jessk328 wrote:Thanks so much, scoiattolo...you always do an awesome job with your critiques! And congrats to mj1976!

PS: I knew we could now raise paintings, but....how? I don't remember...if I ever did know! Heheh

I don't think anyone answered you... you raise/lower them by clicking on them and then moving the mouse up or down. You should get a double sided arrow as the painting slips up or down the wall. Hope this helps!

WOW Thank you all so much. I spend much more time in the actual game than I do on the forums, so I was shocked when I remembered to check the results.

KittKat7147 wrote:Creatures of the Night - Advanced Results

Freynas – Wow! That indoor pool around the dance floor is amazing. Nice use of black and white. Good choice of purple as the accent – quite dramatic. Sophisticated living areas. Like the open floor plan. Great party pad. Love the bubble machines! Great jam space. Love the bar. Cool hot tub area. Great pattern in the kitchen. Nice media rom. Cool hanging sculpture! Like the use of the new fish tanks. Nice living areas downstairs. Awesome media room! Great use of the carpet tool to create geometric effect. Great bedrooms with crypt beds. Hard to imagine that this is a CC free build! I’ve got to get on finding some of these objects.

Suggestions: Perhaps a bit more attention to the rear of the house. Accent color might have been a little over-used.

StuArt – Hmmm…. Looks like you added a ghost to the house during the build process? The building just blends into the landscape – it looks very organic. Love the use of the new fountains and the fountain too. Fantastic open layout inside. Great use of glass and aquarium to achieve this. Nice media area with two-row seating. Love the slanted architectural bits outside. Great music area and inddor fountain/pool. Cool skylight. Very sophisticated décor throughout. Love the layring of the lot. Love the underground rooms. I was a little worried about the clients at first with so many open windows, but you solved that nicely. Fantastic bedrooms and baths. Adore the kitchen with surrounding bar. Great choice of accent color.

Suggestions: A little more lighting downstairs would have showed details better. Downstairs layout was a bit linear. Even though they don’t love landscaping, a bit more detail could have been added here.

And the winner is...



Very difficult decision! There were both fantastic houses, but the slight edge went to StuArt on this one. Congrats to both on such amazing builds

Amazing! Thank you so much! And thank you for such wonderful feedback, too!

I absolutely loved Freynas' House! In my book we are both winners! Hugs Freynas!

PS. Did you find the secret crypt?

http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/270/105987.page

KitKat thank you for your comments and suggestions. I’ll pay attention on those things next time.
Congratulations Stu and thank you! You definitely deserve the first place, you know how much I love Wasaba house.

I've been really out of it lately. What is the latest challenge? Could you also post a link?

GreatBigSea wrote:I've been really out of it lately. What is the latest challenge? Could you also post a link?

Here it is:

http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/313510.page

Question for challenge 78-79, even though there were only a couple entries will the original judges still critique us? I was just wondering, thanks!

Fortunately for me, one of the two entrants in this category admitted to me that she misread the challenge and therefore went over budget, because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to choose between two such excellent builds. Each began with such a different lot that it would be like trying to compare apples and oranges! And so the winner is:



EuphorialQueen
Link to media: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/15/188428.page#4049

499
Comments: Eclectaphoria is full of wonderful details. You’ve created a perfect haven for an eccentric inventor. I’m not sure most eccentrics would even notice the warm colors and cozy interior with its tiger striped dining chairs and airplane seats (at least that’s what they look like to me!) since they tend to be absent-minded. But they would notice that somehow their moodlet bars were always full, and even the trip out to the outhouse was nicer. You’ve put together such disparate things in a charming way—kind of a friendly clutter! And the outdoor spaces are so much more inviting. I love the board you created for the Gnubb set, the landscaping around the pond, the garden and the recoloring of the exterior walls. A great makeover!

Kittkat7147
Link to media: http://cmd.shutterfly.com/commands/pictures/slides...kat7145/ac
tivityfeed&album=976
Comments: I must admit I’d never been inside that house in Sunset Valley, but you’ve transformed it into a lovely, stylish modern home. The color palette you’ve chosen is sophisticated, and you really are a master of pattern combination! I love the use of Late Night items, especially the aquarium wall. The sunken dining room is a favorite, too, but there are so many wonderful details, I’d really have to make a long list to cover them all. It feels like a house I’d like to live in. My only suggestions would be to add a few more décor items to the nursery (maybe you ran out of simoleons?) and, if Shutterfly allows, to label the “before” pictures. I wasn’t always sure what was what, but I’m guessing the before pictures were all at the beginning?

