On Special Request - Lot Tour: The Ottomas House

The Ottomas house is, like all buildings you see on this blog, a Maxis-made one. However, I have altered it by adding rooms to it to accomodate the ever-growing family. This alterations were so long ago that I honestly can't remember what was there from the start and what was done by me. I am certain about the addition on the top floor left; that was mine, and maybe I also changed bits about the layout so that there were enough bathrooms.

Back view.Sorry about the pictures having been taken at night - I always play my Sims households for one week exactly, which usually means they start just when midnight Sunday turns into Monday, and of course did not play the family now out of order just to have daylight for the lot tour.
I know that it is possible to change day/night time in build mode, but pictures in build mode always mean that you see the grid, and I did not want that for more pictures than necessary.

See? I have changed into build mode for this picture, and turned it to daytime. The ground floor layout is as follows:From the front door, you are immediately in the lounge. Clockwise from the lounge, you see the double staircase leading upstairs and a narrow hallway leading to the nursery with its own tiny bathroom. Still moving clockwise, the next room is what used to be Samantha and Peter's bedroom. The many rose bouqets are a reminder of Samantha's long struggle for reaching her LTW of having 50 dream dates (each and every one with her own husband).
Next to this bedroom is a bathroom, with a second door leading through to a smaller bedroom. It used to be Sharla's before she left for college. Last but not least, the open plan kitchen and dining area, and going back to the lounge.

Upstairs, two doors lead off the landing. To the left is the violet-themed bedroom belonging to David and Lilith, with en-suite bathroom. To the right is a room with two single beds; it used to be David's and Tommy's when they were boys. There is an en-suite bathroom there, too.

Now for the scenic shots: This is the lounge.To the left, you can see the front door. There is a settee in front of the telly here (just visible in the lower left corner), a chess table and a computer desk.

The TV corner.

View from the settee to the open-plan kitchen and dining area.

Sharla's bedroom.

The bedroom that used to be Peter's and Samantha's.

The nursery.

Upstairs, this is one side of the room with two single beds.

The other side of the room.

The violet bedroom.
The four bathrooms in this house are all too small for me to take proper pictures; I don't like snapshots with the walls down if I can avoid it. Anyway, there is nothing special about any of the bathrooms; they all contain a toilet, sink and shower/bathtub and not much else.

Now you've seen the house; It is well below the family's means, they could easily afford to live in a palace, but for now, they remain where they first started out a long time ago, when money was tight and the family kept getting larger.
It is a very playable house, exactly because it is not too big; no Sim takes hours just to get from one end of the place to the other.

Not sure this will still be the Ottomas' house in the next round; the family setup has changed since Peter and Samantha's death, but I like to think that their grown-up children would not give up the old family home easily.

Gunnar Roque: Week 3

Who owns this unusual lot, with a tower and a tiny house on one end of the vast expanse of uncultivated land?

       It is Gunnar Roque, who moved here some time ago and spends his days pursuing his romantic interests. He does not work, which explains his very modest circumstances. We find him clearly not well on the Monday morning of his third week after graduation, but that will not deter him from meeting as many ladies as possible this week.
Right now, he has only 1.408 Simoleons on his bank account, but a moment later, an inheritance kicks in, boosting his fortune to 2.308;-. Also, in his inventory, he still has the expensive telly he somehow got hold of during one of the previous weeks, but he will only sell that as a last resort.

       Today, he meets Heather Huffington.

        The two of them quickly bond over glasses of champagne.

        Tuesday morning sees Gunnar carefully filling in a hole dug by a stray dog. He can't risk any of his lady friends breaking something by stepping into the hole with their elegant high heels!

      Later that day, he makes the acquaintance of Lilith Ottomas (nee Pleasant) and Florence Delarosa. As in the previous weeks, he will follow his tested and proven tactics of always cultivating several friendships at once instead of focusing on just one lady.

        Wednesday morning sees Gunnar doing some housework. Not only does he himself feel better when his tiny house his clean, he also knows that it matters to most of his female visitors.

        He invites Florence over and starts to work his way to her heart.

       On Thursday morning, he finds he can't stop thinking of Heather Huffington.

       In spite of his focus being very clearly on the ladies, he is a polite Sim and greets his male neighbours as well. Here, Nathan Gavigan walks by.

        Before Thursday is over, Heather Huffington becomes his conquest # 15 - that's five to go until he'll have reached his lifetime want!

        On Friday morning, Lavender Greenman, who became his # 14 last week, decides on paying a visit.

       By the time Gunnar invites Lilith over, Lavender has already left.

        The cheap sink breaks (everything is the cheapest model in this house), which means Gunnar has to invest some of his valuable time into repair work.

       It is Saturday morning, and, as has been the case nearly every day, Martina Martin rings Gunnar. She is a teenage girl and Gunnar does not want them to get too close, but she keeps ringing him.

        He is much more willing to get close to Lilith... VERY close. She is now the 16th name on his list of ladies he has had woohoo with. "Your eye make-up perfectly matches my bedsheets, sweetheart," he charms her.

       After Lilith has left, Gunnar invites Florence over again. She works long hours and so can come over only late in the evening. Therefore, it is already Sunday by the time she becomes his # 17.

        Happily, Gunnar checks his list. Only three more to go!

        Gallagher Newson is Gunnar's second male visitor of the week.

       On Sunday afternoon, he works his way into Monica Bratford's affections.

        The stray dog has been back, and Gunnar has to fill in a hole once more.

       Desdemona Capp walks by and is greeted by Gunnar. The week ends with him and Desdemona becoming friends (and nothing more just yet).

Who will the last three ladies on Gunnar's list be? And what will he do once he has reached his LTW? Is he ever going to do something about his financial situation, or stick to his modest lifestyle?

