With The Sims 4 now on Steam, maybe you’re just jumping into the game for the first time. Or perhaps you’re a grizzled Sims 4 player and just wanted to start over. Whatever the reason, you’ll be starting from the ground up. There’s a lot to get to grips with in The Sims 4 — buildings to plan, houses to decorate, all night parties to attend — so we’ve put together this list of the best Sims 4 mods on Steam you can use to make getting started again or for the first time that much easier. Best of all, many of these don’t require any expansions and can be used straight away in Sims 4. All of these are absolutely free to download from TSR, and we also offer a VIP experience for the Sims superfan.
New Sulani: Fine Start Home
If you think starter home means nothing exotic, you’re wrong. And Lhonna’s New Sulani: Fine Start home proves it. At just over 17,000 Simoleons, it’s within any Sims’ price range. You get a tropical retreat with one bedroom and one bathroom. It’s an open floor plan, so there’s plenty of space to get comfortable in. New Sulani comes with everything you need too, from a comfy sofa to kitchenware, and even a porch table with umbrella. The open shutters and large windows help let the light in and keep things feeling airy as well. But if you need to step outside, you’ve got a huge, bright porch waiting for you.
Annie Starter Home
Annie’s Starter from daisie2 is a good step up for the growing Sim family. Where others on this list are for one Sim or a couple, the Annie home has two bedrooms. Outside might look like a colorful take on the classic Americana house style. But inside is a different story. It’s a bohemian paradise, full of rich colors and eclectic designs. These extend all the way through the house, from the bathroom to the child’s bedroom too. It might be on a 20×15 lot, but Annie’s Starter does a lot with the space it has.
La Petite Living Starter Home
This adorable La Petite Living starter house from ALGbuilds is excellent if you’re just getting started. La Petite Living is basically what its name suggests. You’ve got a pretty small house here, a one bed/one bath home on a 20×15 lot. “Pretty” in that description is more than just a modifier, though. It really is a classic, pretty home on the outside and inside. A wicker swing and some hedges adorn the front porch, while inside is all modern. Chic black and white furnishings blend with similar wallpaper. The sun room plays host to a comfy set of wicker furniture and, of course, a stellar view.
Katarina Dining Room
Maybe you’ve already bought or built your house and you’re just looking for some nice, room-specific furnishings. Severinka’s Katarina Dining Room is a full and versatile dining set that, while exuding rustic charm, would still make a cozy fit for any Sim house. It includes everything featured in the above image, even the sideboard, cupboard, cushions, and rug. Don’t like brown? No problem. There’s two other color options, including dark wood, and the cushions have two color options as well. It’s versatility definitely makes it one of the best Sims 4 mods for Steam.
Olivier Dining Room
The Olivier Dining Room from jomsims is a nice counterpoint to the Katarina set for the Sim house that needs more texture. The solid and sturdy large pieces like the table and cupboard are offset with lighter wicker chairs; two large house plants provide a pleasant touch of green. The mirror on the far well helps, as always, create the illusion of more space too, in case you’re working with a smaller dining area. Like the Katarina set, the Olivier set lets you pick between three colors: black, white, and natural brown.
Natura Room
The Natura Room from kardofe is another versatile set that accommodates styles like eco and alpine, alongside desert and minimalist. It includes all the living room essentials, like a comfy sofa and large coffee table, some shelving with plenty of knicknacks, houseplants (cacti in this case), and a nice rug to set everything off. You’ll choose from three different colors as well. And they all blend nicely with nearly any other color scheme in your house: the white shown above, mustard yellow, and deep green.
Palmyra Kids’ Room
Whether your own Sim is still in the child phase or you’re needing ideas for your own Sims baby, your Sims house is going to need at least one child-themed room. That’s where Severinka’s Palmyra kids’ room comes in. However, we rather think it could be a room for any-Sim. The whole space is themed around nature and natural-looking furnishings. If the leaf-patterned wallpaper wasn’t a giveaway, there’s a few animal decorations, including a lovely elephant. And the color themes and furnishings fit with the theme too. There’s a natural-looking wood headboard and desk, alongside the tree-patterned green bedspread for the double bed. Best of all, the Palmyra room is filled with light, making it a peaceful getaway for any time of day.
