Maxis Makeovers
 

...and why they're possibly the most fun thing to do.

I love taking the hideous Maxis houses and making them beautiful or make them look like they weren't there beforehand, my best example is the trailers in Pleasantview and turning them into insane modern abodes that looked nothing like their predecessors. The Goth Mansion seems to be a pretty popular one to redo, I just want to see it as a modern mansion someday!



As it is, feel free to discuss such things as the best content for Maxis Makeovers and such, or which is your favorite house to re-do. Whats your favorite conversion? Any pictures? Post here!

I actually like a lot of the Maxis lots, but it drives me mad that a lot of them have been lotbinned and replaced in the hood. You can tell the lots that have had this done because the sunlit side will appear at a different orientation to lots built in situ. So what I tend to do is to use the floorplans- or ideas taken from the Maxis lots- to build my own. My favourite Maxis lots are the Curious brother's house, the big house on Wright way in Pleasantview, and a little lot that came (I think) with Family Fun Stuff.

oooh I've never noticed that! I guess I'll just add that to my list of things to be annoyed about. :p






What I do with makeovers is I take the wall paper and floor off, along with all of the windows and the roof and look at the shell, see what it .. says .. to me, and then I go from there. Its weird, some houses just come to me and others are a complete work in progress when it comes to making them over. I'm still making over the GIANT house in Pleasantview as a "Grand Floridian"-esque house, and so far its so much less imposing and grand, its awesome. :D!

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.

Of course you can join Ciane! I loved your makeovers and how you described them gives me new ideas. >:3

I also like the porch on the Goth Mansion, I've never seen that before! :p

Remember this beauty? It's the farmhouse that came with the base game (i think). I didn't change a lot on the outside, apart from the paint. I did put in a wall here and there, because EA houses have strange lay-outs.
I love the way it turned out.

I thought I'd show you what I do with the Curious brothers' home. I get rid of all the stairs and play a single floor. I make the home a bit more symetrical as well as convenient for me.



The cut away picture shows that the center bathroom with its green tile is gone, but now there are two bathrooms instead of just one. The house keeps the black tile throughout, but adds different pops of color in different rooms.



The black and white modern theme is emphasized in the open floor plan's main rooms.

Awwh I loved that bathroom Ciane! As it is, I really like what you did with the interior, keeping with the original style of the lot is something I never do.


And Angel_f I've never seen a makeover of that farmhouse done so well, no lies! :p

I'd love to update this thread with a few pics of my own, but my monitor is acting up as of right now, so I'll busy myself salivating over your pics. :p

It's just the idea that a center bathroom has no place to vent and get fresh air or natural lighting. I play a more realistic house where upstairs walls should be on top of downstairs walls like the support system of a normal house. I want fresh air and sunlight in all the rooms.

mmmm I'm totally OCD about the support thing too, that's probably why all my houses get kind of messed up!


I just put a skylight in, and changed the irregular shape because those diagonal walls were useless. D:

Here's another one i did. I did change some of the exterior walls to make more room upstairs. Anyone notice which house it is?

It looks a bit like the Victorian one.

Some of the Gallery that came with AL, the one in Belladonna Cove?
Not too many changes, new brick, stairs and newly furnished inside with gift shop, restaurant, and modern room.


Exterior


Outdoor focal point/Seating Area


Modern Room?


Upstairs Seating/Dining area

Nope
It's the Pleasant house.

Chowgilly, it looks lovely.

Thanks angel. I was gonna say the Pleasent house but i thought, nah, it looks too good lol. Great job

Another one from me

Oh, isn't that the town house that came with NL? It looks awesome. More like a beach house now.

Yeah. I love the beachy look to my homes. Thanks

There are some great makeovers already in the thread. Excellent work folks. I hope to see more and wouldn't mind trying one myself. Are there any guidelines as far as CC and which parts of the original structure should remain?

I don't think that there are guidelines per say, but I (personally) think that it should retain most of the original structure as the original house so people can still recognize what it is. As for CC, use it to your heart's content, the amount of CC really doesn't matter all too much, but the home should retain it's structure enough to verify that it's a makeover and not just a house.

I can clearly see that it's the Pleasant house now. It was just the bay windows that seemed so much like the Victorian I had just remodelled. Nice job!

My makeover of the Spector house in Strangetown, along with a revamped graveyard.

ooo I really like that Chowgilly! But perhaps try a less austere and harsh looking iron fence - maybe a weathered beachy look - to fit in with your beach theme. Other than that I really like it! *scribbles 'Specter House' on To-Do list*

Yeah i was thinking that too Blake, i do love my beachy looks lol. I was quite surprised at this lot, i didnt have to change any of the structure of the house, just decor, doors windows etc. Behind all the ugly stone walls is a pretty nice place! Will post more pics of revamp tomorrow.

Nice makeovers! Sometimes I think I like to makeover Maxis houses more than build new ones...

This is a makover of Don Lothario's house with Maxis content. Well...except a shower and curtain. I was in the process of redoing the hood, but then it asploded.

Wow! that looks amazing HL! Aww in sorry it asploded, hope you can fix it?