Welcome back to Room Reno #67 here at The Sims Resource! Today we’re helping a Sim who wants to turn her cluttered, chaotic room into a minimalist haven using the brand new MinimalSIM Collab! Let’s meet the Sim we’re helping!
Meet Alyssa!
Alyssa is a Sim who recently moved to Evergreen Harbor and wants to turn her drab starter home into a glam, minimalist abode. The main area that she wants redone is the living room, since it’s where she spends most of her time. But wait–what exactly is the minimalist aesthetic? I know we’ve all seen instagrams or pinterest boards of the look, but what is it defined as?
According to the Aesthetics Wiki (did anyone else know that this existed?), minimalism is a design trend that depends on simplicity, a lack of clutter, and neutral colors. While some patterns may be present, they’re typically large and simple instead of detailed and complex. I don’t know about you guys, but having an actual definition of this trend makes it a lot more clear to me. Minimalism as a concept makes me think of Marie Kondo–removing possessions that don’t spark joy from your life and focusing on what does. With all that in mind, let’s take a look at the space!
The Before
Not gonna lie, this living room is pretty depressing. I can’t be alone in this thought, right? I think there’s something about the random blue wall stripe near the bottom of the wall, combined with the randomly tall wall height, that really makes the space feel empty and drab. The red door is an especially random choice here, since it doesn’t really match anything else in the room. I love a bright pop of color as much as the next gal, but having a bright red door with this interior kind of just highlights the dreariness even more.
The first thing I want to do here is put up a dividing wall between the kitchen and living room. Open floor plans are great, but only when they work with the space–this space is not benefiting from being so open. In order to maintain a little bit of the original charm, though, I’m putting an archway into the kitchen instead of a door. This method keeps both rooms from feeling too claustrophobic and cramped while also providing the much needed division of space. Another change I want to make as soon as possible is to get a lot more natural light in the room. A lot of the dreariness of the current space is from lack of proper lighting, so with some more sunlight it should brighten right up.
The Planning
As you might be able to see, I added the walls and windows that I was thinking about in the last section to the room before I even started planning. In some cases, I try to plan without changing anything at all, but for now I just really wanted to get a feel for what the space was going to feel like before I started planning. I’m a little less confident in my abilities when it comes to the taller wall heights in the game (if you’ve ever read a Room Reno before, you’re probably aware of this) and today that fear was worse than usual, so I added the wall first. That’s building–even when I think I have a whole build sequence figured out, I end up changing it on myself anyway.
Anyway! The layout itself is pretty simple, considering the living room isn’t enormous and the whole theme of this build is minimalism. Having too many big furniture pieces would be a betrayal of the whole thing! I want a couch, preferably as a sort of centering piece for the room. A TV will go against the far wall. I wasn’t sure if this was the best time to use a TV in my build, but I imagined it as sort of like those insane gallery TVs that look like a matte painting when they’re not in use. One day I will have one of them irl…but for now, I will live vicariously through the Sims. Let’s get building!
The After
This room feels so soothing and homey! I’ll be honest, I don’t think I realized how calming the minimalist aesthetic is until I finished this build. Something about all the neutrals combined with a few pops of color (using plants) is obviously the right move for anyone looking for a little bit of relaxation, even if that relaxation is in your Sims game. The rounded couch is one of my favorite aspects of this room–I think it brings the TV area together and makes it feel very cozy while also maintaining the minimalistic aesthetic of the entire room.
I have to give a huge shoutout to all the new doors and windows from this collab. I only used a few of them in this build, and they completely transformed the space before I even added the furniture. The clutter objects are also some of my favorite parts of this collection. If you read this series, you’ll know how much I absolutely adore clutter in every build and every style I can possibly fit it into. I know that clutter probably sounds a little strange in a minimalist collab, but the minimalist clutter is *chef’s kiss* the perfect addition to this room, or any room, really. The colors and designs are all chic and won’t overpower the rest of the decor. I can’t wait to use all the clutter, furniture, and other objects from this collection in a lot of my future builds and Room Reno blogs to come!
Thanks for checking out this edition of Room Reno! If you liked this blog, check out Room Reno #66: Autumn Office or our Gilmore Girls inspired lookbook. Looking for something else? Read about how to build with the FREE Desert Luxe Kit or about the latest game updates! Have a great day 😎