Results • #77-78 The Biscuits Return!: Intermediate-Advanced

ZYIsSims
Link to the posted asset: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=3504588
Link to media: http://s220.photobucket.com/albums/dd126/silviaBroome/BNS%2079/
?albumview=slideshow
Comments: Although yours was the only entry in this category, it’s a winner by anyone’s standards! I’m especially impressed by your ingenuity in using two elevators, one for each side of the second floor; it allowed more room for the 4 bedrooms. You used all the interior spaces efficiently and with great warmth and holiday cheer! I love the many details like the Christmas tree in the workout room, the white, green and red bedspread in the owners’ bungelow, and the candy cane striped columns throughout. I’m not a big fan of the snow—it looks like soap flakes to me—but otherwise the landscaping is sumptuous and inviting. And some of your screenshots were puzzling: extreme close-ups of ??? Some labeling of images would have been appreciated. But those are just quibbles on my part. It was a delight to review your bed and breakfast.

Happily Ever After: Beginner Results

AnonymousMist:
A gnome-inspired house…cute idea! (Is the gnome hiding? I didn’t see him.) To start, the overall shape of your house was really cool. Some of what you did in your house is not what I usually like, but it worked great here. The all-neutral color scheme fit in with your description of a house in the woods (I usually like more color, and you still could have used a little more color), and the use of candles as lighting throughout was a nice touch (and I usually like BRIGHT lighting!). Your use of space in the house was spot-on…good balance between the size of rooms and the size/amount of furnishings. You also made good use of accessories, which is something beginners usually overlook. Something you might have added to this house was more outdoors…a place to sit or games to play.

AuroraDay:
I liked your idea of making ‘grandmother’s house’, and what you build definitely looked like a grandma’s house! I wish you had taken it more into a fairy-tale realm though. You could have made things a little more fanciful and fun. Inside, there is a good sense of coherence through the house. Each room flows into the next nicely. Try and work on your use of space, though. The size of the kitchen was HUGE and just makes the house look deserted. A dining room table would have helped a little, though. Where is Little Red going to eat those cookies?? The bright blue couches also stick out amongst all the neutral, floral décor. Be sure to use Create-A-Style on your furnishings if the game doesn’t provide what you need.

Great work on both houses, but first place this time goes to…

AnonymousMist

!

Scoiattolo wrote:

Results • #75-76 Fall Designer Showdown: Advanced

Fortunately for me, one of the two entrants in this category admitted to me that she misread the challenge and therefore went over budget, because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to choose between two such excellent builds. Each began with such a different lot that it would be like trying to compare apples and oranges! And so the winner is:



EuphorialQueen
Link to media: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/15/188428.page#4049

499
Comments: Eclectaphoria is full of wonderful details. You’ve created a perfect haven for an eccentric inventor. I’m not sure most eccentrics would even notice the warm colors and cozy interior with its tiger striped dining chairs and airplane seats (at least that’s what they look like to me!) since they tend to be absent-minded. But they would notice that somehow their moodlet bars were always full, and even the trip out to the outhouse was nicer. You’ve put together such disparate things in a charming way—kind of a friendly clutter! And the outdoor spaces are so much more inviting. I love the board you created for the Gnubb set, the landscaping around the pond, the garden and the recoloring of the exterior walls. A great makeover!

Kittkat7147
Link to media: http://cmd.shutterfly.com/commands/pictures/slides...kat7145/ac
tivityfeed&album=976
Comments: I must admit I’d never been inside that house in Sunset Valley, but you’ve transformed it into a lovely, stylish modern home. The color palette you’ve chosen is sophisticated, and you really are a master of pattern combination! I love the use of Late Night items, especially the aquarium wall. The sunken dining room is a favorite, too, but there are so many wonderful details, I’d really have to make a long list to cover them all. It feels like a house I’d like to live in. My only suggestions would be to add a few more décor items to the nursery (maybe you ran out of simoleons?) and, if Shutterfly allows, to label the “before” pictures. I wasn’t always sure what was what, but I’m guessing the before pictures were all at the beginning?

Thank you so much for the kind words and I must say I really was impressed by KittKat's build.

jessk328 wrote:

Happily Ever After: Beginner Results

AnonymousMist:
A gnome-inspired house…cute idea! (Is the gnome hiding? I didn’t see him.) To start, the overall shape of your house was really cool. Some of what you did in your house is not what I usually like, but it worked great here. The all-neutral color scheme fit in with your description of a house in the woods (I usually like more color, and you still could have used a little more color), and the use of candles as lighting throughout was a nice touch (and I usually like BRIGHT lighting!). Your use of space in the house was spot-on…good balance between the size of rooms and the size/amount of furnishings. You also made good use of accessories, which is something beginners usually overlook. Something you might have added to this house was more outdoors…a place to sit or games to play.


