Devon Bumpkin, Author at SimsVIP

The Sims 4 Dine Out: Building Ideas

Hey, guys! I’m back with another restaurant build and this time I wanted to build something close to home. So I decided on an English country pub. I live in an area of England where I see these restaurants a lot and I visit them often too. So let’s get started!

Preparation

Going back to my previous Asian-inspired restaurant, pull out the items from build mode you feel have an English pub feel to them. The Get Together expansion pack is great for this aesthetic because of the strong European influence it has. Again depending on your personal taste, make a wall and decide on a color/texture palette for the exterior of your pub restaurant. After your happy with your choice of wallpapers, get a basic shape of the build you’re trying to implement. There is no set style of English pub, so get on Google or use inspiration from English Pubs that you have visited!

First Steps

1. Decide on a floor plan. English pubs tend to lean on the cozy side because most of the pubs in England are hundreds of years old. So by keeping the floor plan cozy and less cramped, it will make the build feel more realistic. Remember to make sure your Sims can comfortably maneuver around the restaurant.

2. Place the host station. I kept the host station in the entrance hallway in this build separating it from the restaurant areas, as I have said previously this will help keep a steady flow in the restaurant and stop the Sims from getting in the way of the serving staff.

3. Build the kitchen. I went for a closed off private kitchen for this restaurant. I wanted it on a larger scale as well in order to help with the amount of available seating in the restaurant. This will allow you to have more than 1 chef station, therefore allowing a larger volume of food to be cooked for your customers.

4. Place tables and chairs. I wanted to have a more family friendly restaurant so I placed more 4-top tables in order to cater to them. Having tables near the fireplace (but not too close!) will help the Sims feel cozy and bring in a touch of realism. I also placed a lot of the tables near the windows so Sims can take in the surrounding countryside of Windenburg.

Build Your Restaurant’s Style

This is where I started to add in the English aesthetic I wanted in the restaurant. I went for a more gastro-pub aesthetic for the interior rather than the traditional English pub. Having a traditional exterior and an updated interior (keeping original features of course!) is commonplace in a lot of English pub/restaurants. I wanted the build itself to look hundreds of years old like most pubs in England, so I decided on a subtle cottage shape with a separate attached outer building where the kitchen resides.

Next, I wanted to add in the build items I thought had a more gastro-pub feel to them. I kept the flooring and wallpaper the same: the bare floor boards from the Spooky Stuff pack and the stone wallpaper from Get Together. I used the farmhouse tables in a lighter wood and the charcoal grey wooden chairs so they wouldn’t blend into the brown wood of the flooring. I bought some color into the room with table flowers and paintings on the wall as I felt the room was a little bland.

I didn’t want the restaurant to have an open plan layout so I made sure to separate the dining areas with walls but added arches all the way through to allow for easy kitchen access.

The kitchen had a more clinical aesthetic to it, and I achieved this by using a lot of stainless steel and chrome. I also had a door from the kitchen leading out to the front patio area so the Sims who sit outside could be served easier too.

Lastly, for realism purposes, I built 2 bedrooms directly above the pub to give off an English Inn type feel. Be sure to check out my previous areticle on Retail/Residential Living to learn how to allow your Sims live on the same lot they work on!

In Conclusion

Adding in a lot of these different features I have explained will not only tailor it to your personal taste but also bring in some realism to your game. Don’t forget to research and look high and low for inspiration. I hope this helps boost your creativity! Happy Building!

The Sims 4 Dine Out: Building Ideas

So we’ve all been enjoying the new Dine Out game pack, right? I know I have! What I’ve decided to do is start a series of builds that all implement a different style and aesthetic to help get your creative juices flowing! The first thing I decided to build is an Asian-inspired restaurant with outdoor dining set within Japanese style gardens.

Preparation

When planning to build a restaurant with a particular theme or aesthetic, the first thing to do is pull out the items from build mode that compliment the build. For this particular build, we’re going Asian, so pull out any and all items you feel fit this particular theme.

Next, make a wall and decide on a colour/texture palette to go on the exterior of the restaurant. This is a great way to figure out if everything works together.

First Steps

Decide on a floor plan. Having a simple and well laid out seating plan is the key. This is important as you want the restaurant to flow nicely in gameplay and have all the different aspects working correctly. I found that having the Move Objects cheat off throughout the build will help with this!