The Riley-Cho Family: Update 15.09.2014

For the previous chapter at his household, you can click here. 

It is a Sunday in mid-winter when we return to the Rileys. Maybe you remember the somewhat unusual setup of this family; if not, let me briefly remind you of who lives here, and what their relations are:

Here is Etsu Riley, nee Cho. Her mother Vivian has long died. She was considerably older than her second husband, Timothy Riley. After Vivian's death, Timothy found out he had feelings for Etsu other than what he should have towards his adoptive daughter. I didn't really like it, but three bolts are three bolts - and they weren't blood-relatives, anyway - so I allowed Etsu and Timothy to act upon their strong attraction for each other and marry. Timothy died last round.

Sally Riley, Timothy's daughter and "big sis" to Etsu during their childhood and youth, is still here as well. After she reached her LTW last round, she was finally ready to settle down with her 3-bolt-man Hal Capp. Hal took the Riley surname when they got married. Originally, Hal had moved in as Etsu's boyfriend... they had a son together, Charlie Cho, but Hal and Sally were never able to deny how they felt about each other. It took everyone (including myself!) a while to get adusted to the love carousel at this household, but they are all fine now.
 

Etsu and Hal's son Charlie has just graduated Summa Cum Laude in Philosophy and moves back in with his family. Etsu is proud of his great results at uni, and hopes her son will reach his LTW of becoming City Planner soon.

In the afternoon, Clover Newson (one of Tybal Capp's plantchildren-turned-human who married into the Newson family) passes by this afternoon and is greeted by Sally.

Unlike other households, here I have them greet not only the playables, but also every townie that walks by. Charlie has the Silver Cosmetology Badge and I would very much like to see him with a Gold Badge - I don't think I've ever had that in my game before, and so I give him as many opportunities for practising as possible.

It's green hair for Clover Newson - Charlie thinks it suits him, and Clover is delighted with his new look, too :-)

But haven't we forgotten someone else who lives here? Not forgotten, no. Just waited for them to get up :-) This is Meike Riley, Sally and Hal's daughter.

Stephen Riley is Etsu and Timothy's child. So, through Sally (being Timothy's biological daughter and Stephen's much older half-sister), the children are related - just don't ask me what they are! Neither half-siblings nor cousins, that's for sure.

Meike likes to be in the limelight and entertains her mother and Charlie in the living room.

Stephen is a much quieter child and prefers having his mother read him a story.

Meike meets and greets Giselle Goth (one of Alexander Goth's half-Alien twins)...

...and Caroline Capp.

One of her wishes on Monday was to learn physiology. She is a bright child and learns quickly.

There are several toys dotted around the house. This brick is one of the most popular ones.

Coming home from school, Stephen happily presents his first A+ report.

The three elderly Sims in this household are all on PermaPlat and so I only control them to make sure passers-bys are greeted and the bills are paid. Perseida Powers and Castanea Landgraab (background) are on the guest list this Monday afternoon.

Charlie really liked the green hair on Clover Newson, and proceeds to do something similar for Castanea. She is another one of Tybalt's plantchildren and has unfortunately inherited his down-turned mouth. But when she smiles at her new look, she looks pretty!

On Tuesday morning, Charlie finds a job in the architectural career. He is now a Draftsman.

Before school, Steve and Meike play upstairs in their room.

Melody Tinker is greeted by Hal Capp like a long lost friend. I can't remember now whether they knew each other at uni or something.

Next on today's guest list is Pleasant Servo. and I find out that you can't give Servos a makeover with the cosmetology chair.

Zoe Zimmermann appears at the same time as the school bus. It is Meike's turn today to bring home her first A+ report.

Steve makes a snow angel on his own accord.

Early on Wednesday morning, I catch Etsu tucking her little boy in. I know it's just a computer game, but I find this and the fact that Sim-children hug their parents when they come home from work rather touching.

Charlie is promoted to Architect.

Hal's day as a Celebrity Chef didn't go so well. He took the wrong decision with a chance card and was demoted. Never mind - he remains on Permanent Platinum, and by the looks of him you wouldn't think anything went amiss today.

It is Thursday morning and the computer downstairs has broken down. Charlie successfully fixes it. He needs more mechanical skill anyway, so I have him do such jobs instead of calling the repair service.

Hal surprises me by taking care of the old newspapers that have been accumulating on the front porch.

Shaun Singles has been walking by, and before he is even greeted by anyone, he salvages the trash can (and finds something to eat... yuck!).

Meike has brought home Giselle Goth from school. Charlie can't believe the little girl is telling her class mate about the time when her parents got married, and the unusual setup of the family! Giselle clearly can't make head or tail of this story.

Hal is back to Celebrity Chef already.

On Friday morning, a convenient bug I have observed several times in my game means Meike maximizes her body skill within minutes by skipping rope.

In the afternoon, before they get down to their homework, Meike and Steven happily play with their firefighters' car. This will be the last time you get to see them as children.

Charlie has been promoted to Architectural Planner.

Within seconds of each other, Meike and Steve turn into teenagers. Meike ends up with the Popularity Aspiration and the LTW of becoming The Law, while Steve turns out to be a Fortune Sim who dreams of being a Space Pirate.

Here's another shot of our latest New Maximiliania's teens.

It is Saturday, and Steve makes use of his free time by playing The Sims 3.

Nothing much happens today. The only thing worth mentioning is Charlie giving Meike a new pair of specs.

How much longer until Charlie will finally have his Golden Badge for Cosmetology? It seems to be taking forever!
Is Etsu going to find another man to love? She has constantly been rolling wants for flirting and kissing, although about nobody in particular, and she does not know any single men her age.
Will Charlie soon be on Permanent Platinum, too, and what about his non-existent love life?
Are Steve and Meike going to go to college?