Room Reno #93: Backyard Pool

Welcome back to Room Reno #93 here at The Sims Resource! Today we’re helping a Sim who wants to turn her bland backyard into the ultimate summer hangout. Let’s meet the Sim we’re helping!

Meet Sasha!

Sasha recently moved to Brindleton Bay after inheriting a home from a distant relative. Strangely, she never met the relative before they left the house to her, and and nobody else in her family seems to recall them, either…but that’s probably not a big deal, right? Haunted houses aren’t this beautiful!

Well, they aren’t until the residents start running away from all the ghosts and then there’s nobody to upkeep the landscaping and interiors. But this is Sasha’s house now, so let’s work on making this haunted backyard a little less haunted, alright? She deserves a home that doesn’t look outwardly haunted to visitors! Maybe the ghosts are friendly, and it’ll be like the show Ghosts where she forms relationships with them! Or it’ll be like Haunting of Hill House, which… ended pretty differently from Ghosts, as far as I know. I don’t like to watch spooky things so the ghosts think I like them. Anyway! Let’s see what we’re working with.

The Before

This is a pretty basic backyard. It’s huge, and spans the entire length of the (frankly massive) house, but it’s almost completely empty. Weird. Almost like ghosts stole all of the furniture that was supposed to be out there. Or that the furniture was in storage for the winter (Does anyone else have problems with Sims trying to go swimming in the middle of winter? One of my Sims has almost frozen to death multiple times because he always wants to swim during snowstorms. Why do they do that?). Those two reasons are probably equally likely. Not like ghosts exist and are playable in The Sims, or anything ;). Anyway, because the backyard is almost completely empty, there’s a ton of potential for how it can be updated!

Sasha didn’t have a specific preference when requesting this renovation – just space to entertain and to keep some kind of swimming pool for the hot summers in Brindleton Bay. One of the first thoughts I had about this is to expand the deck that connects to the house so that there’s more entertaining space with some kind of sun covering so the Sims at the parties Sasha likes to throw don’t get sunburnt. The yard directly off the porch should probably be the pool, moved from its current space on the far end of the yard so it’s more centrally located. All that extra space on the far side of the yard is going to be the most challenging to figure out for sure! Let’s get planning.

The Planning

Looking at the plans for this yard, you might be wondering what I plan on doing with all this extra space off to the left. The answer may shock you – I’m not using it! That’s right, I’m cutting off part of the yard using a hedge – fence and not using the entire space! I think one of the smartest things a builder can do is to work in a limited space – when you try to tackle too big of an area at once, it can get incredibly overwhelming and the quality of the build (or decorating) can suffer. And this yard is so long, and so rectangular, that cutting it off feels like the best course of action.

Sasha has a dog, so the other half of the yard can be used to let the pupper out to use the bathroom or to go out and run around instead of as extra entertaining space. Don’t be afraid to make your builds smaller than you think you want to! Usually, building a smaller structure (or moving the structure to a smaller lot with less empty space around it) benefits the build overall, but just remember: this is a suggestion for the beginner builders out there, not a hard and fast rule. Splitting the yard in half was a bit of a tough decision, but once I had made it, the rest of the planning fell into place. The pool went across from the expanded deck, a lounge area went to the left of the pool, and a fire pit goes to the right of it. Let’s get building!

The After

This yard looks a lot less haunted than it did when I started! I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed this, but Brindleton Bay tends to be lit a lot darker than many of the other worlds. It tends to look like there’s a heavy cloud layer over it, even on bright and sunny days in the middle of summer. All that to say, this pool brings some bright and sunny vibes to an otherwise dark and spooky yard, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. I love the fancy poolside chairs (which look a lot comfier than the ones with slats that you can fall through!) and the little table in between them for snacks and drinks.

The porch (patio?) has a lot of the outdoor entertaining essentials for the Sim who loves to host (and Sasha loves to host ghosts!). The fancy grill is a favorite of mine, especially with the built in counters on the sides to put plates or platters on instead of having to rush to a table and leave the other foods to burn. Food can be served at the comfy seating area with the couch and loveseat or brought out to eat by the pool at the umbrella table and chair set I placed in the corner. Finally, a fire pit makes for the perfect outdoor space – it’s great for cool summer nights into chilly autumn ones, and makes for great times with loved ones (and the ghosts who live in your house).

Thanks for checking out Room Reno #93! If you liked this blog, check out Room Reno #92: Indoor/Outdoor or our Barbie movie inspired lookbook. Looking for something else? Read about summer CC looks for the whole family or check out our Gilmore Girls inspired lookbook! Have a great day 😎