I'm glad my scores improved at least! I guess I didn't really understand the difference between Mexican & Spanish decor. I honestly thought they were the same styles. Where I live, I don't see a lot of rich looking Spanish homes.(I see mainly poor, rundown versions of said homes-if any any at all. I do live in the US though, it depends on the town & state by what types of homes you see). I don't really see inside the houses either, but that isn't any excuse for not looking it up more(I can't say I didn't look it up though-I did a little bit). I just figured that vases of warm colors & blue fit the theme? I've seen a lot of blues & warm colors in some houses, as well as tile & quite a few vases as well. I must see a lot of older style Spanish homes. Would they be more Mexican styled in the south though? My town has a lot of older, brick & falling apart homes. It's amusing to see what styles there are. But many are rundown & from the 50's.
About the budget, I thought I was on budget. I've been including the renovation money with replacing the floors, windows, doors, lights, ect. in the house as well as decorating. I thought I was doing the budget right. I'll correct that next round.
I'm a terrible landscaper & decorator outside of homes. I've actually improved because I started adding backyards & attempting to use the terrain tools when I normally wouldn't touch them much at all. I will try to add more though, next time. But I'm not sure what would work for the Adams family? I can see a dark, creepy house for them, but I'm not sure what plant life would read "dark, creepy, & scary". I'll figure it out.
I normally wouldn't respond to scores, but I felt like I needed to clear some things up. The scores weren't bad & were a better overall than what I was expecting. I feel like I have improved on clutter & other styles of homes. Gothic seems like it will be a little easier than Spanish or Modern thankfully. I should start paying attention to what styles I use in homes now. I tend to throw stuff together depending on room. I must be too frequent of a shopper at Walmart(my step-mom works there & my dad gets the food there-I go with him pretty often) if the home looks like it.xD I really must remedy that now.

I guess I should have gone with my original Early Gothic Castle and taken the hit on points that way, ah well.

Judge 3, I'd have liked to afford more clutter! Am trying harder this time to think about the budget from the beginning, though doors and windows for the Smiths are easier to keep lower on the budget.

If it was the teenager's bedroom you found gaudy, that was deliberate and alluded to in the text when I spoke about her parents wearing sunglasses if they had to go in there - if it's the rugs in the lower floor of the main room, looking at them again, I agree, I could have darkened them more.



Not me , I went down half a point, so I only need to get 1 whole point more for Round Four to improve - I'm joking! Will do my best. And will think more about what my pictures look like, as opposed to what I think they look like. Looking at a full screen screenshot does give a better image than looking at game play. Frustratingly for me, if I go from game to screenshots and back again, my game is darkened, making it hard for me to quickly check and correct. But that's my problem to overcome.



It's good to see the cultural thing that Zenomia, Mamathulu and I were talking about on page 10 doesn't just impact on UK simmers . We have no Spanish architecture in the UK, so I just googled for Round Two, though obviously not as effectively as I hoped.

I have one question: Is it ok to change a 3-tile fireplace for a 2-tile one?

Now that the judging is up I have comments to share with everyone. They aren't super-long but I'd like to point out something EVERYONE did that I liked a lot.

@Tiraslin Thanks for those comments. That's very sweet of you...

As for the whole Spanish thing, I suppose I need to be a lot more specific what I mean. When I wrote Spanish I meant to say Hispanic because the terms are used interchangeably by people I talk to. Where I live, when one is referring specifically to something from Spain s/he would use the word "Castilian" or "Castellano."

Oh, what a big world we live in...

Tiraslin, I love how you are so positive with your criticism, it's really encouraging!

I'm going to have to say no on this one... Fireplaces may only be replaced with one of the same size.

Just had a phone call to say there's been a cancellation and I have an operation on Monday - I'm going to try and do my entry before then, so apologies for entering it early, but I'm not sure how I'm going to be afterwards and don't want to drop out in the last round!

You can do it, Mamathulu! & hope the operation & recovery go well.

Don't worry I hear you on that. Sometimes it's a matter of swapping a lower end object for a high end one and changing the colour to free up some budget. Expensive couches, beds (especially beds) and living chairs can really creep up the budget. What I like to do is first pick all my doors and windows I want to change and replace them. Then I add a pool to temporarily eat up some budget, then I go through my objects and pull out my really must have items and lay them in a location off to the side. This gives me a basic idea of how much my budget could be if I used everything. From there I adjust and swap out pieces and finally decorate.



