Falling back in Love with Sims 4 Building

Like many people I have always rotated in and out of playing the Sims. From the days of the first ever sims, all the way up to the current Sims 4, I've always found myself shifting more towards 'world building' that actually playing. By that I mean creating families to operate in the background, as well as building up neighbourhoods with houses and community lots. 

That said, its a game that I haven't touched for a very long time, but after reading a post about a Sims Challenge the lovely Jordanne will be undertaking, (you can find that post here) I was inspired to get back into doing what I love in the Sims: Building. 

As my inspiration was born from a blog post, I thought it would be kind of cool to share my own post about what I've built. I've also shared my builds on the gallery, should anyone want to try them out. 

My first build was actually done with a background character in mind. A sweet old lady named Cordelia, living in 'Cordelia's Secret Cottage' over in Henford-on-Bagley. The intention for her was to be the keen gardener of my little world, and from there I decided to create a park where Cordelia could share her love of plants with the rest of the neighbourhoods. So, centred around a large decorative fountain, I began building my park.

I played around a lot with the lay out. Starting off as a large open space, and eventually deciding to split it into four quarters, with each quarter offering something different to do. In the lower right we have the communal toilets, along with a food stand, benches, decorative post box (I was adamant it needed to be included) and a grill. A theme you will notice throughout the park is that I have placed as many plants into the lot as possible, using the 'Move Objects' cheat to pack as many plants close together as I could, to give the impression of really full flower beds. 

The upper right corner is for those who want to go fishing. A small lake surrounded by multiple plants and flowers, with an easel for painting tucked away near the water. To the left of that section I've placed another food stand specifically for fish. My idea was that the stock for the stand could come from fish from the lake! I know that isn't actually how it works, but humour me!

Towards the upper left section of the lot is the playpark. I had a little bit of difficulty deciding what to do with this section, so actually ended up doing it last. I had toyed with the idea of something for pets, but just couldn't seem to make it work. I then considered putting down a swimming pool, but it didn't really fit the rest of the park, nor did I want more than one body of water on the lot. In the end I settled on creating a space for the child sims, again with another food vendor, and a couple of benches for parents to watch their children play. 

Last but certainly not least is the garden in the lower left section of the lot. This is the section that I enjoyed doing the most and spent the most time with. It includes a little greenhouse, as well as a partially covered structure where Sims can try their hand at arranging the flowers they've picked from the garden and surrounding area. There is also a stand where they can buy flowers from the garden for weddings or events. I've placed lots of various plants in the planters and around the garden and park in general, and took them as a 'room' from the gallery, so all of the flowers, fruits and vegetables are of perfect quality. 

As I've hinted at earlier, there have been a couple of cheats used to build the park, so if anyone wants to use it from the gallery I would recommend using the move objects cheat first. I've really enjoyed putting this park together, and it was nice to be able to put a lot together without too much actual building needing to be done. If you play The Sims 4 and fancy using the park, I've put it on the gallery for download - you can find me under 'Emfish91'. 

Seeing as I enjoyed this build so much I've already started on a few others, so if you want to see posts on my other builds let me know! I'm currently working on a small gym and an A frame house - the latter of which is proving more difficult than I had initially expected! 

What do you enjoy more on Sims? Building or playing?