Tutorials / View Tutorial
By Illiana on Apr 19, 2008 • Create Beautiful Kitchen Islands
This tutorial will walk you through creating an interesting kitchen island block using certain cheats that come in the game, but don’t let that limit your imagination! Once you get the hang of it, you can create built-in bookshelves, beautiful baths, and many other fabulous architectural features!
Download PDF »Even if you’ve never used a cheat before, you will be able to easily create a beautiful kitchen island using this tutorial! Once you’ve mastered these cheats, other building adventures will be easy enough to accomplish.
*NOTE - Remember that using these cheats to combine items will add polygons to each grid square, so be careful about using high polygon count items to build.
REQUIREMENTS:
These cheats can be used without any EPs whatsoever; in fact I am only using the Base Game to create this tutorial! :D
Step 1.
Build your kitchen in the style you prefer, and leave a large space in the center with at least one space all the way around for your Sims.
(I will be building a simple kitchen in this example, but as long as there is at least one space all the way around your island for Sims to maneuver you can build your kitchen any way you would like. )
Step 2.
Decide where you want your island to be and place your counters as you see in the picture.
I have placed a sink and dishwasher in my island, but you can also put a stove there, or just counters if you’d like.
Step 3.
Add a fence of some type, or half-wall (if you have the EPs for that option).
This just fills up the space between counters. However, if you have the patience, you can also use these cheats to carefully move the outside counters so there is no space between them. I have used the “Ancient Guardian Rock Wall” in this example.
Step 4.
Choose a thin column and place it next to your island, then get ready to cheat!
In smaller kitchens, thin columns prevent movement problems with Sims. If you decide to use a thicker column, bear in mind that the polygon count is usually higher and it can prevent the “smooth, built-in” look you are trying to get…not to mention causing movement problems for your Sims.
Step 5.
Enter the two cheats we will need to properly place our column. (It is important that you type the cheats exactly as I have typed them below. Some people use capitals to separate the words, but I have never needed this for it to work in my game.)
*First, type CTRL and SHIFT and C all at the same time to open up the cheat box.
*Type boolprop snapobjectstogrid false in the box that opens at the top of your screen. Then press enter on your keyboard.
*Once the cheat box closes, open it up again.
*Now type in moveobjects on. Hit enter.
You should now have two cheats on at the same time. If it gives you an error, and a big box opens where the cheat box was, you have typed in the cheat incorrectly. Type the cheat in again and double check that you have typed it correctly this time. Hit enter. Then type the word exit in the cheat boxand press the enter button to close the cheat box. Once the cheats are active, you will be able to position the column anywhere you want in your game.
Step 6.
Carefully place your column so that it is positioned exactly between the counters.
This step just requires patience and a steady hand.
Step 7.
Now, just add another column the same way to the other side so it looks like the pic below…
Step 8.
Add lighting, upper cabinets, or other decorative items between the columns with the cheats STILL ON to add interest if you wish.
Using upper cabinets looks REALLY nice, but pan racks look fantastic as well.
Step 9.
Turn OFF the cheats!
* Open the cheat box (CTRL/SHIFT/C).
* Type in boolprop snapobjectstogrid true and hit enter.
* Open the cheat box again.
* Type in moveobjects off and hit enter.
Your cheats should now been disabled. If you try to move any items you’ve just placed now they will move automatically to a grid square. If this happens on accident, just hit the UNDO button and it will go back where it belongs.
You really can create stunning kitchens with more variety if you are careful. One last thing, Sims don’t like to actually EAT at islands created this way, although they will place things on them and use items you have placed there just fine. If you would like your Sims to actually eat at the islands, just leave 2 spaces on each end of your counters where the columns will be, and don’t turn on the “moveobjects on” cheat. This will prevent you from actually attaching the columns to the counter thus affecting its use by your Sims. Happy Building!
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31 Comment(s) posted so far
On Jan 23, 2009 grandmajam_of6 wrote:
So that's how you do it! Thanks Illiana!