*facepalm* I totally could have put mine in. oh well. I'm still working on it. its late but by play a long will get done.

Since the game surrounded the chimney on this lot with "walls" to camouflage its unCAStable brick, are will allowed to remove them, or maybe reduce the number of them?

Indeed it is . Hispanic didn't occur to me at all - i wanted to do a Gaudi inspired house but you were all saved that gaudy Gaudi house (because I couldn't get a feel for what the interior should look like, wouldn't have been able to do the exterior without changing the walls substantially with CFE, and didn't feel I had the right furnishings.)



Ah, that's a good idea! I write down how much the budget is and keep an eye on it, and change things out to reduce it. Part of the Adams' budget went on better furniture as I felt they wouldn't have the cheapest beds, sofas, etc. And of course, the 3 coffins took up a nice chunk.

It's easier decorating a house that a family are actually living in as you can have them paint, sculpt, pick flowers etc.

*sigh* Well, since this is the last round.... And that wall does look hideous.... Yes. You may remove the walls around that fireplace on that exterior and only in that spot. Nowhere else...

You did not deduct a point from my score for adding in a hidden bookcase door (it's in the door category). Granted I don't really show it at all in any of the pictures (taken so hastily), aside from maybe the floor plan view, but I did fess up to it and it was a vital, purposeful choice once I put the "crypt" in one of the garages... So please take away a point--I SHALL NOT GO UNPUNISHED.

Okay, your one point has now been (scandalously) deducted.

:lovestruc



:lovestruc

BlakeS5678, The number of exceptions that are being added for round 4 are increasing rather quickly. To make sure that everyone knows about them and that points aren't deducted could you please add them to your 1st post.

Good idea.

What do we have so far?

*Being able to replace the fireplace with one of the same size
*Being able to remove walls around fireplace.
*Can replace arches on the top with windows

I think that's it unless I missed something. For the arches is it just the two arches that are next to the stairs or is it all 4 on the top level?

For round 4 I also request that anyone using CC items that could cause confusion for the judges, please include the full link to the item you used.

I'm going to say just the ones that block the stairs.

Thank you! When I saw those 2-tile windows aligned in 1st and 2nd floor I've just thought "I must use those Supernatural windows!"



I had the same trouble with the Adams' budget too, when I've started round 3 house I've just forgot how much was their budget and filled the house with better (and expensive) furniture. But then I've noticed that was only $10.000 left, and I had to replace a lot of things I've placed before, and even then I've exceeded a bit their budget...



Me too, but let's say that I have the ability of being shy even on internet, sooo... :P

I would have loved to see what the judges would have marked my play along entries.
I got the inside decoration wrong in round 3, I think its more mexican lol

Anyone else having fun with the stairs from the 2nd floor to the 3rd? They're un-CASTable, and if you delete them I cannot for the life of me figure out how to replace them exactly in the right spot!

This might be EA's most bizarre home in Sunset Valley.

I had no problem with those stairs once I deleted the arches and railings around the stairs on the top floor. After placing the stairs I replaced the two arches with windows and rebuilt the railing.

Hmm, I tried that Kasandro, but it wouldn't let me replace the stairs, even with no stairs or fence or arches or even a roof. Something tells me I'm going to probably wind up embracing the dark wood. At least its just a out-of-the-way stair... Thank you for helping, though!

Sorry to hear that.
Well, I have to say that when I placed the lot on builder's island the terrain wasn't flat so I had to use some cfe to fix it. Maybe it changed something, I don't know.

I had problems replacing both that stair, & the one from the bedroom to the landing. As you said, taking out the railings & arches, changing the stairs for castable ones, then putting railings back & windows works there. I'd have preferred arches as I don't like the reflections from the windows there, but decided that was better than un-castable stairs ;-).

The stairs from the bedroom to the landing, I had to take out the bedroom door to change the stairs, then use move objects on to put the door back.

I think there was an awful lot of Superglue used to make the house! :-D

Thank you LucyBorgia! That was EXACTLY what I needed to do!

Theoretically speaking, what would be the penalty for changing or deleting 1 section of roof?