Place the host station. Keep it at the entrance for the best gameplay as it keeps the waiting area separate from the main restaurant and won’t cause any obstruction to your wait staff serving out the delicious food!

Build the kitchen. This will help you decide on where you have the seating. You can have a closed off private kitchen, a kitchen with a serving hatch or even an open air kitchen in the actual restaurant, making use of half walls or dividers. For this build, I went for a kitchen with a chef serving hatch as the restaurant was outside. I kept the inside mostly neutral with not a lot of Asian influence.

Place tables and chairs. Don’t go overboard! Start small and manageable until you have the resources to expand your business. Most of the tables will be left unused if you place too much seating.

Build Your Restaurant’s Style

I started to add in the Asian aesthetic I wanted. I started by researching lots of different styles of Asian architecture. I didn’t want the restaurant to reflect a specific Asian culture, I wanted to blend my personal favourite aspects of all of them from the Japanese style gardens to the Thai-inspired entrance building. I went for a subtle color palette rather than the usual red, black and gold people tend to lean towards when building Asian.

For the main building that houses the kitchen, toilets and bar area were kept small and in the same traditional Thai style as the entrance tower. Using the roof tool to slightly concave the roof will help give it a more Asian feel. I then added a ton of roof decor in a gold color to add to the aesthetic of the build.

Next, I started to add in lots of Asian decorative objects including the lotus flower shaped plant, the bamboo plants, and the cherry blossom trees throughout all the landscaping. I also used the water with the petals on to make it look like the blossoms had fallen. The Koi fish fountains are perfect for highlighting a Japanese feel in the pond area, and also look great with sized-up glass candle orbs to represent water lanterns.

For the outdoor lighting, I used the glass orbs from Dine Out for the main source. However, I also used the paper lantern ceiling lighting too for the cherry blossom swatch. These ceiling lights give off an amazing amount of light, so you don’t have to use too many of them either!

Lastly, I added the final touches. This included clutter items within the kitchen area, patio heaters to keep your Sim’s warm in the evening, all of the table decorations like flowers and menus, and decorated with various wall objects. From cherry blossom canvases under the serving hatch, to branch lights on the dividers circling the restaurant, my build reached its final stage.

In Conclusion

Implementing all of these different aspects should help you start to see the Asian aesthetic come through. But the most important thing about this guide is to let your imagination run wild! See if you can come up with some Asian influences in your own style. I would love to see what you come up with! Happy Building!

The Sims 4: Retail and Residential Living

Owning a retail store in The Sims 4 is so much fun! Whether you’re selling huge flat screen televisions or small baked goods, your Sims can soon start earning lots of simoleons. But I always wanted the option of my Sims being able to live and work on the same lot. Today, I will show you how to make this happen and get your creativity flowing by building in different styles.

First Steps

After you have created a couple of Sims (having 2 or more Sims makes the retail work a lot easier), give them an amazing personality to help sell their goods. For example, having a Sim who is creative will help sell their paintings or Sim that is a whiz in the culinary field will help with selling baked goods. Remember you can sell just about anything from the build mode menu. Determining what you want to sell in advance will also help you decide what style to build in.

Next, buy an empty plot of land. You have to own a residential plot to make this work! Newcrest is good for this as the world is blank and you can always build a house on it once you have made your millions from your retail store! Now, select the “Buy Retail Store” from the phone menu and choose where you want your retail store to be. You will have limited simoleons so make sure you have everything your Sims will need to keep them happy.

Here is a list of essentials:

Kitchen items (Fridge, oven, sink, and trash can)
Bed
Shower/Bath
Toilet

Buying these items above first and keep them to the side will help you not overspend on the build.

Purchase the tools necessary to sell your merchandise. (For example, if you’re selling paintings buy an easel, or if you’re selling electronics buy a television, etc.) You must also purchase a cash register in order to sell your items.

Try to keep starting costs to a minimum. You can always expand and buy more things to sell the more you progress with your business!

Starting The Build

Of course, your Sims will need somewhere to sell their goods and a separate area for your Sims to live. Start with something simple, it doesn’t need to be too fancy in the beginning. I have built 3 separate lots in different styles, one being traditional, one being industrial and the last being modern. Each of them sells different things.

Now it’s time to get creative!

Lot 1 – Pennywell Farm and Art Gallery (Traditional)

860370D2-288F-477E-AF6D-4C54C75858A6-1068x601 — The final outcome having an established business for a while.

