Le Grand Palace

Created by: Lightside

This sprawling, regal estate uses almost every square inch of the immense lot to heighten its sense of opulence. Features that make this lot such a standout include the central pond, the wing-shaped design of the house itself, and the creative garden labyrinth in the back.

That’s a perfect place for children to play. Le Grand Palace is loaded with living space, which makes it great lot for a large household or a Sim who constantly throws parties for the whole town.

The House

Let’s look at some of the tricks employed to create the manor’s dynamic appearance.

Note the shape of the outer walls. The indentations every 10 or so feet give the exterior of the house real texture. These small alcoves gather shadows and give the exterior some character. However, these alcoves are not entirely practical for room shapes. Look at how the designer left some empty space and created an extra interior wall to smooth the inside of the manor wings.

The outside is allowed some of those alcoves, but the interior wall is smoothed off. Because this interior wall prevents the exterior windows from looking in on a nicely decorated room, painting the interior wall is critical for appearances.

Let’s bring it down one more floor. Here, you can see just how powerful the Wall tool is. Try to think of it as more than just the means of closing off a room. It is a way to create interesting living space shapes. Check out the exterior of the entire lot.

Those small “towers” that line the lot and anchor the fence line were created with just the Wall tool. Plaster the exterior with a cement or stucco texture and you have a nice small tower.

Create different shapes in the towers and then link them with fences to fashion a dynamic “wall” for the exterior of your lot.

The Labyrinth

The hedge maze is one of those cool ideas that you have to see somebody else create to think of it yourself. Again, this is a testament to the versatility of Build Mode. You get all of these pieces that seem to have specific uses, but to get the most out of them, you need to free yourself of preconceptions. Those hedges don’t have to line driveways or property—they can create a cool labyrinth. This kind of thing gets your lot noticed on The Exchange.

This labyrinth was made with the High Shrubbery from the fence collection. To make the maze, just pull small pieces along to make a path. Maximize the space you designate for your labyrinth by starting from the outside and working in.

The Pool

The pool is another remarkable feature on this lot. It defies the common idea of a swimming pool by creating fun shapes in the water. You are not stuck with just a rectangle. Think bigger and more elaborate, like this designer did. Create a pool with unique islands in the center so your Sims have an interesting space to explore.Don’t just leave those islands empty. Place a cherry tree in the center of the pool. You don’t have to worry about roots bursting through the sides of your pool.

The Pond

The pond that decorates the courtyard looks expensive but is relatively cheap to make. The three cattails that mark the pond are just §10 each, but they give the pond needed texture. After placing the three cattails in the pond at different intervals, start sinking it with the Water tool. The square brush works best.

You can sink the pond and then use the terrain leveller to create the dimensions of the pond itself. Once you have done that, you can section off the pond with short shrubbery from the fence category.

The House Interior

Much of the house interior is left blank. Consider the rooms your canvas and imagine what you would fill a mansion with. The central area where the two wings meet is very regal. The sitting room upstairs has lots of seating.

The lighting is essential to complete the look of the room, as it cannot be too modern. Old’s Kool candle fixtures on the wall are a nice touch.

Use art that matches your theme. The Prince of Pickleburp is practically made for an estate like this.