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I hope you don't mind my joining the group.
I like to keep the main look and a feel of a Maxis house while getting rid of the ackward areas. I always widen little porches that only have one space before a step. I add a downstairs bathroom if there isn't one, and I try to get rid of interior only rooms that have no natural sunlight.
I don't like a lot of floors or a big mansion either, so I will usually delete the top floors entirely. Two floors is enough for me with the top floor usually only bedrooms and bathrooms.
Here's a few pictures to show what I do:
The Broke house needs a larger living room and another bedroom, I think. I keep either the floor or the wallpaper and pick something that matches better (in my opinion). I don't completely gut the trailer, but I do sell back every piece of furniture and start fresh.
The house really looks nice from the outside now. It's more of a pre-fab home than a trailer now. The back yard trees moved to the front to help the environment, but I got rid of the little bushes. Notice how much larger the new front porch is.
Though it's hard to see because this was a night shot, this is the revised Goth place in my hood. The top two floors were taken out. The little porch in back was widened a lot and a pool was put in because Mortimer wanted to go swimming.
This Maxis bin home had the same siding as the Goth house originally and a front stoop with a single set of stairs. I didn't change much inside the home except to make the planks on the wood floors all go the same way. New windows and a creamy brick fascade make a huge difference though to me.
Here's another quick flip with a wider porch and the new railing that actually looks like it supports the balcony. The small downstairs kitchen became a smaller downstairs bath. The kitchen and dining area are now part of an open floor plan.
I always change the Curious home as well. I take off the endless flights of stairs, remove the center bathroom, and expand a couple bedrooms so that double beds will fit inside all of them. The plants get scattered throughout the house and the old green house becomes another bathroom. I think I add another bedroom too to the front of the house to make it a bit more symetrical.
Recognize this house from Veronaville? I move the large Capp family in here. I add a double staircase and bring the walls on the bottom out to meet the farthest edges of the upper floor. I make it symetrical, and I add an extension in the center of the back for a downstairs bath and more room at the top of the stairs.
These were just pictures I had sitting in photobucket, but it shows the simple approach I take to make overs.