In The Sims 2, there are a lot of ways to customize your neighborhood. From the landscape to the lots that bring your little town to life, building unique places from the ground up is key. There are plenty of premade houses to choose from, but there’s nothing like having your very own creation.
We’ll break down the basics of the build and buy menus so you can build a complete house from the bottom to the top. Custom walls, floor plans, and levels are at your disposal with the click of a button. And, of course, you’ll want to add a pool.
How To Build A House
The build menu contains all the necessary parts to build a house. From the foundation to landscaping, you can design your dream home with ease.
Building The Foundation
At first, the menus can be overwhelming, but with a bit of practice, you can master it in no time. To start, decide if you want your new house to have a deck or split-level design.
The foundation tool can be used to craft either in three styles: a traditional deck, a brick layer, or a wooden stage.
Additionally, you can add stairs by using the premade staircases or the individual stair and railing tool. Just make sure there is enough space at the top and bottom of the stairs for sims to move around.
Walls And Floors
You can also draw lines to construct walls and create all different shapes. The wall and floor customization tools allow you to select different wallpapers and flooring materials, from tile to poured concrete.
Shift+clicking inside a confined area will fill the wall or floor with the selected wallpaper or flooring.
The sledgehammer tool can be used to break these apart if you misclick or need to redesign the house.
Doors And Windows
What’s a house without a door or window? These can be used to allow natural light into the home, as well as let your sims inside the house. To change the color of these feature, click on them when selected in the menu to view the various alternatives.
You can also use the color swatch tool after the door or window is already placed to change the look.
Landscaping And Gardening
You can also recolor the terrain on the lot, including a variety of gravel, soil, and concrete. Trees, shrubs, and flowers can be placed to decorate the lot, and the water tool can create ponds by creating a dip in the terrain.
Only beach lots can swim in the open water, but not ponds without the use of cheats or mods.
By altering the terrain, you can also create basements, though they can be difficult to format with the walls, stairs, and objects. The angle of your lot will affect the view as well.
Roof Structures
No home is complete without a roof, and The Sims 2 has an auto-roof feature that will automatically build a roof in one of several ways based on your choices. Of course, you’re always welcome to manually click and drag the roofing selections to build a custom structure.
How To Furnish A House
Furnishing a house is easier than building one, if only because it’s a lot less technical and intensive. Rather than use the build menu, you’ll open up the buy menu. Look for the icon featuring several pieces of furniture!
You can select furniture based on category, room type, or theme. Every house should have the following items to ensure a sim can survive:
- A large enough bed.
- A functioning toilet and shower.
- A stove and refrigerator.
After these necessities are placed, you can decorate with recreational objects, like a piano, bookshelf, gym set, or any other skill-building equipment. You can also decorate using paintings, curtains, and artisan objects.
If your household has children, you’ll want to include a crib and a diaper changing station. These can be found under the teddy bear icon in the miscellaneous section when searching by object. Children will also benefit from toys and age-appropriate skill-building equipment.
Make sure to add lighting, as it will get dark at night!
Electronics can liven up a household, especially with items like a home phone, TV, and computer. It’s also worth investing in a smoke detector and burglary alarm in case the worst happens.
How To Build A Pool
Lastly, what sim worth their salt doesn’t have a pool in their yard? It’s a dream to have, and building one is simple. In the build menu, select the three miscellaneous dots, then the pool icon.
You can build by clicking and dragging, like you would a wall. Choose from a standard rectangle, a diagonal rectangle, or rounded corner pieces to build your desired pool shape.
Once that’s complete, make sure to add lighting and a ladder so your sims can get in and out. You can also add a diving board and slide if your yard is big enough for such amenities.
You can always delete the ladder if you get bored with your sims and watch them drown in the pool. Up to you.
Another fun thing you can do with pools is change the wallpaper and flooring, allowing for some interesting combinations. Want a pool that’s pitch black or blood red? No problem! Want your pool to resemble a natural spring? Stone tiling is the perfect material.
Customization is at your fingertips. Don’t wait to start designing!
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