozy!

The first floor was extended to add on a living room, master suite with closet and private bath, and a garage. This allowed for the existing 1st floor to have a roomier kitchen and dining room, which buyers in this price point would expect. This lot has been lightly tested to make sure there are no routing issues--there's plenty of room for a welcome wagon dinner party. Living room phone, kitchen trash can, and entry hall side table are all fully accessible, even though the latter two were placed with the quarter tile cheat. Sims can also dance in front of the stereo with no routing impacts. The bar seating in the kitchen is also fully functional, though sims do not like sitting in the corner. Because the corner counter is connected to the stove, sims will sit in the chair, but eat with their plate in their hand. So best to use that seat as a deco spot. First floor bed and tv was also placed with the quarter tile cheat but there are no impacts on routing. The old first floor bathroom was turned into a laundry room with access to the garage--an exclamation sign points out where the hook ups are.

The second floor was extended one tile on each side so that the width of the floor matched the first floor, creating nooks for the stairs, closet, and shower, which allows for more usable interior space. The addition on the first floor also provided an opportunity to add to the second floor. A bathroom was added on (entirely in stucco to match the old exterior cement wall) and a slider was installed to make the roof usable as a deck. The second floor hall is a flex space staged as a reading nook, but buyers have lots of options! A tv can easily be added to turn it into a second living room for the kids or some other rec space. The upstairs bedroom was staged as a child's room, ready for a young kid with a love of aliens. There's even a telescope on the deck so he or she can search the stars! Do note that this bedroom does have a private bath as well--so a buyer can easily turn the whole floor into a master suite and keep the deck all to themselves. The deck is set up to do some roof top lounging or entertaining by the bar. It's a great place to relax and view the backyard.

Speaking of the backyard, the pond was slightly enlarged and the ground around it smoothed out to make all sides available for fishing. A small fence was added to separate the entertainment space from the pond, and to keep sims from tripping into the water. There's space in the garage to hang up some fishing gear, or store gardening tools.

Finally, no cc was used, so it's very buyer/downloader friendly! An invisible driveway is meant to be used with this lot, but no front driveway was actually placed, to keep with the no-cc rule. The driveway extension in the garage is still fully functional, however--sims will get in the car and simply disappear from the lot.

And that's it! Judges, please let me know if I have too many pictures, or if you're seeing something else not right.

Good luck everyone!

ETA: I did go back and add additional clothes racks to the 2nd floor closet, per Victor_tor's suggestion. Seemed worth it for just an extra $150.

No!!! I mean, really! Why would anyone do that?

Another great reno! Ooooooh boy! I am so happy I don't have to judge anything!
All I gotta do is make sure you followed the rules, and hand out bonuses. Easy-peasy
This "herding cats" deal is great, so far!

@Phantomknight did you know that closets with sliding rooms has matching 1-tile pieces? Those are shelves from AL with clothes railing. Once you will place them next to the closets they will make a seamless closet line behind the wall.

Guess EA made that happen for such closets like yours in children bedroom.

You know, I never really thought about using the clothing racks in that way because they wouldn't be reachable by sims (I used them in the 1st floor closet), but that's actually a great idea @Victor_tor--it would make the closet look full! Thanks.

@Justpetro I'm looking over all the entries and I notice that in your kitchen you have one square that's wood tile and all the rest is marble/tile. I keep trying to find a reason for it, but since there's no close up of that particular corner, I'm drawing a blank. Just thought I'd mention it in case it was an accident. Same thing with the corner counter with the tea set in the kitchen--looks backwards to me, but if it's intentional, don't mind me...

