How to Build a House in the Sims 2

Plan the size of your house. The most important things to consider are the size of the family and how much money you have. A house with 2 people would most likely be smaller than a house with 8 people, but that's the creator's choice. Each family starts out with $20,000, however with some money cheat code (motherlode), you can have up to $999,999,999 at a time. Also, think about if you want a garden, pool, backyard, etc. Make a sketch or "blueprint" of what your house is going to be like.

Decide how many rooms there will be. Bathrooms are generally smaller (unless it is a public bathroom) and living rooms tend to be larger. Have bedrooms for each Sim, unless they are married or in love. Teenagers, children, and babies/toddlers get their own room unless you want them to share.

Click on the "Lots & Houses" icon and then click on the "Empty Lots" symbol. Lots range from very small (3 x 1) to very large (5 x 6). Just remember that you can create two and three story houses, so don't choose a huge one for a small family.

Choose between terrain or foundation. To some people, using foundation is much easier to create a house with. Drag over the area you want the house to be located. Include any decks and porches you want to include on the ground level. Lay a driveway and/or garage before lying foundation. If you want to have a garden or a front yard, start the foundation a few tiles away from the mailbox area.

Put up the walls. Using the wall tool, outline the physical shape of the house, leaving any decks and porches you want outside of the walls (note that having a foundation requires steps to get into the house, so leave a small porch for the front door and any other doors!)

Create rooms by adding walls inside the house. Using diagonal walls makes for an aesthetic structure, but remember most items cannot be places on a diagonal wall.

Add windows and doors. Windows add "environment" to a Sim's mood. Make sure that you have a door to each room, as you can also use arcs in living rooms and kitchens. Style your house with glass doors on study rooms or offices.

Add paint to the walls and flooring. Try to choose colors that would match in real life, such as brown tile in the kitchen, wood deck outside, tan carpet in the living room, or just go wild and mix everything in one room!

Add furniture. Put couches, TVs, bookcases, or arcade machines in the living room, add a trash can, an oven, a fridge, counter tops, and a telephone in the kitchen, and put toilets, sinks, and showers in the bathroom.

Add a staircase if you want a second story. There are two ways to do this: you can use the full staircase tool to place a staircase, or you can use the mini staircase tool. To use that, go up a level and place floor squares where you want the staircase to reach on the second floor, and then go to the staircase tool, choose the type of stair you want to use, and place your cursor over the landing. This will not work if there is not enough room to construct the staircase.

• Place the exterior walls for the second floor. Second floors can by dynamic, since you don't need them to match the first floor. You can also place decks on the second floor.

Place the interior walls on the second floor, creating the rooms you wish to have. You will need to place floors in all of these rooms as well. You can place a simple wooden floor in the rooms you wish to have, then edit them later.

Use the roof tool to create the style roof you'd like. You can use the auto roof maker, or you can go in and customize your roof with different shape. You can always go back and change the color and shape later.

Create an outside environment. Lay out some tile or gravel, put out some nice chairs, buy some exercise equipment, and set up a garden or some trees. You may even want to build a greenhouse.(If you have Seasons) If so, build a room and put some gardens in there and maybe fruit trees.

Use the fence tool to create fences. Place barriers where necessary for decks and porches. You should also use the step tool to place staircases where they are needed. Dress up a garden using the flowerbed fencing.

Get lights set up. Be creative with the lights considering what you want the theme of the room to be. And stop with the boring ceiling lights. Experiment with wall lamps, table lamps, and maybe some floor lamps.