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Instructor
Original Poster
#1 Old 25th Jan 2018 at 1:35 AM
Default TS3 - Converted Barn
So for my first post in this group, I bring you a barn that's been converted for use as a home. Or at least that's my story for it. It was built from a floorplan found here though it ended up not being anywhere near to scale. Probably because it was my first time building to a plan, but also because I couldn't find CC to match exactly what I wanted, so I ended up deviating a lot from the original plan. Just be glad I deleted the pool I had originally put in. It totally clashed. Although now I once again have a totally bare yard to landscape and fill with stuff. Wheee.

I still think that eventually I'm going to try a smaller build so that I can be a little more faithful to the original design. The roofing was such a pain, and I ended up using black slate with the white trim simply because the places where the roof meets are even uglier with black trim which I hadn't realized was possible until I looked at my screenshots.

The interior is derived from if not entirely faithful to the plan, and I tried to adjust to leave enough space for routing as needed since I only build houses I plan on actually playing in.

What I perceive as the big problem areas are the following:
- proportions. it just seems a little off in places, probably because of...
- the windows. no matter how many versions I've done I can't seem to find a window style and design I really love for this place
- the roofing. I hate designing roofing with the burning heat of a thousand suns, and I spent hours trying to figure it out and still don't think I managed what I wanted. argh.
- WHYYY can I see the sky from inside the house on the loft level, despite having a roof? IT'S RUINING MY VAULTED CEILING AESTHETIC. if I have to put floor tiles in I suppose I can, but I really would love to know how people manage those builds where you can see the underside of the roof from the floor you're on, instead of seeing the sky. (actually I think I could use ceiling tiles plus a glass rug to fix that issue...

Things I'm actually okay with:
- the veranda thing out back. I actually really like that even though I was dumb and didn't do it on a platform or foundation. I can't remember why exactly I didn't because I started this place in July and forgot about it until a few weeks ago. or more accurately I couldn't bear to look at it for one second longer and ignored its existance.
- the sitting nook by the front door. once I add some lighting it would totally be the kind of place I would hang out in for hours on summer nights if I had a house like this.
- the overall shape of the living areas. I managed a similar enough approximation there that I'm not overly bothered with the places where they deviate from the floorplan.
- the fireplace/chimney. awkward looking though it is, I like where it's placed and I think it lends character :D
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dodgy builder
#2 Old 25th Jan 2018 at 7:12 AM
Hallo When it comes to size, it looks a bit big to me. What you need in the middle is a sofa, 1 tile on each side for walking, and a staircase. That's 6 tiles wide in the middle. For the sides, you need to fit a bed, 1 tile for walking and perhaps a dresser, that's 6 tiles as well.

Hm, that gives you the same size, both for the sides and the middle. I must say, I don't really like the design though. I guess you could adjust the roofing a bit to the outside though.

I would probably pit the master to the back of this house, and have kids bedrooms to the sides. That way you can make the sides smaller, and the house would look better.

I don't really like the way the facade has been designed either. That entrance needs something more. Like say a porch or something. A few tiles with colums should be enough.

That's a little bit from me.

I have built barn conversions before, but I kept them in a dirtier look, like brick or something. The charm of barn conversions is their slightly dirty and rough functions, and the though of them having been houses for animals. That 's what I think anyway. Keeping it white kind of ruins the purpose of converting a barn, I think.
Top Secret Researcher
#3 Old 25th Jan 2018 at 9:42 AM
Hi, what a lovely floor plan! As you already said, a smaller build (2 levels only and smaller floor plan) would probably look much better. Also, you might want to move the barn away from the center of the lot to have more options for yard/garden. Now you have 4 long but narrow patches, otherwise you'd have better proportions to work with.

As for the floor plan, the scales are not sims-friendly unfortunately. So you might have to scrap some of the rooms and make some smaller.

As for your questions:
- yes, avoiding the sky above you requires floor tiles and tab mode if you are on a lower level.
- You could try to make the roof with cfe. You could have a "real" vaulted ceiling this way, no ugly roof seams, a pattern of your choice. It doesn't always render nicely from a distance though. Or combine both, cfe and roof (as an example, the first lot in that post, the art barn)
- windows: too many (because of the size of the house). If you try a smaller scale it might be easier to find a look you like.
Instructor
Original Poster
#4 Old 25th Jan 2018 at 11:11 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
Hallo When it comes to size, it looks a bit big to me. What you need in the middle is a sofa, 1 tile on each side for walking, and a staircase. That's 6 tiles wide in the middle. For the sides, you need to fit a bed, 1 tile for walking and perhaps a dresser, that's 6 tiles as well.

