Maxis Lot Makeovers- Sim State's Campus Coffee House
I've been ill with a nasty upper respiratory virus for like 3 weeks now and can say in all truth that I am completely and totally sick of being sick. It is making me very, very grumpy. My kids can attest to my lack of good humor and are thrilled when something keeps my attention off them right now- Needless to say they are very pleased when I plug into my game for a little while. Lucky for them I've been in a building/decorating/remodeling kind of mood and that can keep me busy for a decent amount of time. Who would have thought that The Sims could be used as a tool for family harmony and peace, huh?
But anyway... I've been working on fixing up Maxis lots. I've hit a few of the Downtown and Sim State Campus lots, making things pretty for my Calypso Island Legacy family and then I will be using these same lots over in my Twinkie Town sub-hoods. A number of weeks back I posted a lot makeover for Sim State's Central Quad and this time I'll be showing off my remodel of the Campus Coffee House.
Campus Coffee House
"Craving a steaming cup of coffee? Stop in at the Campus Coffee House to wet your whistle."
I'll admit to not using this lot much in the past. No specific reason really, I just had no reason to send anybody there. Unlike a number of other Maxis lots it wasn't completely horrible, but just wasn't very exciting and there always seemed to be better places to have my sims wander off to visit. I think the Maxis version of the Campus Coffee House can be summed up in one word- B O R I N G.
I like to think my new and improved Campus Coffee House is NOT boring and has a much warmer feeling to it now, a "come and stay for a while" kind of vibe to it. Now it is an inviting spot for the college kids to come and hang out between classes, maybe meet up for a group study get together or coffee date. Maybe take part in a poetry slam even.
This was BEFORE-
Like I said, not horrific, just really boring. The exterior is kind of blah, dull grey stone walls and sparse landscaping. Not much curb appeal, though I do like the little grilling patio and pond/water feature to the side of the building. The interior consists of a small bathroom, fireplace, coffee bar, register area so sims can purchase magazines from a magazine display, piped in music, and limited seating. I don't completely hate it, but it could be improved, big time..
This is AFTER-
I didn't do any major modifications to the building itself, just made cosmetic changes. I added black brick edging to match the bricks that were used in the Central Quad makeover next door, better looking brick exterior walls, increased the landscaping and outdoor lighting, threw down a few benches, and set up a small display area for folks to post campus news and concert info. The small pond area got upgraded with the addition of a couple pretty fountains and more plants and rocks around it.
Inside the new and improved coffee house-
Walking in the front door and looking to the left you have the main seating area surrounding a small stage for poetry slams or for sims to play an instrument. Comfy leather chairs and a few loveseats are grouped together, inviting folks to stop and lounge for a little while while bookcases and scattered books and magazines are available to allow them do group research or just lose themselves in a good book for a short time.
The original coffee bar and register have been relocated to the right side of the room (next to the door to the 2 stall bathroom) leaving a nice clear space in front of them- good for keeping lines orderly during finals week when the college population suddenly has a massive craving for caffeine to help them stay awake while studying and show up en mass or if somebody got a wild idea and wanted to dance to the stereo.
I liked the fireplace in the Maxis original, but couldn't figure out where to put one in the new set up so I deleted it. I also got rid of the magazine rack since nobody in my game buys magazines anymore (not since they started getting delivered with Freetime), but added in a small jewelry display and a display of stuffed llamas for purchase. Well, technically they can't really buy those specific llamas from the shop because it isn't set up for OFB type transactions, but I could totally picture a college coffee shop selling little school mascots and trinkets like keychains and necklaces so I went with it.
For the times when no sims are using the stage there is a classic record player and stereo available to play music on, and because I think this could be a cute date spot I also threw in a photo booth for random picture taking wants and for those sims who just can't keep their hands off each other and are romantically thwarted by only having single beds in their dorms.
* Just have to give a little credit to the folks that take their time to make content for our games, like all the cute TS3 Uni conversions I used in here. I love, love, love CC and am so thankful for the people who make original TS2 content and who have converted so many of the TS3 objects for our TS2 games. Thanks so much to our wonderful custom content creators out there!