Well, hypothetically speaking I would have to theoretically deduct one point per each place you a hypothetical contestant changed or deleted a section of roof. Y'know, in theory of course.

Thanks, Blake. In the abstract, of course.

If anybody is working with the lot out of Sunset Valley (I'm using Builder's Island), be aware that the lot cost in Sunset Valley is not 2.400 but 7.400. When I placed my lot there to take the screenshots I was 5.000 $ over the budget.

P.S:
@BlakeS5678
Seeing that this round has some exceptions... what about increasing the number of pictures? It's really difficult to show all the hard work in just 10 pictures, counting that we need 5 just for the 5 stories.

Yes, I would assume that extra $5,000 is from the "Beautiful View" or whatever the name of the moodlet is called. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience.

Also, I updated the front page. I'll allow up to twenty pictures. I'm keeping ten the minimum to not penalize anyone that doesn't see that/has already posted their entry. There will be no bonus for more pictures, as always, just take the extra five pictures if you feel it's necessary to really show off the entire home.

Great! now I can afford that laptop that looks like an old book

And about the pictures, at least now I can show all the rooms because the math wasn't working: 5 stories + 1 façade + 4 rooms downstairs (one T-shaped, so 2 shots needed) + 6 rooms on the first floor + 1 room on the second floor = 18 screenshots.
So 2 left for showing whatever, thank you!

Round 4
 

Season Finale
The Adams Family
Death by Bloody Chocolate



When I started thinking about vampires what first came to my mind was, of course, Dracula, especially Bram Stoker’s book and Coppola’s film. I got my inspiration for the lighting and colors from that movie. Anyway colors turned into three chocolates and blood.
Then I went on and remember the books and the films based on Anne Rice’s “Vampire Chronicles” and I stole from her the Egypt connection of Akasha, the first vampire, the Queen of the Damned (that solved my budget on vampire beds and got me a theme). The next vampires I started thinking on were the sexy and badass Eric and Pamela from True Blood.

Then came the issue of the daughter been alternative... I was remembering horror films from the 60's and 70‘s and I saw it. Not the films but the decades. This was going to be an old fashioned family but with different concepts of “old”, meaning “antique or ancient” for the parents and “vintage” for the daughter. And some other tiny differences, like she’s human, pink, blond, warm and dresses in shiny colors.

So that will explain the medieval look of the house, the shiny and bold style of the daughter’s quarters, the Egyptian flavoured lair and the looks of the parents.

Almost forgot, I named them. Elvira Cleopatra Adams, Herman Vladimir Adams and Rainbow Mae Adams. The cat is Leviathan XXVIII.

This house was perfect for this family, especially the room without windows for the lair. I enjoyed it very much, laughed a lot while testing and had a blast when I threw a party and invited the families from the other rounds.


Hope you like it!
I'm a bit sad this is the last round, I enjoyed this contest a lot.

Seaholme - The Smiths' new house
 

The Smiths were extremely pleased to find this house when they moved to Sunset Valley after finishing university. The house needed some work doing to it, but their budget meant they'd have to do it themselves. The house and lot was $91,091 and they had $55,000 saved up for furnishing, decorating, etc. They had $19 left after the work! Luckily, they had their old bikes that Jenny had painted up while they were at uni, and John's parents had given them a car as a wedding present; also Lulu, his old dog refused to leave her biscuit ball behind. John promised Jenny it would be done by Snowflake Day... Maybe she should have got him to specify which Snowflake Day, as the work took longer than they'd hoped, and they ended up celebrating in the middle of summer! But they knew that by Snowflake Day, they would have a wonderful gift of a new child, so enjoyed meeting new neighbours and exchanging gifts.







Thank you, Blake for this fun competition! And thank you judges for your well thought out criticism - I really have tried to make it better this time! And of course, thank you other competitors for sharing your work with us!

Round 4 - Adams Family Gothic Revival
 

Good Lord - google ‘gothic’ and you will find so many different types. I chose Gothic Revival for the Adams and their daughter.


Gregor and his wife Tatia were turned in Dayton, Ohio, back in the mid-1800s. They have a daughter, Emily, and they have no idea how that happened.
She's weird. She likes the outdoors, and she can’t stand the smell of blood. She’s certainly no vampire. And while Greg and Tatia still prefer the ornate,
carpenter gothic look of their youth, Emily likes a sleeker, more modern look. Can she really be their daughter?

