Mansion Redux

As mentioned in the previous post, I wasn’t happy with Aubrey and Julio’s home and renovated some rooms. My previous reno was okay for my skill level (and cc inventory), but now I know more about clutter and decorating (and have WAY too much cc) thanks to new friends and super talented simmers over on Tumblr. When I saw the house for the first time in two years, it looked plain and much too basic for sims of their financial status. I probably only noticed that because of the current family I’m playing with who are rich and famous. Anyway, I thought about how the house looked previously and how Aubrey redecorated, and my interior design friends helped me decide the home’s style should be transitional. It was previously traditional, but Aubrey came and brought a contemporary flare (in more ways than one!) But as I began placing furniture, I realized it wasn’t just the furniture that bothered me but the layout of the great room. It was much too awkward to place furniture meaningfully, and I kinda hated the room dividers. I figured, if I’m gonna redo 75% of this house, I may as well do it right.

If you recall, the back wall was partially open, and the left wall had a fireplace. I never liked the whole great room situation in this house, so I built a wall to separate the living and dining areas.

Honestly, the furniture I used here doesn’t look very expensive and is very similar to what they already had. But everything put together harmoniously makes you go…hey, that’s really nice…they spent some money on this lol.

I had to keep certain ideas because I previously highlighted them in the story. For the dining room, Aubrey was impressed with the super long dining table that held, like, 14 sims. That table was actually two tables put together, so this new one is only a 12-seater. Either way, I knew I needed the longest table I had. At first I thought this one was too traditional, but with the chairs and everything on it, I think it’s the perfect example of transitional. My design friends are free to disagree since I didn’t ask for their help on this one 😅.

The kitchen looks relatively the same since it’s still white with a white-ish backsplash and white marble top. I just switched out the set for another one, used different tile, and flexed my new clutter skills to make it look like it actually gets used 😎. Aubrey still has her chef’s station, of course. I bet Salma hates that thing. 😂 Good thing I remembered to put a regular stove in!

The old party room was soooooo sad. I think it was supposed to be like a ballroom, so I get why there was so much floor space. But it was so empty! I had to change that. This is one of my favorite rooms now! The same piano is there in the same spot, and the bar too (but different bar). I just created a chic atmosphere around them. It’s probably not the right style for them, but, hey. I like it! [gavel]

Now, this is where my brain gets real extra. The only entrance to this room is through the kitchen. Now, if Julio ever had to schmooze clients or whoever and threw a party at his home, I don’t think entering through the kitchen is appropriate, and I’m tempted to tear down a few walls to facilitate this. But I also know that Julio has no plans to do this, and this room will probably never be used, so it would be a waste of effort and will destroy the look I created. I only redecorated rooms that either get used or can be seen in the background.

The office is another one of those things that I needed to maintain for the sake of the story. I NEVER liked the office, but Aubrey is in love with the idea of future family work time, so I had to keep the multiple workstations. But who said they had to be separate desks?? Ha! I pulled my Watcher card and made the room more to my liking, especially because these characters spend a lot of time in there. Aubrey has taken over half the desk, but when the kids come, they’ll have their own laptops and occupy the other chairs.

I’m sure none of you have seen this or even know where this is. This is that ginormous space outside the master suite. It was much too huge for me to even consider what to do with it at the time. But now it’s a casual, alternate sitting area. I figure it’s a place they can go to be semi-alone. Or maybe they have their morning tea out there? IDK. It’s there now, and I don’t roll my eyes at that gargantuan space anymore.

Thinking about it, though, I could have expanded the bedroom to accommodate this space to make the suite even bigger. There isn’t a decent sitting area in the room, anyway. Oh well. Hindsight, eh? Knowing how my brain works, I’ll probably tackle that before I have to show this room again lol.

Pardon me, kids! I’m just showing these fine folks around your house. Don’t mind us!

I must confess I had to get inspo for this room. I wanted it to be right, but I didn’t know how to do that and went to one of my favorite sites, houzz.com. I found a room I liked and made this one as close as I could get it while maintaining the essence of the old room. What do you think? I love this room!

Last, but certainly not least, the playroom! Do you remember the old, LOUD wallpaper?? It had to go. Expeditiously! Even though I wanted to tone it down, I didn’t want it to be clinical. I wanted it to carry the same fun energy. So I used this cute, busy, pastel wallpaper (because RGB is NOT the way to go!) and a neutral rug. I loaded it up with cc but not too much because maximalism is NOT my thing!

Well, guys, that’s the end of the tour! How do you like the house? Is it them?