Hm, that gives you the same size, both for the sides and the middle. I must say, I don't really like the design though. I guess you could adjust the roofing a bit to the outside though.

I would probably pit the master to the back of this house, and have kids bedrooms to the sides. That way you can make the sides smaller, and the house would look better.

I don't really like the way the facade has been designed either. That entrance needs something more. Like say a porch or something. A few tiles with colums should be enough.

That's a little bit from me.

I have built barn conversions before, but I kept them in a dirtier look, like brick or something. The charm of barn conversions is their slightly dirty and rough functions, and the though of them having been houses for animals. That 's what I think anyway. Keeping it white kind of ruins the purpose of converting a barn, I think.


Yeah... It's like I love the shape of the house in the picture but something in the proportions doesn't quite work for me when I try to do it in TS3. I'll try playing around with the sizes or maybe just rebuilding on a smaller lot to see how it goes. I actually like the idea of a wide open central area from the front of the house to the back, with the rooms on the sides, it was one of the reasons I spaced things this way, and I was keeping those basic proportions for furniture and routing in mind as I built the room sizes, since they didn't match the design of the floorplan exactly, which is part of what was frustrating about this build. I'm definitely going to have to play around with the proportions. You gave me an idea when you mentioned kids rooms though- they don't need as much space for beds/furniture so I can probably adjust some there.

Which means I'm going to have to do the roofing again

Excellent idea about the porch btw, thanks for that. It does need something. In the little house I built it from it's not as big of a deal because the space is small, but it looks too empty on a house this size.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm going in game soon so I'll play around with it and see what I can figure out.

The white comes from the picture I built it off of, but you're right it doesn't quite fit the idea of a converted barn. I'll have to adjust something there. Either the 'converted' part or the 'barn' part, not sure which yet



Quote: Originally posted by Norn
Hi, what a lovely floor plan! As you already said, a smaller build (2 levels only and smaller floor plan) would probably look much better. Also, you might want to move the barn away from the center of the lot to have more options for yard/garden. Now you have 4 long but narrow patches, otherwise you'd have better proportions to work with.

As for the floor plan, the scales are not sims-friendly unfortunately. So you might have to scrap some of the rooms and make some smaller.

As for your questions:
- yes, avoiding the sky above you requires floor tiles and tab mode if you are on a lower level.
- You could try to make the roof with cfe. You could have a "real" vaulted ceiling this way, no ugly roof seams, a pattern of your choice. It doesn't always render nicely from a distance though. Or combine both, cfe and roof (as an example, the first lot in that post, the art barn)
- windows: too many (because of the size of the house). If you try a smaller scale it might be easier to find a look you like.


Oh, thank you for that! So simple but I needed to hear it I seem to always end up placing the house right smack in the middle of the lot when there's no need. I'm going to give it a shot with a smaller place and see how that turns out also.

I'm going to play around with the dimensions for sure, especially since both of you have mentioned them.

about the other things-
- I always forget about floor tiles until I get annoyed enough to remember xD
- I never realized the 'vaulted' look was from cfe, that explains a lot. I had kinda forgot about its existence for a while after a few bad experiences when I first got the game, but I'm using it again now so I'll give that a shot also. I do adore that art barn, I'm actually playing in your world in my current save right now and I keep forgetting to actually play because I'm so busy taking screenshots
- will try a smaller, fresh build and see how it goes then. I never was happy with the windows.