My game kept crashing. I finally figured out that it was because there was apparently some conflict between Armiel's CAStable chimney and the 3-tiled CC fireplace I found.
So, I deleted the CAStable chimney package, and went with just knocking down some of the chimney walls, instead.
I found that I'd rather have the walls than that awful chimney EA stuck us with.

Also, I had to go back and unprettify the yard. Palm to face, these are vampires. Gardening?

So here goes. I like the colours I used - I hope you folks do too.

Table is updated, you guys! Each and every one of your entries are extremely impressive, I have a good feeling about this round.

Just a couple of checks on rules:
1, if it's OK to replace doors with arches is it OK to do the opposite and replace arches with doors?
2, I think I have already lost a point because I have used a 2 tile fireplace instead of a 3 tile one is that right? I haven't touched the walls around it or anything but having left myself this as a modern I'm quite limited on choice and didn't want to turn to CC.
I nearly cried when I saw what I was expected to convert to 'modern' but I have had sooo much fun decorating. I have gone a bit crazy and haven't exactly played this round safe but I'm sure my family will love it - I would!

1. Yes, that's fine.

2. Looking at other's pictures it appears that there is indeed a 3 tile fireplace, so you would lose a point for that. I would suggest using custom content in this one specific case, and perhaps even taking out of your downloads as soon as you're done with taking pictures. I know exactly how you feel though. There's just something I've always disliked about CC objects/furniture. I have over 50 MB of mods, and nearly every default replacement for clothing on the internet (Sims 2), but for some reason CC objects have always made me squirm a little. I think it's caused by the fact that back in 2006 I (ignorantly) downloaded half of the lots off of The Sims 2 exchange, completely unaware of the fact that I was corrupting my game left and right.

Cheers, that clears things up. Any CC problems I have had have come from the Sims 3 Exchange (mainly clothing attached to sims). I don't usually use it at all but as these builds have been quite themed I have turned to the dark side. I'd say I've not used much CC in this build but I have probably used half the Sims 3 Store items

It took awhile to figure out this house, but I eventually decorated it after I found a direction to decorate the house in. It wasn't Gothic enough for my imagination, but I think it works. I'm assuming gothic is lots of dark colors(black, red, purple, silver, maybe blue?) & has a very vampirey feel to it. I'd say this is the Gothic revival stuff, or the things from creepy vampire movies. It is not the lovely Gothic architecture from the 1200's. I love that period of Gothic, & the Neo-Gothic style. This is definitely not it, so it's creepy, stereotypical vampire feels. Overall, I like the house. I may not love it, but I tried my best. This contest has been very interesting & informative to say the least. I never knew or thought there were so many decorating styles for homes, not even counting the sub-categories & styles of each region. It has been eye-opening.

The facade:


I imagined the family as being weird. They keep a graveyard out back for their dead, deceases relatives & they make room for them in the house when they visit. They like seeing Dead aunt Jane & dead great-grandmother Victoria visit them. It's very comforting. The dead trees make the lot feel especially homely. The Adams love the trees. It is very them. Well, I should specify, Victor & Colette like the dead trees. Teenage daughter Abigail hates them. She hates how dark the house is. She hates the graveyard, it creeps her out. She just hates the house decoration in general. Hence why she had her room bright & alive looking. Her parents hate her room. Anyway, the family Bio, The family moved into Sunset Valley, with their deceased relatives' graves, to start over. They had been ratted out for being vampires in their old town & they didn't want to deal with the drama of explaining everything to the 'normal' people. Abigail didn't like the looks she was receiving at school for her parent's strange behavior. So, they moved. And everyone is happy in the new house & town except for Abigail. She will get over it, her mother claims. Her parents are still baffled at how she can stand the light & hate the dark. It baffles the whole family even.

The floor plan:

The 1st/ground floor:

The 2nd/1st floor above ground floor:

CC List:

I think this concludes the last entry! This family wasn't as easy as I originally thought & I did have to spend a few days thinking about how to decorate the rooms, especially Abigail's room. I couldn't figure out how to make her alternative without making her too different or just plain normal. So, A life & death theme worked well to contrast the decoration themes. I think the house is old Gothic in the decoration style & even Abigail's room is vintage I think. That furniture certainly isn't common anymore, I don't believe. All in all, I think I might have gotten lost in the decoration style, but I tried. I think the whole style made me confused, really. But, I'm just glad I finished the house. The whole house was a little overwhelming honestly. So many useless spaces that I wanted to eradicate, but I couldn't.

