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Original Poster
#1 Old 28th May 2012 at 2:29 AM
Default Which Maxis made house is your favourite
My favourite is the Victorian house that comes with the base game. It has three bedrooms and its under 25,000 simoleons.
Meet Me In My Next Life
#2 Old 28th May 2012 at 3:23 AM
I would say maybe the "Goth house", It's been so long that I have been playing the Sims that most of the Maxis made houses I have done over or have forgotten about. But the main bone of the homes is there, but I made some makeover on a lot of them.
In Pleasantview all those lots down there where Don Lothario was living I got rid of all those lots, and build my own in it's place.

In Veronaville I hated The Summerdream house I quickly "Bulldoze" that lot and added my own lot. I also got rid of the Monty's lot. In Bluewater Village I "do like" Della Rosa lot. ( with her home business)
@ > MandyMarie87 >Sorry I know you ask which Maxis houses is our favorite ? But some of the Maxis lots ( not all ) was not build so well, some to small or way to big.( Just my opinion ) So in truth my neighborhoods have had a complete face lift.

"Nothing in life is a Surprise it just happen to come your way at the time".
Alchemist
#3 Old 28th May 2012 at 3:28 AM
I like a lot of houses from Belladonna Cove. Particularly Geoff Rutherford's house and Armand DeBateau's apartment. I also love the stylish and romantic houses that came with KBIDS in the lot bin.

Honestly, I don't like building. And I don't like downloading custom houses, because sometimes lots w/o CC are mostly starter home AFAIK. And that's why I love maxis lots.
Field Researcher
#4 Old 28th May 2012 at 3:40 AM
:lovestruc I love just about every lot from Belladonna Cove. They are great! I think the large house next to Geoff maybe is my fave
Lab Assistant
#5 Old 28th May 2012 at 4:23 AM
I literally can't think of anyone in particular. I use a ton but I only really remember the tiny houses I make.

I always liked the idea of the Baba Yaga house in Belladonna, but I can't get Apartment Life so I guess I'll never have it.

That was not helpful, funny, or love!
Scholar
#6 Old 28th May 2012 at 4:46 AM
I like the Pleasants' House.
Lab Assistant
#7 Old 28th May 2012 at 5:04 AM
I think most of the houses are too big, and kind of unplayable realistically. When I play I usually downsize the home ... keeping the *frame* of the house but tailoring it to the families needs. The Goths house is too big so I made it a 2 story and now I really like it ... but technically its not EA's design so I dont know if that counts. If I had to choose a house that I like that is playable w/o changes it would have to be the Caliente's ... that one isn't so bad.
Inventor
#8 Old 28th May 2012 at 5:29 AM
I think Belladonna Cove contains some of the best pre-made houses (apartments) in the game, they're more realistic and have a bit of thought put into them rather than EA's standard suburban square houses and abnormally long and narrow bathrooms.

I must admit, though, the trailer park is my favourite. :3
Lab Assistant
#9 Old 28th May 2012 at 5:30 AM
I like nearly all premade family house. they are beautiful.

but my favourite ones are Goth, Pleasant, and Kim.
Alchemist
#10 Old 28th May 2012 at 11:14 AM
Oh yeah, I like the Kims too! :D
Instructor
#11 Old 28th May 2012 at 2:07 PM
I am a fan of most Maxis-made houses. Some are absolutely good as they are while some needs some small adjustments to be acceptable. Take the Summerdream family´s house for example: Most people seem to strongly dislike that house, but I find it quite cool and once you add a frontdoor or two so it doesn´t take the kids 1 hour to walk to the schoolbus, it´s definitely playable.

The houses in the house- and lotsbin can however be another story. While I find most of them really good or at least okay, the quality differs alot and some of them simply looks worse then those big box-houses I used to build when I was new with the game.

I couldn´t find a list of all Maxis-made houses and what they are called, but I really like the Beaker´s house as well as the Specter´s house, Goth mansion, the Pleasant´s house and the Capp mansion (another popular pet peeve). There are also some unoccupied houses in especially Pleasantview I don´t know the name of that I like a lot, and a couple of houses in the housebin. The House of Fallen Trees in Downtown is also pretty awesome.

