Before & After: The Landgraab Mansion

Hi everyone!

Welcome to another part of my Before & After mini-build series. First of all I'd like to say sorry that I haven't posted anything for like a week, our internet was down and only got fixed today. So yay, I'm able to post again!
But enough about that, let's get started on the build.

The Landgraab Mansion's front before.

The Landgraab Mansion's front after.

When I started this remodel I decided that something I was definitely going to change was the landscaping of this house, so that's what I started with. I didn't go all crazy with the coloring of the outside of the house. I just changed the wall color to something a little lighter. I also expanded the balconies and added some columns to the balconies and the front porch as well. You'll also see that I've put the entire house on a foundation, just because I thought it looked a bit better with the back patio and front veranda raised. The landscaping in the front I just added some {ok more like a lot!} of green plants and some colorful flowers. I'm not going to show off the back landscaping in full, like the front, but I also added a lot of green to make it look more inviting. I also put a high fence around the back to give them just a little more privacy.

The living room before.

The first part of the living room after.

The second part of the living room after.

Before I remodeled the house it looked very bare and empty to me, especially the living room. I decided to divide the living room with a little half wall down the middle. The front part that you see first when you walk in I made it a little reading area with a nice fireplace and some bookcases. The back part of the living room I turned into a place for just watching some TV and chilling. I put in a totally huge TV and added lots of seating room. I kept the walls a very plain white color and made the rest of the furniture a very light blue with dark black accents.

The dining room before.

The dining room after.

I know I'm doing this a bit backwards by showing the dining room first, but I did it this way because you have to walk through the dining room to get to the kitchen and I wanted it to look like your sims were giving a house tour. So anyway, getting back to the actual decorating part, I changed the walls to something a bit more monochrome. I changed the dining room table to something a bit lighter since the walls and floor are so dark. Yes, the chairs are mismatched, I did that to just add a bit of color in there with the purple chairs, and also 'cause I really like those chairs. :) I added some artwork, a rug and some plants to give it a more inviting feel. I also did something I usually don't do and tried to use some of the wall lights as decorations. I really hope it looks ok :)

The kitchen before.

The kitchen after.

The original kitchen I absolutely hated {no offense Maxis}, but it was just way to dark and empty looking for my taste. I like to make my rooms look light and lived in. I changed the walls of the kitchen to a cool stone pattern. You'll also see that all the double doors that lead outside I've changed to this grey glass door, 'cause I just didn't like the ones that came with the house. I added a door that leads to the patio area at the back of the kitchen. I tried to keep the grey color of the cupboards even though I changed the cupboards to a different style. Mainly with the kitchen I just added some clutter objects and rearranged the appliances and made the center isle bigger. Overall the kitchen looks more lived in and brighter than before.

The master bedroom before.

The first part of the master bedroom after.

The second part of the master bedroom after.

To start with the original master bedroom looked way too empty and way too blue for my tastes. I changed the wall color to a nice creamy color and tried to match the rest of the furniture with that color. I'm showing the after pictures of the master bedroom in 2 parts because I tried to divide the room without actually putting in any dividing walls. The first part is the dressing area where the dressers and wardrobe are with a little seating area with a desk and a computer. I tried to separate the seconde part with some dividers behind the desk. The back area has the bed, a seating area and I also added a fireplace, just to give that extra touch of opulence. I kept the entire room very light with white furniture with that cream/pinkish color.

Malcolm's bedroom before.

Malcolm's bedroom after.

Malcolm's original bedroom just made absolutely no sense to me, I mean orange walls, blue furniture and gym equipment in the middle of the room? I changed a lot on this room, starting with the walls. I changed the wall color to a dark sea-green color. I kept the blue concept with the furniture, but made them a little more of a subdued blue. I put in a seating area with a TV and stereo, just because in the game he starts out as a teen and as a teen myself I would love to have that in my room. I added a fireplace because this room is very big and it just looked very nice with the fireplace with a big picture over it. I did put in some gym equipment but I put it more to the side and tried to make it blend in more with the rest of the room.

The 2nd floor landing before.

The 2nd floor landing after.

I could never really figure out what the purpose of the room on the 2nd floor was, it just looked like a computer room/study room to me. I literally changed the whole room since I already put in a reading area in the living room and there's also a little computer area there as well. I added a little balcony around the stairs with a huge hanging chandelier. I turned this room into a gaming room for the family to enjoy together or with friends. I made the walls a lot lighter and added everything your sims could need in a gaming room, there's an arcade machine, card table, foosball table and a dart board. Overall this room is just the perfect place to relax and enjoy yourself.

Backyard patio before.

Backyard patio after.

The original house had this huge open area at the back of the kitchen that lead to the backyard that had literally nothing in it except for a picnic table. I think it might have been intended as a garage, but since we don't have cars in the Sims 4, I completely changed it and turned it into a sort of party area. I put in a DJ booth, dancefloor, bar area and also another seating area. {Yes, I'll admit I might have gone a little overboard with this room} I just wanted to make sure that this house had absolutely everything your sims could need to throw an amazing party.

The backyard before.

The first part of the backyard after.

The second part of the backyard after.

The original backyard I absolutely hated! I was huge but had almost nothing in it, and in my mind if you have a large space you need to make sure you put some stuff in it. I'm showing the backyard in 2 parts, because the first part is the back patio and it's raised higher than the rest of the backyard. On the patio I put in another bar and also a fireplace because I like the idea of an outdoor fireplace. In the second part you can see that I added a nice pool with rocks around it to make it look like a natural rock spring. You can also see some of the garden. I also added a hot tub, grill, firepit and some sitting place for your sims.

Well guys that's the house! I also redid all of the bathrooms, but since I wanted to show of all the other rooms, I decided to leave the bathroom pictures out. If you want to see the entire build in-game you can find it up on the gallery under: Landgraab Mansion Remodeled.

I hope you guys enjoy reading about this series as much as I enjoy building it! If you have any suggestions as to what house or community lot I should remodel next, please tell me in the comments.

Happy Simming!

XoXoX

Chrissie