This is my final entry in this competition. Thank you very much Blake, for hosting. I've had a lot of fun, and you managed to finally get me to interact with the community instead of always being a ghost. Thank you also to the judges for your time and critique. Thank you to each of the other participants, whether judged or not. I've really enjoyed seeing how so many people interperet the tasks, and have picked up at least one great idea from each of you every round.

BUDGET: $161,091

After eight years together in the big city, John and Dirk decided it was time to move somewhere their precious daughter could grow up with more freedom. When Dirk was offered a job playing for the Sunset Valley Llamas, the pair recognized their opportunity and grabbed it.
Unfortunately, nothing in Sunset Valley really met their exacting standards. They found a large home with good bones and a spectacular view of the harbor, and seeing the potential put an offer in. Then they proceeded to sink a lot of money into turning the traditional monstrosity into a sophisticated modern home. The use of reclaimed wood and high-energy-efficiency design gives both men a real sense of pride now. "That roof has to go" declared John as he and Dirk surveyed their new home. "Agreed," said Dirk, shifting Kelly on his hip. "I think if we just lower the pitch of the roof, we can limit demolition to the mansard area," added Dirk. "Sounds good to me," said John, and he called their general contractor immediately. There turned out to be some necessary demolition on the large fireplace surround as well, though they saved most of the structure. Using the walls around the fireplace, they then extended the upper viewing platform to turn it into a fantastic entertaining space. These changes wrought a dramatic improvement in the home's profile, and neighbors can hardly believe it was once the very staid Wagner's Repose.

1. Front Elevation

Tiraslin, your pictures 5 & 6 aren't showing up for me :-\ I love the round window!

They appear to be showing up for me. I wonder what could be causing that? I would request that Tiraslin try to reupload them soon. If LucyBorgia can't see the pictures it's possible one of the judges won't be able to either. In any case, two pictures aren't a huge deal but it would be best to try and fix it.

Edit: Nevermind, there appears to be no issue with pictures number five and six.

They are showing now as I'm looking on the computer rather than my phone as I was earlier, so unless Tiraslin has re-uploaded them, I think it was just a problem my end

Oh, that's okay. Going mobile has a tendency to make everything load all wonky. I hope there isn't any actual problem with the pictures, it seems to be fine now.

Looks good Tiraslin. I have gone for a white colour scheme too. I think it actually works on this build. Unbelievably I've gone for ultra-modern so it could all go horribly wrong... I wondered how you got your roof like that. The existing one I have is mostly the one with a flat top so not adjustable (mansard?) so I have left it so as not to lose a point. Have you got yours flat?

@LucyBorgia, I'm glad that the picture issue resolved itself. I was very excited to find a use for a round window that wasn't scifi

@Sandymdh, I put a comment in the notes that I removed the mansard roof section. The pitch of mansard rooflines cannot be changed in The Sims 3. One click of the mouse button and the whole house became much more cohesive in the modern style. I figured it was such a dramatic effect it was worth losing the point. Call it sacrifice for artistic vision!

I have kept it but I can see why you didn't - plus I love your idea of having that rooftop area extended across. Looks fab - I suppose I'd better get mine finished in time... just a little landscaping to go. My least favourite part.

John and Dirk are complete opposites. Dirk loves sports and the gym whereas John loves getting lost in a good book. Although they both love modern architecture they were aware that some compromise would need to happen. Dirk's idea of decor is ultra modern bachelor pad in monochrome colours. John, however likes a splash of colour and thinks colour is important to appeal to their daughter's senses. Despite their differences their interior designer has managed to please them both. Who thought that this house could be altered into an ultra modern design?
You may need to wear sunglasses if you lived in it all the time
I had to use this as my main pic as the house looks so beautiful under that rainbow!



Spoiler Pics:


Links to CC used:

Round 4 - Villa Martinez
 

So I've finished round 4 house in time!