I built a really simple farmhouse in a traditional style with a barn connected on the side and enough room out the front for a small manageable farm area. The farmhouse is the residential area where the Sims will live and the barn is where I have put the art gallery. These are a few things you’ll need to make this particular lot work:

Cheap PC/Computer – Sims can purchase seeds from it or visit the library to use the computer there!
Painting easel – It’s no good having an art gallery with nowhere to paint!
Front desk with cash register – You’ll need this in all retail lots to be able to sell your goods.

Remember to keep things simple in the beginning. If you want your lot to look more appealing use the terrain paint tool as its free and easy to use! Here is an overview and progression of this build:

Other things to help

Install a wall-mounted speaker outside and get your Sim to listen to music whilst gardening. This will increase their fun while working!
Lock residential doors to non-household members. This will stop any customer strolling into your Sims private quarters!
Explore the different worlds and harvest as many wild plants as possible. Plant them on your farm and sell them too for extra simoleons!

Soon enough your Sims will have enough simoleons to extend the business and make the lot look a whole lot prettier!

Lot 2 – Revolution Bakery and Coffee Shop (Industrial)

This next lot I decided to have a bakery and coffee shop, but I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted the lot to have a more industrial aesthetic so I built a derelict run down factory. I used dark weathered brick and lots of objects from the Get To Work expansion as the industrial elements fit the build.

Because I wanted to build a derelict lot and renovate it, I needed some extra cash. So I used my favourite cheat: the ‘Motherlode’ cheat. It will automatically give you 50,000 simoleons to play with. To do this cheat you’ll need to open the console, press “CTRL + SHIFT + C” in game, and type in ‘Motherlode‘.

I then looked at Google Images to get some inspiration on renovated factory type builds. In my opinion, Google Images is by far the best place to get inspiration for building!

On this lot, I’ve kept the bakery on the ground level and the residential area on the first floor with access via stairs on a side entrance. Inside the bakery, I wanted the industrial aesthetic to carry through so I kept most of the exposed brick but used the white washed brick effect in places to brighten up the inside.

I kept the original concrete floor too as I felt it suited the décor and build. Little details such mismatched chairs and industrial light fittings to give the bakery some personality. You can also see I have a barista bar on this lot to hire a barista. You do this by selecting the barista bar in-game and choosing the ‘Hire Barista‘ option. I have also put the kitchen to the back of the build so it is important to remember that you lock any door to non-household members to stop customers coming in.

Other things to help

Buy a retail bakery unit to display your baked goods and keep them fresh!
Have one Sim bake and cook and another Sim in the front of house helping customers!
Grow a small vegetable and fruit garden to use in your Sims baked goods and make them even more delicious!

Lot 3 CloudTronics Electronic and Furniture Store (Modern)

The final lot I built was an electronic/furniture store. I decided to build it in a modern contemporary style. As with all of these builds, I started small and simple and extended the build when I got the business more successful. The residential area I decided to put in at basement level with direct access around the back of the build.

To put a basement garden in, use the ‘Custom Basement Tool‘ and map out what area you want the garden to be. After you have made the basement go down to its level using the ‘Page Down‘ key select the basement so it is highlighted. Now use the ‘Page Up‘ key with the basement still selected. You will notice when you run your cursor over the outline of the basement a yellow line appears, left click this with your mouse and the option of ‘Remove Ceiling‘ will appear. Choose this option and you have yourself a basement garden area!

Electronics will make the most money out of any of the retail options, but as always start with small items first or if you have enough simoleons; buy a couple of large items (eg: flatscreen TV, PC) to sell. Soon enough you’ll be able to buy bigger and more expensive items to sell and develop the store further. After a while, I built the second floor and decided to extend the store and start selling furniture too.

Other things to help

When your Sim is trying to sell something, don’t feel pressured to use non-stop retail options. Compliment your customers, brighten their day etc. You’ll soon see the customer will be more receptive to buying something!
Once your store is established, don’t be afraid to increase your prices to start bringing in more simoleons!
Be creative with the retail lots. Choosing a theme and picking something to sell will help you in deciding what type of build to go for!

The most important thing to remember is to be creative and have fun with whatever it is you’re building! Getting inspiration is the best way to make a start! Happy building everyone!

Below is a video tour of all these builds so you can take a better look at them. Enjoy!