Twinkle Kids’ Room — Neutral and Pink
Ung999 created two rooms for kids young and old, and the above image shows the first: Twinkle Star Kidsroom. It’s mostly neutral in color and offers all the basics for any solid room. Apart from the fundamentals like a desk and bed, there’s a series of shelf cubbies full of various odds and ends, cat statues and a Wild Thing picture, plus the signature twinkles on the wall. Ung999 also created a pink variant of this set which you can see below, if you’re thinking twinkle works better with pink…le.
Charlott Room
The Charlott Bedroom from ShinoKCR is probably one of the most versatile Sims bedrooms on our list. It’s billed as a toddler’s or kid’s room, but the furniture set actually includes variations for both a toddler-sized bed and canopy and a regular single-sized bed and canopy. In other words, you can use it for your toddlers and keep it when they grow, or even just skip the toddler stuff and use it for your own single room. Whatever you choose, you’ll get the bed and canopy combo, plus two side tables, a shelf, and a good-sized computer desk. All of this comes with recolor options too, in basic colors suitable for any wall and floor options you might put with it.
Charlott Adult Room
If you like the Charlott look but need something designed for adults, ShinoKCR has a similar set scaled up for bigger Sims. There’s a master bed and canopy in this set, plus a bigger dresser for two Sims and a bigger desk. On top of that, you’ll find the usual lamps, rugs, pillows and such that any room needs. And like the toddler/kid set, the adult Charlott room gives you recolor options to fit whatever your needs are. It’s as simple or extravagant as you need, which is why we think it’s one of the best Sims 4 mods out there.
Bunk Bed Bedroom Furniture Set
This is the most super-focused mod on our list because it’s just one simple piece of furniture: the bunk bed. But simple doesn’t mean it isn’t one of the best Sims 4 mods for Steam. The Sims 4 and all its many expansions and add-ons doesn’t actually offer a bunk bed item. This set from Ravasheen fixes that. It actually includes multiple bunk bed styles, a desk, an end table, and even chairs too. There’s enough to customize any room how you like it, and the variation means you could use the same set in multiple rooms without ever repeating the same look.
Theorem Study
SIMcredible’s Theorem Study is the best way to make work feel like fun. It’s not your ordinary office, even though it has all the usual office things like a desk and a computer. The whole room as a chilled-out vibe, with comfy seating everywhere, studio lights, and most important of all, a coffee pot next to your computer. (SIMcredible knows how to prioritize). And like many of the other furniture mods on our list, the Theorem Study comes with several recolor options, including black, white, and cherry wood.
Carolina Office
The Carolina Office from soloriya is best if you need a more focused workspace for your Sim. It’s more of a traditional office space with a modern touch, providing large desks and six different kinds of storage. These range from more normal shelves to interesting individual storage cubes hung at intervals on the wall, and every piece has different colors to choose from. Plus, to keep it from being a completely no-frills space, there’s a set of pictures you can also hang on the wall, because keeping your nose to the computer all day is no fun, even for a Sim.
Outdoor Living
No Sim should be stuck inside all day, however nice the custom furnishings are. With that in mind, Chicklet created the Taywell Outdoor Living area as an outdoors oasis for your Sim. While it doesn’t come with the fountain pictured, it does include everything else. There’s rattan outdoor furniture, custom canopy to keep the heat at bay, and walls of plants to bring a touch of green to any space, however small it might seem. Outdoor Living has plenty of room to add your own plants if you so wish. And as with others in our list, these are customizable.
Classical Library
A Library might not be the most obviously useful element of a Sims town, but it’s still got uses. For starters, it give Sims with traits like genius and bookworm someplace to go. And it adds to the overall feeling of being a complete community and might help improve certain abilities like writing. The Classical Library from Lhonna is exactly what it sounds like. Outside is all classical Mediterranean architecture, complete with fountains and hanging baskets. Inside isn’t much different. You’ll find regal looking bookshelves and statues dotted here around the building. But cozy seating and some smartly placed fireplaces help offset the austerity with plenty of coziness as well. This library also offers computer access and chessboards for Sims needing to stay connected or improve logic.
Nelly Nightclub
If you want a hangout spot that’s a little more down to earth, though, the Nelly Nightclub from Ineliz It’s a cozy little place full of that hole-in-the-wall charm on the outside without sacrificing any aesthetic appeal or convenience on the inside. As a functioning bar, the nightclub serves multiple roles. It’s a hangout spot for friends, an excellent date spot, or a nightlife location where you can just enjoy the atmosphere and crank up the jukebox. Your Sims could develop their mixology skill at the Nelly Nightclub too. Either way, its flexibility makes the Nelly Nightclub yet another must-have Sims 4 mod for newcomers and vets alike.