Since their suburban home in Bridgeport was getting too small to four people to live in, Juan and Maria was willing for a bigger home for a long time. So, when Maria found out she was pregnant again (and of twins!), there was the chance to move out to a small and quiet town. Wagner's Repose looks fine to them, but the couple decided to give a hispanic touch in this house, recalling the looks of the farm of Juan's grandfather, where he used to spend the summer when he was a child.

Budget: $166,091





All I have to say about that last round it's this one was somewhat difficult, since I've left the Martinez family for this last round, and I didn't know nothing about hispanic deco. I've take a look though Google and Pinterest, and all that confusion about Spanish/Hispanic deco that happend in round 3, so I've fetl very insecure to this round :P
But I've tried, that's all.
And I'm sad that this contest is ending , it was very fun to participate and see what the others contestants was building...

Round 4 Entry
 

Wagner’s Repose
I found this last entry quite difficult to finish as my remaining family for Round 4 is the Anderson-Millers who required a modern design. Wagner’s Repose is the least modern seeming lot out of the four rounds in my opinion. But I feel I managed to pull it off by using a simple white/gray/black color template, open floor plans, and a clean basic exterior. Using the Anderson-Miller family gave me a total budget of $161,091, of which I used $161,077, leaving me a mere $14 under budget. I want to make it known that the foundation was not modified. The decking around the main level was increased outwards by simply placing additional flooring and railing to create a more open wraparound deck.

Martinez Family
 

I kept waiting and holding off hoping to be inspired to do something with the exterior. But nothing came. I guess I spent all my creativity. I do, however, really like my interiors. I went for a Spanish tossed with contemporary eclecticism. Or something like that. :P




I ended up just deleting the problematic stairs. So at least one point off for that. RAIN WAS GOING TO GET IN THERE AND THAT HURT ME. But I did make an exterior stairs to get up there. I put the master bath in the windowlesss room, and made the previous bath the nursery. I removed bits of the wall for the fireplace to make it 3x1 instead of 3x2 which I think was all kosher.

Same barn wall CC by armiel.

End of Round 4
 

And it looks like that officially ends Round 4! Give yourself a round of applause, because you all have just completed a contest. Very impressive work, everyone. I really couldn't be more proud.

A few notes:

* As this is the last round of our contest, the winner will be announced along with scores.

* Scores will be completed within a few days. Since, we had such a low turn out this time around, I'm considering holding on to them a day or two more in case anyone is interested in posting a late entry. If not, I'll post them as soon as they're finished.

* Again. We had a low turn out this round. If you have done any work this round, please post it! You'll only lose a few points, and it would really make my day.

Until the scores are posted, feel free to cheer, celebrate, chat (about building houses in The Sims, right? ) and give yourself a pat on the back.

The Anderson-Miller Family
 

Here is my Anderson-Miller Family house a little bit late cos I was searching for fireplace

http://i.imgur.com/z5E43iy.jpg?1

Hey, there Fenisa! I was worried you wouldn't make it. Since you're only a few minutes late I won't dock a point, so don't worry about it.

Great job!
 

Hey guys, after my short sleep I just wanted to say that everyone created some amazing things I am astonished by how people didn't loose their creativity for this long time the contest was on.
I am not sure what happend but I was out of ideas for my last entry and then I checked the countdown and it said 2 days left so..... the reason I ended up uploading at last moment

Well done to everyone!

P.S I could never handle downloading and using cc objects cos I can't keep track of them so for those who downloaded so many clutter objects and had the patience to use them hats off to you!

Fenisa, you already had Anderson Millers family http://modthesims.info/showpost.php...1&postcount=231

We can't pick same family 2 times? I just wanted to have a second try at it, anyway what's done is done

No, you may not pick the same family more than once. I'm so sorry if I didn't make that clear enough. As it stands right now, your fourth entry won't qualify. I would really suggest that you make edits to suit another family and take the late points, but the decision is up to you.

Ah well I am out of ideas anyway so I will leave it as it is

Oh my simgod, I did it again, I completely thought I had another week again. I apologize, Blake! I'll try and do something but I just started school so I don't have much freetime aside from the weekend.

My scores are in. Sorry it took a bit, RL got in the way lol!

@TMBrandon: *WHAP* upside the head!