Local legend contractor, Phil McCrakken, has done it again! He's turned a former eyesore into a lovely "custom" home ready for Sims interested in renting, buying, or renting to own.
This house had a traffic flow that would make a pope curse but not anymore! The main part of the ground floor is done in an open concept making this smallish home feel so much more spacious.
New ground floor amenities include a new electric fireplace, windows(!), roomier kitchen with all new appliance - including a dishwasher, trash compactor, top of the line refrigerator and cooking appliances. Smoke alarm is conveniently installed on the ceiling. A new one-car garage has been connected to the home through an entrance hall leading into the main room of the house and the back of the property. There's a small laundry room at the front, too.
The second story has many new features. Starting with a new stairway by the front entrance of the home leading into a wide hallway. Plenty of room for Sims hurrying to get where they're going in the morning. There's a small office area in the far corner for you to do your pc work, chat, blog, or play The Sims 3. At the end of the hall is a new full bathroom featuring both a tub and separate shower. On the left, you'll find a new second bedroom with attached deck. If you were familiar with this house in the past, you'll notice that new exterior walls were added to improve the lines of the house. Old walls were incorporated into use for the new floorplan. The master bedroom is quite spacious with an en suite bathroom. Wall to wall windows really open up both the hall and master bedroom bringing the outside in.
Speaking of the outside - the lawn has been completely re-sodded so there's lovely green grass throughout. The back of the property lets you enjoy the "ying and yang" of pond and pool. Pool only has ladders to not obscure the view of the lovely flowers surrounding the pond. Lovely shrubs and flowers have been planted around the home bringing a pop of color. Looks nice against the new white stucco.







As for playability, I think the only part that would be a problem as is might be in the master bedroom where I moved the bed and nightstands over around a quarter tile to keep the corner nightstand from having a curtain going through it. If I'm playing my lot, I'd move it all back over and ditch the curtains for a different kind or not use the corner placed nightstand. Sims may or may not bottleneck getting in/ exiting vehicles into the house if there's another Sim in their path to the door into the house. I think I'll go play the lot just to get all the dining chairs to scoot into position. LoL.

Oops! Quick edit. If you'd like to see the pics I didn't use, they're HERE.

The Strangetown adobe property has been purchased and renovated by a talented roboticist who plans to make her home in the community and sell robots from a shop in front of the house. This is a "Fix" entry decorated to suit the taste of the owner and her somewhat gothy teenage daughter and as such the underground robotics workshop has tools and half-finished projects lying around.

According to the requirements for this property, I haven't demolished any of the outer walls, the pool or the arches, only added to them; the house has an upstairs extension, and I added one extra connecting column to give symmetry to the entrance gate to the private zone behind the shop. This is a CC-free renovation without Sims 2 Store or Stories content and with only the Menaceman downlight fix and Nopke half-wall fix, plus Lamare's Shiftable Everything and Ponderosa's Buyable Bots. (I did retake some screenshots with CC in the folder while working on my next entry - if anything looks off for the CC-free bonus, let me know!)





Note to judges: I manually scooched the dining chairs and the patio chairs closer to the tables for the beauty shots - they look weird standing so far away in rooms that are meant to look lived in - but they're correctly snapped to the grid in the overhead shots so sims can use them.

(it was the computer)

I used the design tool and that made the lines go away

Thank you @Phantomknight No idea why I dropped that wooden tile there, I fixed it.

@peachy123uk

Try the F10 button (and the groundcover tool) - it may help you with the screenshots from above!

Me either. I just got vibes that could have feel myself menacing finger with "okaaaay, I found a tiny tiny bit of CC in your noCC building"

More great entries!!! Great job everybody
There still a few minutes before late penalties start accruing!

The countdown timer for Round 2 has been started. But - PLEASE - do not post round 2 builds until the judging for round 1 has been posted.

@Treehawk, @heyoniina, @Gwathgor, @Hazel1948 - Please get your Round 1 entries in as soon as possible. .

Judges: Please get your scores in as quick as you can. I know it is a tight turn-around!
Let me know if you need anything from me. Thank you and, Good Luck!

Well, still nervous, but here's my first submission:

The Riverblossom Hills Ranch!



- No CC
- Playtested and everything is usable... except the flowers are unreachable around the house.

I started off simple and didn't do anything too extravacant. It was a challenge to make the layout work without adding a second floor, but those point reductions... I mostly used items and content from the Seasons EP. I didn't touch the stone walls or the porch as instructed. An addition for the roof was added.
Suitable house for parents and two young children, included small gardening spots and a cute small barn for your storaging needs, or maybe for a small guest-house. On the yard, three beautiful fruit-trees.





Also so sorry for the late submission, completely my own fault as I built this actually in the beginning of the week... I didn't thought of time-zones and thought of course I have plenty of time today to submit this...

