Well, the French Quarter of New Orleans was a big inspiration, and so was Old Town from TS1 and the Sim Quarter from the GBA Urbz game, both of which are very stereotyped versions of New Orleans too! I enjoy stereotypes when it comes to architecture in the game...

@Zarathustra - love your lot! It's beautiful.
@Fergus - cool idea! Wish I understood CFE but unfortunately I don't.

I can't say that I fully understand CFE either, it can be very unpredictable at the best of times, mostly for me it's just one big experiment of what happens if I do this....
Speaking of New Orleans, I'm going to try and create a bunch of lots in some of the prominent architectural styles that the city is known for.
My first example draws inspiration from one of my favourite homes in the whole city; The Gallier House:



Admittedly I ended up making it look more like the lovechild of the Gallier House and the LaLaurie house. My next is more of an Uptown/Garden District type home:

Love those houses, Fergus! I wish that EA had made the New Orleans world, so I could put them in it.

Is it just me, or does part of Riverview (Rue de Fluers[?]) look like it was a weak attempt on EA's part to do a vaguely New Orleans themed world?

Also, inspired by a recent comment that I have a habit of increasing the scale of a home when I try and recreate it in game, I decided to do another recreation/restoration of a smaller home in McComb, MS and stick to the given scale:






My colour scheme leaves a lot to be desired as I have yet to decide upon which colours to use that would give the same effect when in a black and white photograph.

Looks great, Ferg! I wish we had more middle or lower on the wall windows, or I'd suggest one for the turret. That feature to move windows up and down was the main reason, i bought and tried out Sims 4. But the lack of CAST kills me, and other new build features can't make up for it.

As for the color... Looks like the main siding is a bit darker than the white trim, so just about any "pastel" color? I'd probably play around with a green, something on the light olive side of things. Though I could see a blue, yellow, or grey as well. For clapboard-sided homes, I usually adjust the colors as to not match adjacent homes or to harmonize with landscaping plants. The crowning is again a nice touch.

Ooh, colours... As some of you may have guessed, I'm terrible with colours and patterns, I'm like the only gay without good taste or style, that's why I like Victorian homes with the exteriors painted top-to-toe in white and unpainted woodwork throughout the interior. I'll have to see if I can come up with anything remotely tasteful or period appropriate...

Thanks for the suggestion though, it's a very good place to start, you've always been so much better with colours.

Edit:
I've tried a bit of greyish-plum with olive, and then some greens. Might try a few other colours when I get chance later.

@cutsocks - Build Mode is the one thing I've been curious about in Sims 4. I thought I'd wait and see if I saw a lot of people raving about how great it is. So far I haven't noticed anyone doing that, but maybe I don't hang out in the right places. It would have to be really good to make up for the loss of CASt - CASt is a huge part of why I like Sims 3.

The inspiration for this house is a house in my neighborhood - I don't think I got the color exactly the same, but it doesn't matter. I didn't finish the outside or start on the inside except I placed the stairs and divided the downstairs rooms. My dream is to make a world inspired by my town.

RoseCity, that house is adorable! I love the colour scheme. :lovestruc

@RoseCity Sims 4 has some very neat build mode bits, but nothing that even comes close to making up for the lack of CAST, CFE, and terrain tools. Very cute house there.

I know this isn't really a critical feedback thread, but I'd up your contrast between the trim and siding Ferg. Subtle textural works well and good when all white, but let colors enhance the deatils. Make it all POP! *jazz hands*

Thanks for the suggestion cutsocks, I'll be sure to play about with the colours some more. In the mean time, while offering Scoopy Loopy feedback with his latest upload, I was inspired to create some Elizabethan and Jacobean style homes, from which the Jacobethan style of Highclere/Downton Abbey upload derives.
First up there's 'Ripley Grange':



Then there's 'High Melcroft':



And finally, 'Longsford Hall':

omg. My absolute favorite is Longsford Hall. The details are mouth-watering.

Me too. And I love how the brick patterns combine.

Yes. I think that's what I like best. It gives it interest and texture.
I like houses that make me wanna touch them.

I think that's why I like worn paint, and stone that's cracked with moss growing in it.
My hands just itch to peel off a paint chip or feel the contrast between the paint and the wood underneath.

Or to press on the softness of baby mosses growing up in a crack left from missing mortar.

I was trying to make a chateau that I saw and it wasn't working out because I couldn't get part of it high enough and have the roof the way I wanted. So then this tower house happened. Would be nice in a fairy tale world, but I don't even know if that's possible in Sims 3.

That's another adorable home RoseCity!

Thanks, Fergus - glad you like it! I moved it to Dragon Valley because I couldn't think of anywhere else to put it at the moment. I'm still fooling around with the terraces, windows, etc. (to be continued)

Heres what i have been woeking on for the past few week: a French mansard palace

That's such a cool design TudorMan! I love the way you've done the front staircases and used the columns.

Thanks! I was inspired by the chateaus of the Loire Valley! And also I wanted to try something a different than what i usually create.

I kinda added another English Queen Anne style home to my ever-growing list of unfinished projects...

I totally love you tower house RoseCity. Will you be uploading it? (I would love to have it:P)

Fergus' Mind whenever I look at your houses I feel like such a noob.
Just how have you done this?

I understand that it is probably cfe but how come the wall is straight at the bottom? I dont get it:D
How did you get rid of the "hole in ground" after shaping the wall?

The magic of CFE never ceases to amaze. I never had the hole in the ground because I used two levels/stories:

I'm not sure my method will work with your use of the foundation piece. To create the slope I used a few strategically placed walls which I CFE'd to the heights of the fence and then the slope at various points and then started at the lowest intended height and worked my way back up to the section at full height.

Thanks, Crowkeeper! I've never uploaded anything, so I don't know how to do it or what's involved. That house has some CC for the outside, (although most of it could be changed) - I also don't know if that's okay.

@RoseCity

One the link bar that runs along the top of this page, under Create, there's a link for Upload Items .
If you follow those pages, and fill in the info there, you can upload your lot.

Once you have finished the lot you want to upload, make a share file of it.
You can do this in Edit Town, by selecting the lot, and clicking on the Share icon.
The file will then be found in your Exports folder under Documents>Electronic Arts>Sims>Exports

You will want to put the lot file it in a WinRAR file.
If you have this program installed, you can right-click on the file and add it.

When uploading, information you'll want handy:
You'll need to know the update number for your game (e.g. 1.63)
You'll need to know which EPs if any are used.
You'll need the URL for any CCs that you include. (Only free CC is permitted).
Also, a URL for any EA Store content.

You'll need the price of your lot, both furnished and unfurnished. And you'll want the size of the lot.
You'll need the number of bedrooms.

There's also a place for any search tags you'd want to include (e.g. castle, tiny, stone, chateau, French).

You'll need to include screenshots of the exterior.
You'll need overhead screenshots of the floorplan.

You'll want to give a heads-up if any mods were used, and who wrote them.

I've always thought of you as a builder. I'm glad you're considering sharing your houses. :lovestruc

@Fergus' Mind

I love everything about your latest unfinished Queen Anne project.
I'm going to steal the colours you used for the stone walls of your conservatory. :D