Even with my favorite Maxis houses I normally do some adjustments (which can be something small like changing the wallpapers and floors or something more extensive like changing much of the inside layout) while I´m playing to make it suit my taste better. But like I said: I don´t feel like I have to do a whole lot there to make them really nice.
Field Researcher
#12 Old 28th May 2012 at 3:43 PM
I like most of the same houses everyone else likes. The Kim house is very cool. There's plenty of room to expand and make it bigger without changing the original design too much. The Pleasant's house is really fun to fix up too. There's so much room on that upper level to expand if you change that roof that isn't weather proof anyway. The only houses I don't care for are most of the houses in the downtown area that come with Nightlife. Most of those houses have bedrooms that are too small to fit a double bed and the lots are too small to widen them.
Lab Assistant
#13 Old 28th May 2012 at 3:48 PM
I never noticed there were actual families with the house in the bin until last night ... I found the Kims and Kat families. After all these years ... you still learn something LOL
Oh and last night I was playing Strangetown and the Curious brothers home isnt too bad after you delete all that nonsense on the roof. It would take them years to get up to that telescope!
Field Researcher
#14 Old 28th May 2012 at 5:00 PM
I like the house in Desiderata Valley with the humongous bathroom on the second floor... but only because it makes me laugh.

I got bored of my usual hood and was remodeling houses in my Megahood (before I found out a bunch of adults are being treated as teenagers and can't get jobs because their grades are too low). There are a lot of strange design decisions, mainly the unnecessarily large bathrooms, but I also find them kind of charming in a quirky way. Besides changing the floor plan to make them more playable (wider hallways and stairs), I try to keep them pretty close to the original setup. There's a weird house in Strangetown I put the Singles in and it was fun remodeling it to suit the needs of the four ladies. The basement got turned into a love nest for the Romance girl. I ended up quite pleased with it because it's not something I'd build myself which I think made it all the more fun to play.
Field Researcher
#15 Old 28th May 2012 at 5:10 PM Last edited by saskganesh : 28th May 2012 at 5:27 PM.
It's a peeve of mine that most of the houses don't seem to be designed to be played in. Hallways too narrow, only one set of stairs, shortage of bathrooms, too small kitchens, bedrooms that can't fit furniture, crummy landscaping making it impossible to trim bushes, navigation challenges and traffic jams everywhere. And if you make some simple expansions to deal with these issues, you'll then have to figure out the roof tools or just go autoroof. And with autoroof, there goes the look.

I think most of the houses are too small! I recognise big houses can be a problem, as it's easy to lose track of sims, and the sims can take their sweet time getting somewhere, and some systems have lag with bigger lots, but I think it's at heart a navigation/AI problem. If you build houses with good/easy flow, the size is not important. (And hey, then you finally have room for all their stuff.)

Some of them look nice. The Goth houses is pretty cool as it projects an appropriate Gothic atmosphere. But you know, I had to change some things...
Mad Poster
#16 Old 28th May 2012 at 5:10 PM
The base game houses and Bluewater houses just generally drive me nuts because of Seasons. I don't make many changes to the Ramirez house, though, so I guess I'd say it's one of my favorites. It's about right sized for the family. (I redecorate--have to take that table out of the kitchen so they'll eat in the dining room, and Tessa needs a kitty.)

Pics from my game: Sunbee's Simblr Sunbee's Livejournal
"English is a marvelous edged weapon if you know how to wield it." C.J. Cherryh
Scholar
#17 Old 28th May 2012 at 5:54 PM Last edited by Amairani : 28th May 2012 at 6:16 PM.
I'm playing Veronaville right now, my favs there are the Capp mansion (actually, it was one of the favs, I did awesome refurnishing and changed floor plan just a tiny bit, mostly by giving a couple of rooms other functions that those used to have given by Maxis, but mansion got corrupted after playing it for few months and had to be deleted T_T). I like the Monty ranch for its easy playability and big area around - changed ranch's outer view a little by using fantastic Torrox Spanish Southwestern Build set and added a greenhouse to the backyard. A quarter of inside patio had to be turned into another bedroom with a separate entrance straight from the patio, as the family expanded and needed another bedroom.
I actually love all houses in Veronaville, only every one I play, I expand it a little, just few tiles here and there with an extra bathroom for guests, otherwise the houses are too small and my Sims who like to party can't fit in all their guests easily.