Ivy Nightclub
If you need a bit more oomph in your nightlife, though, check out melapples’ Ivy Nightclub. It’s a huge hangout spot with as many designs and themes as you can count. One room is space age. Another combines industrial design with crystals signs. And if you explore the first floor more, you’ll find the remains of an old laboratory — the Ivy Nightclub’s predecessor. In short, there’s something for everyone here, which is why we think it’s one of the best Sims 4 mods if you’re looking for nightlife. There’s also plenty of room for a DJ, a jukebox to help dance the night away, a functioning bar, and basically everything you need for your ideal wild night out. And if you’re playing with the Get Together expansion, you can create your own set of club rules to shake up how your Sims interact with each other and total strangers. After all, everyone needs a change now and again.
Underwater Arboretum
Every Sims town needs a park of some kind, and dasie2 has a unique take on the park with their Underwater Arboretum. You don’t actually have to be a mermaid to go inside, but you might feel like one once you walk through the doors. The building is situated on and under a large pond brimming with different kinds of exotic aquatic plant life. You’ll get a unique perspective on everything flourishing in the pond, but the Underwater Arboretum is more than just an educational experience. It’s got an espresso machine, movie room, instruments, and even spots for fishing. It’s your all-in-one stop for almost anything, making it a definite must-have Sims 4 mod for Steam.
Central Park
But if you’re needing more of a traditional park, you’ll definitely want to try lotsbymanal’s Central Park. It’s basically everything that comes to mind when you think of a park. There’s plenty of seating areas bordered with colorful flowers, plus some water features and some stands to buy refreshments if you get hungry. The main features, though, are all the play areas. A generously-sized basketball court is off to one side, with plenty of little themed play areas scattered around, like a pirate ship and the classics like swingsets. Want to read the paper? Central Park has places to buy the dailies. Need to work out and don’t want to hit the gym? Head to the fitness corner. There’s something for every Sim and family.
Lawndale Restaurant
Sharon337’s Lawndale Restaurant is the embodiment of neighborhood restaurant charm. It’s big, without sacrificing coziness. There’s plenty of seating for friends and couples both indoors and out, and the entire building is decorated in a mix of soothing earth tones to keep everyone calm. Despite having lots of seating, Lawndale Restaurant’s kitchen is small enough where you get that small community vibe, where everyone probably knows everyone else, and stopping by for a meal is as much a social event as it is about the food.
Red Bun Restaurant
No Sims community could possibly be complete without a good ol’ fast food restaurant, and lotsbymanal fits the bill magnificently. The outdoor ordering and seating areas give the impression this is a snazzy-looking burger joint, but head inside and you’ll find the Red Bun Restaurant is much more than that. It’s got a grand piano for entertainment, and tons of indoor seating with a glorious view from the huge windows. There’s even a bar for when soft drinks just don’t cut it. Cliched it may sound, but there really is something for everyone here — hence us calling it one of the best Sims 4 mods for Steam.
Sushi Restaurant 2
A growing community needs a diverse range of restaurant offerings, though, and if that’s what you’re thinking about your Sims town, check out Pralinesims’ Sushi Restaurant 2. Both the outside and inside seating areas offer their own unique charms. Outside, you’re surrounded by paper lanterns, bright colors, and water features. (Plus there’s easy access to the restrooms if need be). Inside is characterized by the minimalist look you expect from most sushi restaurants. There’s a set of seating around the prep area if you want to do things the proper way too. Just try to ignore the big aquarium and those accusing fishy stares.
Dome Restaurant
If you want to add a touch of class to your town and get a good meal at the same time, but don’t feel like actually building something yourself, check out evi’s Dome Restaurant. It’s a huge, open-air restaurant built on the water and under a massive dome. And it’s not just for looks, either. It’s a fully functioning restaurant complete with multiple tables, a DJ. And there’s a dance-floor area as well. It’s a perfect way to keep your Sims happy and well-fed and add a touch of nightlife fun if you need something to keep your Sims occupied or need a hangout spot. If you decide to own the restaurant yourself, you get the added bonus of extra income.
Whether you’re looking for a first-time home, a community feature, or just some new furniture, our list of the best Sims 4 mods has something for almost everyone. But if you still didn’t find what you want, we’ve got even more Sims 4 goodness for you. Check out our collection of the best custom Sims 4 houses for some of the most creative houses around.
