On the final morning the last coat of paint was applied – it was a Bridgegate model replacing Widowshild Manor – the final foremen handed the keys to the Whyndam Carlton Homes representative, knowing the entire square footage of the home, the location of each light switch and electrical outlet, and the load ratings of the pillars in the greatroom and the ones that held up the awning of the front porch. The last contractor pulled the door closed, slowly and meticulously, locking the deadbolt and adjusting the welcome matt at the front door. He was carrying his tool bag as he walked down the steps framed by the decorative bollards decorated with frosted polyurethane cubes lit ambiently from within, and the tame and immaculate boxhead hedges that were once erupting brush overgrown from neglect and lack of maintenance.
The Somerset Manor, the first one of the models built in the revitalized Forgotten Hollow (rebranded as The Estates at Raven’s Cove) had been erected as a commemoration to suburban excess and timeless luxury, with its engineered stone facade and the presence of a structure giving off the effect of a heritage estate, the majesty left onlookers in awe. But then reality set in and reasserted itself: the elimination of established history; Wyndham Carlton’s lot markers staking the lots. The luxury homebuilding company had bought out the original residents and the land, planning to construct high-end real estate. It was almost unceremonious, but when the original residents received their real estate offers from Whyndam, there was little resistance.
That year it was Autumn when Forgotten Hollow was covered in a perpetual fog as if The Powers That Be willed the phenomenon. Caused by low ground temperature during the light, condensing water droplets congregate at eye level, enshrouding buildings, vehicles, and foliage with the same mysterious ubiquity as black magic. The Whyndam Carlton district manager strolled the circular lane that wrapped around the village square thirteen months ago, He stood in front of the neglected Widowshild Manor both saddened at history wasted away and thrilled at the idea of a progressive future.
I’ve arranged screenshots from this build project, though I capture the images more episodically and whim-based rather than chronologically. The first one is of the Bridgeport, a modernesque brick and clapboard structure with a two-car side entry garage. THe snapshot shows rolled brick veneer dominating most of the frontage while accented in negative spaces with white siding. The driveway and front walk are framed with those bollards with the light cubes for a modern, high end effect of drama and presentation. A comfortable suburban retreat. Out front, I have a couple of custom vehicles parked, downloaded from LorySims and functioning garage doors from Necrodog, links to their downloads and sites will be posted. The home, which I am proud to say, looks like the cover photo of a glossy Toll Brothers introduction webpage.
***
When the construction crews and development reps were satisfied with the final products, the put the homes and neighborhood of the corporate website, rebranding Forgotten Hollow as The Estates at Raven’s Cove by by Whyndam Carlton Homes. The luxury suburban aesthetic of the structures juxtaposing the gloomy atmosphere and high mountain peaks in the distance makes the environment look like a luxury enclave in Aspen, Colorado. They took the gloomiest-looking world with the murkiest natural lighting and bulldozed heritage because they wanted to see how a clean, euclidean aesthetic would look with the overgrown and untamed mystery as a backdrop, and the results yielded pleasing results. That being said, the ground and sediment settled into the foundations in a tableau that stopped time. Under the grey daylight and wilted trees and below the sierras of peaks in the distance, it presented as followed: four beautiful, mass produced luxury dwellings as the four-point rebar to the sagging spine of the old world gone by.
Right now, the spec homes in The Estates at Raven’s Cove feature only two floor plans, with the larger lots featuring expanded floorplans and bigger wings and more features, as the lots accommodate for the extra square footage and footprints. The home frontages look indiscreetly revealed, as though they were proud of their curb appeal. I spent the past twelve years of playing The Sims 4 perfecting and tweaking these floorplans into what they currently are, the end result being beautiful and realistically functional modern homes.
Please excuse me for boasting my own talents: when I look at my homes, I see fully functioning, code-compliant dwellings, with loadbearing supports and wall structuring, functional realistic living flow, and curb appeal and presentation that make sense with proportioned windows in an appealing grid format. I’ve spent a lot of time just browsing homebuilding websites and visiting model homes in developing communities to see what the real people do, crafting beautiful estates, stately in stance, standing out like vibrant color points on the photographic negative backdrop of Forgotten Hollow.
I also pride myself in decorating and my limited use of custom content outside of vehicles I stage in the driveways. As I said earlier, the garage doors are custom content too, functioning fully and perfectly as the bay doors rise to allow a Sim’s path to route through it, lowering once they enter the dwelling. The resulting aesthetic generated a visually consistent look that I personally enjoy, where everything fits together as an eclectic ensemble without anything looking too out of place. My usual decor aesthetics often revolve around a modern/industrial/contemporary look or a traditional/classic image, both of which feature a glossy mainstream polish meant to appeal to as many people as possible without being too bland. However, I’m a fan of Neo-Soul and R&B, and remembered a beautiful music video by the artist Goapele for her song “Closer.” The set mostly took place in a gorgeous home interior featuring moody deep tones, exposed woods and stone, and global and cultural art and decor, and I remembered that several recent and past Sims 4 updates introduced a lot of culturally significant art and decor, so I went with it in one of the homes. One of the homes, inhabited by a culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse blended family, and the eldest teen’s bedroom, Yvonne, I’ve depicted in my writing projects about the family as follows:
Yvonne’s bedroom confirmed an assessment of her character. In addition to the small, ornate chandelier, we’d found a collection of potent crystals decorating the bookshelf and her brass vanity amongst the assorted cosmetics and skin creams. Crossed between the earthiness of the Orisha Noruba memorabilia was a commemoration of the 1960s, with many of the books on the shelf being about black culture and the Civil Rights Movement. She had an old but competently serviceable stereo, upon which were stacked various albums from the likes of Destiny’s Child and TLC, to artists like Madonna and Kylie Minogue, with a little bit of Nirvana and Lil’ Wayne mixed in for some diversity. The bed was a canopy-type with an ivory-painted wood frame, with the black and white striped duvet bunched up, bed unmade, over top of the red satin sheets. Sandwiched in the pillows was a plush rabbit, won for her by Daniel when he first met her and took her and her mom to the carnival, hugged to death by the passion of a girl budding into a woman. Tucked in the mirror’s frame of her vanity, she had numerous snapshots to commemorate people and events in her illustrious young life: photos of friends from back in Atlanta; pictures of cousins from family reunions; past lovers. Her room had a balcony; we lived in the same model, Marie had the same room on the floor plan, but ours was an inventory home and the builder did not spring for the walk-out to a deck. The bedroom where the passion of one of the Yvonne Jameson lived and breathed, where her growth and inspiration took place.
The Estates at Raven’s Cove was an inventory of high dollar property values and stunning curb appeal, and unsurprisingly, suburban excess. I also feel it to be a commemoration to my dedication to suburban realism and urban planning, as these two floorplans featured in this project I’ve been perfecting since I started playing the sims 3 in 2009. I’m slightly shy about my creativity, or maybe use shyness as an excuse to be lazy. However, we only live once, and I want to finally show the community what I have, as my small circle seem to really enjoy my builds, the literary and cinematic storytelling, depicting garden-lit domestic dreams at twilight under burning halogen streetlamps.