On Jan 24, 2009 goldapple wrote:
I'm glad I came across this tutorial!!! I can hardly wait to go read it. Thank you!
On Jan 31, 2009 Myst1 wrote:
I too am very glad I found this. Thank you so much,I was clueless.
On Feb 4, 2009 missnikki wrote:
I'm glad I came across this tutorial
On Feb 21, 2009 matomibotaki wrote:
On Mar 2, 2009 paotreta wrote:
OMG!!!!
thank you very much!
On Mar 5, 2009 ofelia13 wrote:
Great tutorial!
On Mar 6, 2009 guitarman wrote:
This was very intresting,thank you.
On Mar 26, 2009 cazarupt wrote:
thankyou! This will be very helpful for me to build my lots!
On Apr 6, 2009 nina_guillen wrote:
thx..............
On Apr 7, 2009 imdelilah wrote:
i'm very happy i found this tutorial! thanks so much!
On May 19, 2009 smdnmdd1997 wrote:
Thanks for the tutorial! I'm always afraid to use the boolprop cheats, but have started to recently, with LOTS of care!!
On Jun 18, 2009 rae rae wrote:
Thank you so much! I have never been able to do this cheat and now I can! I'm forever grateful to you for this detailed explanation.
On Aug 4, 2009 lilbit4 wrote:
Thank you for taking the time to write this tutorial , it was so easy to follow.
On Sep 17, 2009 snakelady_foxcreek wrote:
What a wonderful job on your tutorial! It's easy to understand & also enjoyable to read!
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge & skill with us ~ Greatly appreciated!
On Sep 18, 2009 asimons70 wrote:
So glad I read this! All I could think while reading it, though, was "Duuhhh!! Why didn't I think of that?!" Again, thank you. I'm using this idea right away.
On Dec 21, 2009 PookiePooh wrote:
---`thank you for tellinq me thiis.!
On Feb 3, 2010 JuneJamie wrote:
I can't figure out how to put the fence between the two counters. It won't go on that dotted line of the grid only at the intersections of the solid lines. Is there some way the game has to be modified first?
On May 6, 2010 Wannabee16 wrote:
Thanx
On May 31, 2010 judith_fso wrote:
thanks!
On Jun 13, 2010 JoshuaSJF wrote:
Wow! This is so great!
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful nugget of creative genius with us. 
On Jun 29, 2010 johnholder wrote:
Super Thanks very much.
On Aug 13, 2010 blittyer943 wrote:
ummmm.... it didnt work 4 me
On Sep 19, 2010 Wizard2k44 wrote:
Thanks for the tutorial
can't wait to try it 
On Dec 30, 2010 FemGamerPlayer wrote:
Thanks for this tutorial! I like kitchen islands, but haven't been able to create them in my game before because they just look too weird and/or the kitchen is too small.. But now I can create great-looking kitchen islands! Now I can finally actually use the hanging pot racks that came with kithcen & bath stuff, too. They look too weird free-hanging IMO! Just a little tip for any fellow kitchen island-builders that might read this: I would use only the type of counter the chairs are facing (that is, the type that doesn't have the little "lip" that goes up about one click and rests against the wall to make realistic looking against-the-wall counters) for kitchen islands. In my opinion, it'll look much more realistic that way (since, personally, I've never seen a kitchen island in real life that has what I call the "wall lip" on it!)!
On Jan 21, 2011 iamdestinystar wrote:
this is gonna be sweet
im surprised maxis didnt make a way to make nice islands :/
On May 14, 2011 kristie91 wrote:
well this will certainly give life to my kitchens... I've never been much of a decorator but that makes me want to spice things up!
On Jun 28, 2011 eirinik wrote:
hi! nice job!
On Nov 30, 2011 original-title wrote:
Great idea for me to use when building kitchens. I'm always looking for ways to improve and add interest to my building
On Jan 23, 2012 patiam321 wrote:
Good Work!
On Feb 22, 2012 sharron berry wrote:
This was so helpful
Thanks