YAY!!! Lovely build
Thank you!

Oh I had house very similar in Riverblossom Hills. That even looks like you used just a content from Seasons.
Precious and keep the vibes. I felt very cosy and comfortable until my granny start to yell at me right now.

Welcome to the latest triumph of architecture by the unique firm THWK - "Life Grows Through the Cracks". More than just a renovation, this house is a rebirth, with only the original walls left behind as a reminder of the lot's past life. Inspired by a plant seen sprouting through a sidewalk crack, this house is a striking combination of the harsh, bare concrete of brutalism with the lush, verdant greenery of nature. This property is a luxurious 1 bed, 1.5 bath dream home with a fully-equipped 1 bed, 1 bath Mother-In-Law Suite. Keep active with a private, fenced pool, enjoy the latest movies in the comfortable home theater, or explore your creativity in a well-appointed hobby room - these and more are all in wait for you, future owner. Enjoy time outdoors by a beautiful pond and garden, fully refreshed and stocked with a selection of appropriate local fish. Make a statement and be the envy of everyone in Downtown for the low, low price of $150K. Green thumb not included.





Well, ta-ta! I'll be waiting to hear from your realtor - don't wait too long - I think the offers will be pouring in!


I didn't have a chance to say in the pictures, but I don't know that the tubs will work for washing dogs. I couldn't make it work in my playtesting, but I absolutely never play with dogs so I might just not have been doing it right. Either way, as long as you're not a furry friend, the lot should work well! You may find, however, that sim logic dictates that the fastest way to get anywhere is through the pool, so you may be seeing a lot of swimsuits on this one. This was my inspiration - found in an article about eco-brutalism, link lost.


edit: Also, there's a fire alarm hidden under the maxis stove hood & the other stove hood I made into a functional fire alarm (not sure if I shared that anywhere? but I promise I did, )

Thanks so much, guys! Sorry it's late - life got super busy this week , and I forgot how long the taking-pictures-and-making-post part takes... whoops! Can't wait to start reading everyone else's entries now, yay!

My granny said it is a subway pavillion and she likes it.

Yay! Great entry
Picture taking and formatting always takes the longest time for me too.

Some drinks for the judges and good luck to them all

Since I'm still far from my best, and am even slower than usual in everything I try to do, I think it will be tomorrow or later before I finish the post about my unofficial play-along version of the Downtown 'Crack' House. However, as a taster, I have included one picture taken inside the house in my WCIF post about using the space under stairs. For me, as for many others, sorting the pictures, and writing their accompanying text, can easily take longer than actually building the house. I've now been playing Sims in the house for two whole Sim days, and with a few minor changes, it does seem to work. I've succeeded in keeping the price for my impecunious Sims under §20K.

There are two more pictures taken just outside the house in my new post in the Pictures sub-forum. These pictures also show the two other Sims who are living in the house.

Strangetown Adobe Compound



Converted into a home business, specifically... um... a club, I guess? I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to places like that x'D Well, anyway, the visitors pay for time spend here; they can choose between swimming in the pool, singing karaoke, playing Mishuno, chess, or darts, dancing, or just relaxing in the shade. There's also a bar for the visitors, as well as toilets.
When it comes to the living area, there's a space for up to three Sims here, with two bedrooms, a bathroom, living room with kitchen and dining area, and private terrace area with barbecue. Fire and burglar alarms are included.

As far as I know, I haven't used any CC (tho I'm not 100% sure I haven't used any by accident).

Such has name karaoke bar, at least in my country. And that's what all my friends are likely to love. They rent a booth alike in your basement and then scream inside pretending they are Whitney Hustons.

Okay I have an ask. I am old with poor eye sight, can you please do close ups on individual rooms and take as many side on walk around as you are allowed. You know what is in your lot but I don't and I would rather not have to sit here trying to figure out what something might be. I have written up 4 now and realized that I am saying this on every comment. Also no tilted on its sides pictures.

@CatherineTCJD I'm sorry, I did not see your post saying the round had ended or that you needed scores quickly. I will spend tomorrow getting them together. If you can ping me when a round closes.