Hi guys - sorry I didn't get my entry in on time - I've had to go back into hospital over the past 5 days. My simple gallbladder removal left me with some stones that I passed, an infection, a seroma (pocket of fluid) and a hematoma (pocket of blood). After vein taken to hospital by ambulance on Sunday I finally got home about 10 last night! It was so frustrating because I'd done the house, (not the photographs) but there was no wi-fi in hospital and I'd used all my mobile data for the month! (grrr!) SO, I just wanted to pop on to explain what happened - congratulations to all of those who managed to make it through the four rounds!

haha - I looked at the timer and it still said two days so I was a bit excited for a while, then I came back and here and saw that yes, I'd missed the deadline, but that you said you were still willing to take entries? If so, I've got some shots ready to go!

How awful! Hope you're feeling okay now and take things easy as you recover properly.

Oh, dear. I'm so sorry all of that happened to you. Don't worry about my silly contest for a second, it sounds like you need to relax, rest and heal. Your health is so much more important than this. I hope you get better soon!

On the chance that you do manage to post your house before scores are posted, we'll certainly accept your entry.

The Adams' move to SV
 

SV was a strange place for Gomez, Melissa and Bella Adams to move to, being so sunny and everything, but the business pickings looked good, and there was a new art gallery Melissa had her eye on owning. The frustration thing about not being able to go out in daytime is the lack of views, and Wagner's Repos certainly offered that. They thought some wide porches would help keep the sun away, and an observatory at the top would enable Gomez to do his stargazing in peace. There was even an ante-room where they could quietly place a coffin. Apologies for the rushed photo's, but previous posts explain the situation!

Thanks for you kind messages - I'm still in bed, but glad to be home - it was quite scary sometimes - especially when they were panicking because I wasn't getting enough oxygen intake! And it was just weird to not want to eat - at all! I had the operation Monday last (so on the 4th) came home on the 5th, but had the paramedics take me back into the Surgical Assessment Unit on Sunday because my heart rate was fast, I had a temperature and was in a LOT of pain. The gas and air helped, but I've spent most of the week on liquid morphine! And the camera down the throat yesterday wasn't much fun - they sedated me, but I woke up gagging on the thing! Naice! Still - thank god I'm home now, although it's just as noisy with four children and a guitar-playing husband!

@mamathulu I added you to the table, but I still need a picture containing the box that says the furnished and unfurnished value of the home.

I'm so glad you made it to your fourth entry. Feel better.

I think guitar playing husband needs to help the four children enjoy their summer holiday by taking them all out . I had morphine after having younger son and it made me sick, and I've heard it has other stomach related side effects.... so drink plenty of water.

Now the husband's off work for a week ( we were due to be taking a caravan near Stonehenge etc for a week, but had to move it to October half-term because of the complications) so he can take them out a bit! I'm hoping to be up to a day out myself by next weekend, but we'll have to see how it goes. Upside of not going on holiday is that we got our new kitten a week sooner - he's 9 weeks old, a cross-Bengal and huge, but very cute!!

We have 4 bengal crosses and they are all beautiful. They have some funny quirks like when the find a mouse/vole in the garden they pounce and grip rather than play with it - must be the leopard cat genes. The boy is a massive ginger cat and he can be quite hissy and aggressive to people coming in the house who he doesn't know - like a personal guard cat! Ours don't really miaow properly either.
I'm sure getting the kitten will be very therapeutic but failing that it will at least amuse the kids and keep them out of your hair lol.

I was playing with my Smith family last night, and changed the eyrie to a seasons acceptable solution - nothing to do with my entry other than it's the same house



I started to play in a house in Bridgeport the other day, but it's lack of seasons compatibility just put me off it. I do realise Sunset Valley and Bridgeport were made before Seasons, but I prefer houses to look as though they are fully functional

I just had a very sad thought . With no CaSt in Sims 4, we couldn't have even done this contest to any degree of merit.



@LucyBorgia, I cannot play Bridgeport due to the exceedingly slow time on the elevators, and the numerous routing bugs that force Sims to go out of their apartments before returning for mundane tasks like washing dishes in some of the apartments. There was a great mod hosted here from many years ago that sped up elevators and subways, but it doesn't work any more and I just have not been motivated to fix the code. I write LUA for World of Warcraft, and to be honest all my hard-core modding goes into that... I just like building houses and commercial lots in the Sims.