This was a 40x40 lot, which size would you recommend for a rebuild? I'm thinking I want to give it a shot on a 30x20 because it will force me to pick what I actually love about the house and use that without feeling like I've gotta incorporate such a massive space.
Scholar
#5 Old 26th Jan 2018 at 3:10 AM
Great start! In looking at the floor plan, I agree that the house is too large. For example, the "middle" is actually about 6 tiles wide. 8 max. I find it helpful to build around furniture to avoid having huge rooms. I, too, like the open great room on the floor plan. I think the white is okay - maybe add some red trim. As long as it has the vertical "stripes" typical of barns. Or, go with the "countryish", rough look. Maybe a stone/wood combination. The key word here is "converted". How modern the conversion is up to you. The upper windows are gorgeous! Sadly, probably too large for this build. Roofs are tricky but we can help. The roof on the model house looks to be a combo of gable and half gables. Rather than re-building, maybe use the "arrow" to pull the house to the side of the lot a little and/or make it smaller. Looking forward to an update!
Top Secret Researcher
#6 Old 26th Jan 2018 at 4:52 AM
I think this is a lovely design. I agree that your version is a bit too big. A 30 X 20 lot sounds good. You will need to rebuild it to put it on a smaller lot. Here are my two favorite building techniques:

1. When building from a floor plan, I use different colored floor tile to help me plan where on the lot to place the building, and also, to plan out the rooms. This way, sometimes with the help of some furniture placed on top of the floor tiles, I can see where each room is to the other, and whether or not a room is too big or too small. Then it is easy to adjust, since no actual building or roofing has occurred. It is also easy to build using the floor tiles as a guide. Then they are easy to remove. This has saved me from tearing out my hair many times.

2. The second is a roofing technique. Do not look at the roof as a whole roof, but look at covering each section. So for your house, roof the center part, then each of the sides. Remember, sometimes a gable roof, like the center of your house, works better as 2 separate half gable sections, brought together by using the roof pitch adjustment slider.

I think any of the color/ texture suggestions, including what you have, will work. You just need to bring the rest into harmony. There are, perhaps, too many windows on the second level. Less can be more sometimes.

Also, I saw you mention on the sims 3 board that you would like a thread to match builders with decorators. I would love this also. In a day or two I will be posting an idea/ suggestion thread in this group to see what people want and how it would work. Please stop by. I would love your input.

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Top Secret Researcher
#7 Old 26th Jan 2018 at 2:41 PM
Happy to hear you enjoy your time in Northeney

It doesn't really matter which lot size you chose as long as it's not too small. You can have a 40x40 lot and only have a small house (barn) on it. Especially for a barn, there would have been orchards or gardens around, or more sheds. It only depends on what you want to do with the lot. Want a big garden? Stick with 40x40. Want it small and less expensive? Go for 30x20 or even smaller. Mind, for cfe it's helpful to have a bit room available for helping walls.
Instructor
Original Poster
#8 Old 26th Jan 2018 at 11:39 PM
Thank you all for so many great suggestions, this is really helping me!


@SimmyRN I really like the white for some reason so I'm definitely keeping it, I think it'll probably look much better on the smaller version I started on last night and I'll give some red trim a try to see if I like the look. I do like the idea of a stone/wood combination, and I actually have a wall swatch that would probably look really great on here, thanks for that idea, I'll try both ways and post some pics to see what looks better.

I did the open great room at 8 tiles wide and it made a big difference. And yeah, you're absolutely right about the windows. I got rid of those ginormous ones and dropped in some smaller, simpler ones and it looked better immediately- far less 'visually cluttered'.

I haven't had much success with using the arrow to move houses before, but I'm game to give it a try.


@Norn Thanks for the advice, and for reminding me to think about the concept! I think I started the rebuild on a 35x25, but I think I'll drop it into a larger lot after the building is finished if there's not enough space for the farm portion. In a way, the smaller lot is helping because I'm forced to use a smaller space better instead of a large space poorly. I'll have to work my way up to building successfully on larger lots. Although you're right, I did have to get a bit creative when I cfe'd the roof.


@attuned Thank you! I feel like my building game has just been life hacked, lol.

I've been placing furniture to make sure the proportions are alright, but that idea about the colored floor tiles is super.

Playing with the roofing in sections seems to be helping so far. It took me a bit of time to come up with something for the smaller lot, but it went way faster this time, just by doing one portion at a time, getting it somewhere I was happy with, and then moving on.

You're right about the windows, I got rid of 80% of them and replaced with smaller, simpler ones, and it looks much nicer. I have to remember to apply the concepts they taught us in school for this (I went for graphic and web design, lol.) I can't think how many times we got the 'less is more/don't make me think' talk :D

That thread sounds awesome, I'll keep an eye out for it!
 
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