Before that I played Riverblossom Hills and there I love the Greenman's house, the one with the glass roof, looking as a huge greenhouse. I added lots of plants and flowers to its inside decor, kept the big tree planted inside the house, surrounded it with more bushes and flowers, changed all furniture to country/bavaria style, expanded the garden outside, added fountains and fishing pond with lots of flowers, and the place looks awesome now, I wouldn't mind to live there myself. Recently I did a little change to the floor plan on the second floor, by turning the common area into kid's room after the twins were born and more bedroom space were needed.

O'Mackey house is another favorite, I restyled it a bit to look completely country and the whole area around the house is one huge garden now, with fruit trees, fountains, mini ponds, flower beds, fishing pond, cosy benches, with all kind of gardening stuff/accessories scattered around.
Mad Poster
#18 Old 28th May 2012 at 7:21 PM
I really, really adore the lot beside the Grunt lot in Strangetown, alongside the Pleasant House and the trailer park in Pleasantview. They're all so gorgeous.


Angie/DS | Baby Sterling - 24/2/2014
This account is mostly used by my sons to download CC now, if you see me active, it's probably just them!
Lab Assistant
#19 Old 28th May 2012 at 7:23 PM
I love that house that came in the sim bin with nightlife I believe. It was white and had a garage, a small backyard, a basement type thing, lots of room. I just love that house!
Top Secret Researcher
#20 Old 28th May 2012 at 7:35 PM
I really like the red farm type looking house from Pleasantville. Of course I usually tweak them a bit to my liking. Since I've never seen any of the others neighborhood's houses is there a site where you can look at them and download them?
Lab Assistant
#21 Old 28th May 2012 at 7:41 PM
My favorite house is one of the houses in the bin - I think it is called the family farmhouse? It has 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths according to the maxis description. I like it because it's wide enough for a bigger family to live in peacefully without being too wide, and it's not too large/unrealistic. I usually change the walls and floors of it though because it's so plainly colored inside.

I dont mind using maxis houses just because it's quicker than building my own houses and sometimes I just really don't feel like building. Usually I end up changing them though. I don't like the ones that are too modern like the Kim's house, so I try to keep mine more traditional looking if I use them. They also made some of the houses ridiculously unlivable that you basically have to modify them. Rooms where the master bedroom can barely even fit in a two-person bed let alone a dresser or other bedroom furniture.
Mad Poster
#22 Old 28th May 2012 at 8:41 PM
I like the 4-BR one in the lots bin in Riverblossom Hills--I believe it's called Hearty Home. Easy to remodel (I add an extra bathroom upstairs).

I also like the Grand Estate that shipped with Apartment Life. Again, a simple remodeling job and it's just the way I like it.

Who is Q? qanon.pub
Forum Resident
#23 Old 29th May 2012 at 12:17 AM
Believe it or not my favorite two houses: 115 Riverbend Rd in Riverblossom Hill's (small 1bd 1bth with pond out back) and the tiny hidden cabin in Pleasantview.

I've had more fun redecorating and rehabbing those houses than any of the others.

The Riverbend house is my "go to" starter home for newlyweds or singles just moving out of the family home.
The hidden cabin is for the hunky bearded outdoorsman type

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.
Albert Einstein "What Life Means to Einstein"
Mad Poster
#24 Old 29th May 2012 at 12:39 AM
I hate the one-tile-wide hallways in some of the Maxis houses. Traffic jam.

I like the Goth house better once I put in connecting stairs or even spiral stairs. The only time I use the straight stairs is if there are two side-by-side, since you can have no more than two Sims on them at a time. That's a major pain if you have a large household.

Who is Q? qanon.pub
Test Subject
#25 Old 29th May 2012 at 5:14 PM
Goth mansion, Pleasant's house, Summerdream's house, and Capp Manor. Capp Manor is really good if you can fix the yard. It looks like a park and it would be awesome if you add a dog or two xD or maybe a basketball field if you have Freetime. But the annoying thing is when the kids need 30 minutes of gameplay just to reach their school bus
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