Tutorials:Building Great Realistic Houses - From the Ground Up/Interior

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RightArrow.gifWhat is this all about anyway?

Intro

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What can i learn?

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FAQ

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RightArrow.gifRoom Sizes

Room sizing is key to make a house work right, so read below on all the information you will need to make your house that little bit better, or maybe even a lot better!

Room Size Briefing

This is the first stumbling blocks builders run across. They don’t have any concept of simscale and that will give you and awkward building EVERYTIME. Yes, its true that there are plenty of gigantic mansions out there, but usually doing those well is NOT a beginner project. Usually the first thing I like to have new builders do is look at the room they are sitting in and try to figure out how many sim tiles the room would be. So, look around you at the room you're in. Unless you've just moved in, it's probably not full of empty spaces with nothing there. Sim rooms should be about the same - plan the room size around the amount of stuff you're going to put in. You don't have to fill up every tile, but there shouldn't be room to go roller skating in the middle of the living room.

With the ability to measure out a real room in sim tiles it easier to understand the scale. For your convience, I’ve included ranges used for most ‘normal family homes’ for rooms. These are NOT rules! They are guidelines. They are also not perfect. The numbers I've given are basic and boring squares. It is completely possible to make houses that do not follow any of these sizes at all, but its good to get the basics down first before attempting the mansions or the minilots.


Bathroom

A half bath (toilet and sink) can be as small as 1x3 with the door in the center. I’ve also seen them without the sink and been as small as 1x2! Do keep in mind though, that smaller rooms can be traffic problems, so don’t do too small if its in a house meant for a lot of sims. A nice sized half bath is 2x2. Put the toilet on one wall the sink on the other and a plant or table in the dead space. Small, pretty, function, scaled. Full baths (with a tub or shower) can be as small as 2x3. These are especially nice as the upstairs main bath (the one that connects to the hallway or kids rooms). 3x3 also still works especially if you wish to include both a shower and a tub. 3x3 is a nice sized Master bath, and I’ve even seen them as large as 4x4 without looking out of place. If you wish to make it more of a Master ‘spa and retreat’ and include a hot tub you will obviously need more space. ‘His’ and ‘Hers’ counters and sinks take up more space. Making rooms bigger is perfectly fine as long as it has a purpose. If you make the room too large and don’t fill it or break it up into little areas with decorative fences, half walls, or stages, it feels too large and empty.


Bedroom

This is another room that is often scaled incorrectly. Bedrooms can range between being a tiny 2x3 (not really big enough, not advised) to much larger Master suites. Most kid’s or second bedrooms should be atleast 3x3. 4x4 is much more comfortable and that’s the size I typically use for my normal houses. 3x3 is good for a nursery but not usually roomy enough for kids and teens. 4x4 is the smallest possible size for a Master bedroom. That only has enough space for a double bed in the center of the room. 5x6 is nicer, has room for a dresser or a sitting area. I would not suggest anything larger than 6x6 unless it has a specific purpose such as an attached reading nook or sewing area.


Kitchen

Kitchens all depend on what you want to do and the number of counters you want to use. Look at your own kitchen and see how many "tiles" it would be. How many counter spots do you have? If you want to build a larger kitchen and you don't live in a big house, find pics online - unless it's an actual large restaurant kitchen, it's not going to have more than 10 counter spots. Minimally you need one to prep food on and one to put a sink into, but usually there is more counter space than that. 4 tends to make a nice but small kitchen. This doesn’t include any islands that you plan on using for eating at. These barstool areas can look awkward as well if you have to many. Having between 2 and 4 is just the right number. Any more than four tends to make the area look too long and at that point it would be more efficient to just have a table. Even four is pushing it though in a small kitchen, so take a good hard look at it if you have that many to make sure your kitchen can support it. Most normal kitchens are either a square or a rectangular in shape, depending on the space you have given it in the house. Anywhere between 3x4 and 5x6 is perfectly decent and plenty of space.


Living Room

This one is also hard to judge scale on, so this isn’t hard and fast directions. 3x3 will get you a small little TV den. 4x4 and you can comfortable include a bookcase or two. 5x5 gets you a TV area and maybe a separate reading area or a chess table. A little larger and you have room for a pool table. 6x6 is probably the biggest you’d want to go at this point. If you start having too much space and you don’t know what to do with it, then shrink the space or divide it into areas or another room entirely.


Hallways

""Actual hallways between rooms really should be atleast 2 tiles wide"". Sims are notoriously bad about navigation and get stuck easily, especially if they aren’t the only living thing in the house. Walkways between furniture need only be one or two tiles as well. Believe me, I’ve seen houses where there were at least six tiles between the couch and the (tiny) tv. I don’t know about you, but the only way I would be able to see the tv from that distance would be if I had a telescope. One or two (even three) is plenty and all you really need. Likewise, your bookcases shouldn't be miles away from your nearest chair. This leads me into my next topic.


RightArrow.gifFurniture Placement

Texty wexty here


rararar2

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RightArrow.gifDecorating

Texty Wexty here


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RightArrow.gifRoom Placement

Texty Wexty here


rararar4

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