I never get very far playing in Bridgeport, for the same reasons. It's a shame because I wanted a city feel for the family I was going to play, so just went off to play another save instead.

I rebuilt many of the Bridgeport lots to use stairs rather than the elevators. For the ones I couldn't, I just use the "teleport here" cheat. (Which I use a lot anyway, as many things take too long IMHO and I use it as a way to balance things out.)

I've tried to play in Bridgeport only once, and it was just after installing Late Night (my first EP, just over a year ago), and all my excitement with clubs and apartments ended with those elevators :P
But I liked that thing about redecorating without changing walls etc., now I'm thinking about redecorate Modernehaus for my sims in Sunlit Tides, since I think I had messed something in their current home while trying to build a basement and used CFE in it (perhaps CFE has nothing with it, but I've just got quite paranoid with that and now I want to move them out)

I mentioned some time ago that I got bored one day and started redesigning the first two homes for the other families. I entered Home 1 as the Smiths. Just for kicks and giggles, here is my re-imagined House 1 for the Adams. No cc was used in the production of this lot (but copious store content). The Adams don’t seem to mind the downgrade as they spend significant portions of their time outside in the garden (at night, of course!). Judges, if you happen to look you might notice I actually took your critiques to heart (no saying if I've managed to do more things you hate, of course!).

I've really valued the opportunity to get feedback on my designs. Its not perfect, there's no back-and-forth discussion (I think everyone's felt that at times) but getting other people's critical evaluations is invaluable in developing any skill. Thank you again to Blake & the mods & the judges for your time, and to everyone for participating!

PRICE


FRONT

That's great, Tiraslin! The only thing I might change is to recolour the pool tiles as they really stand out as they are such a bright blue in contrast to the lovely darkness of the rest of the lot

Just an update on the scores, everyone. Thank you all for being so patient, I can imagine it being very nerve racking on the last round. Especially since this will be the round where the winner is announced! I can assure that all of the judges are working extremely hard and that they're so very close to being finished. I'd like to thank all of you for such a fun, wonderful contest and I'll be back posting here the second those scores are finished.

Oh I know! No CAST is primary deal-breaker with Sims 4 for me. But that's okay, I'm perfectly happy with 3.

@BlakeS5678 and the judges: Thanks so much for this contest. It has been great fun and SUCH a challenge. I think of myself as a builder first and only a decorator as a by-product. So decorating without being to adjust structure on a whim has been crazy work and a strain on the ol' creativity gland. Thanks to all the other participants as well. It been thrilling to see everyone's genius solutions and creativity.

Round 4 Scores
 

Congratulations to our winners kasandro and cutsocks! Tying at 238.5 points! Congratulations, both of your wins are extremely well deserved. Another round of applause for our runner up Tiraslin coming in extremely close at 234 points, as well, please. I was very impressed by all of the contestants entries, and I think that even having the dedication to finish all four rounds of a contest is quite a grand achievement in itself.

I want to thank everyone for making this such a great contest. There were so many beautiful entries,
and it was fun comparing the different solutions to the structural problems presented by these four houses.

It's so clear that the judges and our host worked very hard, and it made the difference. Thank you. :lovestruc

Congratulations, Kasandro and cutsocks!

I tried to justify and sell the Egyptian influence of the house, but maybe the judges didn't read my briefing, or just they didn't bought it.

Anyway, thanks to everyone. To Blake for creating this, to the judges for the time spend on judging us and to the other contestants for giving some great ideas.

And congratulations to cutsocks!

And another thing, this contest and the good scores that judges gave me, made me start uploading houses to the community, so thanks for that too!

Yes, thank you to the judges for their hard work, and congratulations to all of us who made it through all four rounds, and I'm looking forward to doing better in the next one! Congratulations, cutsocks and kasandro!!

Congrats kasandro! And Tiraslin! And everyone!

Once again, thanks all! 'Twas great fun.

The same for me, but I find that everyone has their own personal style, but I still haven't figured what exactly I want to do.

Congratulations to everyone for finishing all 4 rounds and to the two winners! Well done guys.

Achievements have been handed out. Remember, the hosted/judged/participated only apply if you finished the whole contest and can only be given once. If you already had them from a previous contest, you won't see anything new. However, you CAN win a blue ribbon more than once!

Again, congratulations everyone. This contest is now closed.