Vieux Carre Venues

After my virtual tour of Bourbon Street, I decided to remake the House of Voodoo and Magic along with half the block that is located next to it IRL. Here are the results - it uses quite a bit of EA Store content (the Elixer Store in particular features the Old Town Kit, The Magic Set, and the African Inspirations Collection - with a little Gothique thrown in). It was play-tested and has no CC (checked with Custard).

Download here: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=6928812

 

 

 

On the left you will find Simfritzel's Jazz Club. This is where all the musicians in town like to come jam and where sims like to hang out listening to R&B.

 

 

The upstairs to the Club has some dancing and entertainment of it's own, including access to the balcony for sim watching.

 

 

 

In the center of the block you will find the Bourbon Street Resale Shoppe (consignment store).

 

 

And on the right is Cherie Simveaux's House of Voodoo and Magic (also available as a separate download in my studio; the design is similar but slighly different).

 

 

 



 

So now that the latest lots are uploaded and posted, I guess I will go update to the latest patch. ;)

Google Earth and the House of Voodoo

Over the weekend I figured out how to use Google Earth to view pictures of an area I'm researching. It was pretty cool - I took a "virtual stroll" down Bourbon Street in New Orleans. :D

I got this idea to create an Elixer Consignment Shop for The Sims 3 using a New Orleans theme. So I present to you Cherie Simveaux's House of Voodoo and Magic.

Download here: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=6928768

It may not look like much on the outside, but on the inside, it is something else! ;)

Come visit and learn all about local legend Cherie's life and beliefs; and don't forget to pick up some potions and souvenirs for all your friends!

House Hunters New Orleans: part 2

So the second part of this contest is the actual house. Someone posted a picture of a colorful house in the Garden District and I just got inspired to build it in The Sims 3. In my research of the city I learned that this area of New Orleans, the Garden District, was originally a town called Lafayette. When the new "Americans" came to the port city of New Orleans to make their fortunes, they were snubbed by the 'old money' elites in the French Quarter so they started their own community, competing with one another to build the most elaborate homes.

I wasn't sure what to do with the interior so I spent some time looking at some New Orleans homes that had rooms to rent out on Airbnb.com. Since the outside of the house I wanted to build was so colorful, I choose to go with the colorful interior colors that some homes in NOLA have  (NOLA stands for New Orleans Lousiana in case you don't know - I didn't!). I'm sure the layout I ended up with is not really accurate but I wasn't able to find any online examples of floor plans from that time period (circa 1860).

I originally made the house on a 20x30 lot but I needed to extend the house by one tile in order to make the front door that I wanted to use work. So I ended up moving it to a 30x30 lot so that I could also provide a parking space "with a secuity gate".

The reason I put that last thing in quotes is because it turns out that this house is really for sale! Someone on the thread posted a link to a NOLA house for sale on a real estate site and after looking at it I did a search for homes in the Garden district, and there it was! There were a handful of photos provided and I was kind of shocked to find out that the house does have rather colorful interiors, although the colors are more muted than the ones I choose. I made a few changes as a result of the online pics of the real house - I changed the color of the dining room (but decided not to go with wallpaper), made the kitchen red, and created a faux fireplace area to place the stove, based on a photo of the kitchen. I also added a parking space "with a security gate" and changed the molding to a painted white color based on the fact that they typically paint wood there to help preserve it from mold.

Based on a picture I accessed on Google Earth, I may someday rebuild the place on a larger lot. The real house has 5 BRs and bathrooms, not 3, and the backyard is larger. Granted the scale is off in TS3 and adjustments have to be made for that, but for my house to feel like a grand mansion to me I would like to make it larger. Of course if I do that I may not be happy with the house scale! LOL The house also has what looks like a one-story addition on the back of the house that probably includes a family room and maybe a bar...somewhere. I guess I would have to make that part up. ;-)

Here are the pics of the house that I am entering in the contest:

Front Entry Hall

Living Room

It's not shown in these pictures but I actually ended up switching the sofas - the green is now in front of the fireplace, and the grey is off to the side where the green one was. Every time I even look at the house I think of something else to change. (rolls eyes)

The Library

The kitchen, of course.

Dining Room

Main floor powder room

Now for the upstairs; here is the landing. Through the yellow door straight ahead is the second floor outdoor balcony.

Through this door on the opposite side of the landing you will find the laundry room.

Through this door there is a small second floor balcony at the back of the house.

To the right of the laundry room is the bedroom that is being used as an art studio.

Here is the guest room for visitors and out of town family members.

Upstairs/Guest Bath

And here is the Master Bedroom.

And the Master Bathroom.

And that wraps up the tour of the house interior. Now we finish the tour with the back of the house.

The tour wouldn't be complete without a look at the back patio and garden.

Thank you for touring this Garden District house in New Orleans. Call me if you want to make an offer on the house. :-D