Great work on both houses, but first place this time goes to…

AnonymousMist

!

eeek! totally just saw this! lol. thank you thank you thank you so much. I completely loved that house, unfortunately my pc crashed and i lost it but...thanks again ^_^

Beginner-Intermediate #76-77: Fall Designer Showdown Results

JoubertCG: I love how you did the fireplace. Very basic and simplistic design yet warm and inviting. I would have liked to see more wall art especially in the bedroom and nursery. The landscape is minimal yet fulfilling for the size of the yard. I felt like the color palette could have used another color.

Nafarhi: Love the accent walls in the pink bedroom. Rugs in the red room seem to be a bit much, slightly overwhelming. Fantastic garden. I love the different colors in the different rooms however, remember to be careful when using different colors throughout a house because it can disrupt fluidity.

steph_444444: Love the rich wood and stone exterior. Very creative green house. Would like to see some stone or tile behind the counters and cabinets in the kitchen. Love the green accent walls in the bedroom.

You all did an amazing job! Choosing a winner was extraordinarily hard! Thank you very much far participating! My apologies for taking so long to get the results in but please participate again soon!

AND THE WINNER IS...

JoubertCG

Congrats!

The Perfect Plan: Beginner Results

Wow! It looks like people like plan challenges! It is easier to build when you are given the floor plan already, and it’s great practice for beginners. You all did a nice job matching the floor plan, and it was interesting to see the different interpretations of it. So, let’s get to the comments…

angelnga169:
I liked how you created a cabin out of the plan (I actually started this challenge but ran out of time, and was doing a cabin theme as well!). Your house looked warm and cozy. My favorite room was the blue bedroom…this was a great use of space, color, and décor. I also like what you did with the library nook. Couple of things to improve: I would add something to the foyer, it looks very empty as the first thing you see entering the house, and the walls you built around the fireplace looked odd…not sure if you were trying to conceal the brick, but it wasn’t working for me. And tips for taking your pictures: put a floor on the second level (even though there’s no rooms up there) so you have a ceiling for the first floor, and be careful with the zoom keys (it can stretch out your pictures a lot).

flme_5:
It looked like you did a good job matching the floor plan, and your use of space was good. I’m not sure if the color of the pics was a little off, because I saw you named the house “Blue Bird”, and the outside of the house was certainly blue…but inside it all looked gray and pretty creepy (like living inside a black and white movie). Try adding a bit of décor to the rooms to make them look more home-y and lived-in (a plant, a piece of art, etc.). And be sure to include an overhead shot so we can get an idea of your architecture (especially in a plan challenge).

have2admit
VERY clever of you to incorporate this plan into a high-rise! Awesome job with that! You had a nice flow going throughout the house, especially with the patterns and colors (for example, the zebra rugs and then the wavy bed coverings in the master bedroom). The living room was very cool and classy with the piano, and I loved the modern laundry and bathroom (however…I always cringe at big windows in the bathroom, even though it doesn’t matter in the game…I always like blinds/curtains in the bathroom!). And even though there was no landscaping per se, your patio was nice, and the pool--amazing!

jostubbs
Your house had a really nice look from the outside, I liked the colors and your window choices. The ‘layers’ of the roofs was a bit repetitive, though. I saw you wrote that you were ‘just learning’ landscaping, but…WOW. I loved what you did outside…the pool was great, and I really wanted to be in that yard! The crisp, clean look you had inside was nice, but don’t be afraid to mix in a few patterns as accents (I haven’t had a problem uploading with patterns…it might just be custom patterns that cause a problem). When you are taking pictures, take more of the ‘camera-man mode’ pics. For me, it is very helpful in judging to imagine myself in the rooms.

Middleclaw
You made a nice, cozy house here. My favorite room was the kitchen. The layout and furniture here were nice…I would have liked a different floor color though, the blue didn’t quite fit. You also did a nice job with the landscaping. I liked your garden and the pond. It looks like you went a little art-crazy with this build, though. Some of the rooms had a bit TOO much art for my tastes, and some of the art didn’t quite fit in the room (giraffes in the dining room, for instance).

PrincessCrystal
You had a nice use of space and decorations in your house, which is sometimes tough for beginners. I would have liked to see some more variation in your use of color, though. The brown on brown (on brown) look was bland and in some spots made it hard to look at and figure out what everything was. I did like the patterns you used on the beds in the two smaller bedrooms. Also watch your use of the zoom buttons when taking pictures. You were another person with some stretched-out pictures.


1st Place: have2admit
2nd Place: jostubbs
3rd Place: angelnga169

Have2admit, I know you wrote you would have gone up to beginner-intermediate, and I would recommend a step up for you, if you are comfortable with it. Sometimes it’s hard to tell with the plan or designer challenges, since the focus isn’t as much on building, but based on your interior design, I think you are ready for intermediate!