This one’s been in the making for quite some time. I was inspired by the Barneveld Noord railway station designed by NL Architects:
Obviously, there’s no need for a train station in TS4, so I was originally going to create a residence out of it. I had most of the structure in place when the announcement for Get To Work expansion came out, and I fell in love with the idea of creating an art gallery that could also function as a home business. I wasn’t sure what to do once the gurus said we wouldn’t be able to run home businesses, but after the expansion was released, people figured out how to do it. Since then, I’ve worked steadily to complete the build.
I expanded the space but designed it to preserve the structural and aesthetic essence of the original build’s solid blocks over glass by adding a 3rd level that is mostly glass, corresponding to the ground level. For a lot of the décor, I focused on working with the crystals and other objects that can be found in the debug menu. Now that most debug objects transfer to the Gallery, it’s an opportunity to really get creative and design some beautiful structures.
If you’d prefer to skip the avalanche of images below and head straight for a video tour, I’ve got one here. So many of the features are animated, and the static images don’t really do them justice. I also show some of the Get To Work retail gameplay in the video.
If you’re continuing on with the blog, here are some additional shots of the exterior:
And here is the entrance into the Gallery:
For the artwork, I wanted to make use of the new photography and paint by reference skills in Get To Work, and after experimenting, I decided that I would go with a sort of neon nights theme – lots of images of lights, crystals, and the animated objects in the game (like the Laser Light Show promo object) by night.
The gallery is confined to the ground floor. Here are my pictures of the pictures! These images of the interior were taken at night, so that you can really see the glow of the crystals and the vivid nature of the images.
As you can see, there is a good number and selection of photos and paintings to sell, and there is quite a range in prices too (photos are super cheap – too cheap in my opinion). One annoying thing is that photo frames are not preserved when the lot is transferred to the Gallery, so unfortunately, your sim will need to re-frame them (I hope EA will fix that soon!).
Also on the ground floor is a public bathroom where I wanted to play a bit with shapes and colors. I wanted to sort of cut off the two sinks as if in a mirror image. It was fun how the new Get To Work mirror actually reversed its own colors in the main mirror too:
When they’re done checking out the exhibits (and using the bathroom), sims can exit the ground floor to find a relaxing outdoor area with a crystal themed water feature. A static image doesn’t really do it justice; you’ve really got to see it in action.
Here are some overhead shots so that you can get a better feel for the ground level. First, the entire property:
A closer look at the gallery:
Layout of the bathroom:
Moving upstairs, the 2nd level provides a photography studio, lounge, painting area, gym, 3 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms. Let’s start with the landing:
I was playing a lot with primary colors on this level as well as creating my own sculptural elements. When sims arrive, they can head left to a room with a view that has been designated as a painter’s haven:
I deliberately chose the loud rugs with swirls of color you see here, as they reminded me of actual brush strokes. There is also space in the room for guests to relax, have a drink, and enjoy the artist(s) at work:
Turning right from the stairs, there is a lounge for sims that are waiting for their shot in the photography studio. It features a vanity and dresser so that they can get their primping and prepping done just outside the studio.
The two slatted doors lead to the photography studio itself. All of the shots in here are of sims I have created, and most are in keeping with the neon nights theme.
Across from the studio are two bedrooms, the first themed for adults:
The second, themed for children/teens:
Down the hall is a full bathroom:
And a gym:
And last but not least, an extremely spacious master suite with attached full bathroom. I really tried to make this space special in a lot of ways, especially with my own sculptures, styling effects, and a modern, animated fireplace (inspired by CrazyMattSims wonderful Amsterdam Modern room in which he used crystals to simulate the flames). Here are some images of the space:
Static images of the fireplace don’t really do it justice, as it is actually animated. Take a look at the video tour or check it out in game, and I think you’ll like it!
The room features an extra large walk-in closet as well as an attached master bath. Since the bathroom is open to the bedroom, I kept some of its color by sticking with the turquoise, but switched to yellow as a complimentary color (I’ve got a little yellow running elsewhere through the level too, so it ties together). Bonus points if you recognize something familiar in the shot above. 🙂 Here is a closer look at the bathroom:
And that’s it for the 2nd level. Let’s take a look at the overall layout via the overhead shots:
Closer look at the studio and surrounding areas:
Closer look at the two neighboring bedrooms:
Closer look at the master bedroom and bath with a bit of the gym showing up (in the lower left):
Moving on up to the third and final level, you’ll find open plan living, lounging, kitchen, and dining as well as another full bathroom. Here, I’ve brought it back to a cooler color palette and more of the neon theme. First, let’s look at the landing:
The clock is a nod to the original Barneveld Noord’s clock. You can glimpse a bit of the living room around the corner.
I had fun with height adjustments in this area in order to create a unique, stretched coffee table, and of course there is an assortment of crystals to embrace the overall theme. You may not be able to tell by these shots, but the painting on the wall is a paint by reference my sim created of lighting art on a lot that I love, Manga Girl House by CobayanBBQ.
I always have to throw a little mirror play into my builds somewhere, and that was the case surrounding this fireplace. Heading left from the living room, there is a fun, colorful reading nook:
And moving on from there, on either side of building, there are bars with seating at the windows for an awesome view:
Continue from the bars to the kitchen area, divided on both sides, with the sink and refrigerator on one side:
And the stove and trash can on the other. You can see that a counter along the perpendicular wall bridges the two spaces:
Proceed beyond the kitchen to the large, open dining area. I threw some orange in here as I felt it helped to differentiate the space a bit and add some new interest:
And finally on this level, is another full bathroom, done in a similar style to the ground floor bathroom, again sort of carving up the space and making a bold color statement:
Here are the overheads for this final level:
Closer look at the bathroom layout:
And because this is a night themed gallery, it wouldn’t do to leave you without shots of the exterior at night:
This concludes our tour; I hope you enjoyed it! Vivid Art Gallery can be placed on a 40×30 lot (I built it on Municipal Muses in Willow Creek). Now you might want to sit down, because it costs a whopping $509,871 simoleans to purchase! It’s definitely not a starter business, but from my play testing, once you can afford it, it will earn you some good money. In the meantime, you could always just place it in your world and do a little shopping for home décor. Click here to download the build from the online Gallery. Or, if you prefer, you can search for it in the game Gallery by its name, or by my hashtag, #bryscreations.
Note that in order to retain the lighting colors and intensities, you should add the home to your lot in build mode rather than via Manage Worlds.
If you experience any oddities during placement or play, I do apologize. I tested this build to the best of my ability, both from a play testing perspective and in placing it from my Library (several times!).
Thank you for your interest in my creations!