The developers and designers of the Sims game franchise have really done a marvelous job in one of the latest editions of the game – Sims 4. The game features many new options, including the improved building mode. Thanks to this, you can use it as an interior design tool for a new house, apartment, or an upcoming remodeling project.

Using professional interior design tools is hard, and the best thing about using Sims 4 as one is that you can learn how to create 3D interior design ideas very quickly. If you are interested in finding out how to do it yourself, you will find all the necessary information below.

At the very end, we will give our best to help you understand why. After all, you should lave the final product to the professionals.

Sims 4 Build Mode

The Sims 4 feature you’ll be using to create 3D interior design ideas is called “Build Mode”. The latest version of the game comes with a versatile build mode. You can use it to create the interior design you’ve been dreaming about for years.

Once you are in the game, you can access the build mode by opening the top right-hand menu and clicking on the spanner and hammer icon, or by pressing F3 on your keyboard. This action will place a grid on the land you are building your house on and, in the bottom left corner, an image of a small house will appear.

Click on the small icon house and it will allow you to select different parts of it. Each section contains building blocks for your design project. For interior design, you will be using:

● Walls and empty rooms

● Doors

● Windows

● Stairs

● Wall and floor patterns

● Styled rooms

Creating a Floor Plan

Whether you need to recreate a floor plan for a remodeling project or create it from scratch, Sims 4 build mode will help you do it in no time. You will also be able to add inner walls, doors, and windows.

The Sims 4 build mode comes with a brand new automated building feature which automatically recognizes rooms and adds ceilings and floors. Sims 4 views every area with either a floor or enclosed with walls as a room.

To create the outline of the floor plan, we advise you to start with a Basic Wall Tool found in Build Mode > Walls and Empty Rooms. To create the rooms, you can use the Room Tool found on the same menu. Drag it to create the rooms of your preferred size.

Do you have an unusual room, that's kinda uniquely shaped? No worries, with the Custom Room Tool, you will be able to recreate it with ease.

To get a more authentic look of your interior home design, you should add windows and doors as well. Once again, press F3 and click on the window image. Now you can add windows by room or add them one by one. Don't forget, you can choose the window style and color to complement the design of your house or flat.

While in build mode, clicking on door icon will let you add doors. The door catalog comes with doors of all shapes and sizes.

Use Prebuild Styled Rooms

If you don’t have the time to design from scratch, you can use the prebuild styled rooms and incorporate them in your floor plan. Since you know the function of each area of your house or flat, you can do this in a few simple clicks.

Since most of the rooms are locked behind achievements and are quite pricy, you want to press CTR+Shift+C and enter “bb.ignoregameplayunlocksentitlement” and “motherlode” to unlock the styled rooms and get enough money to buy them.

Now that you’ve unlocked the styled rooms, you can extract any of the decor and furniture items they contain. Select a styled room and click on the item you want and drag it to the room you want it in.

Discover What Works Best With Your Space

Once you have created a floor plan, you can start playing with colors and furniture to add identity to your design. For instance, you can select a unique floor covering for every room.

In Build Mode, the Floor Patterns option will allow you to choose from different types of flooring. Simply hover with your mouse over a pattern to see its color. If you select “By Floor” you will add flooring to the entire room. If you want to make unique shapes and patterns, select “By Tile”. You can switch from triangle shaped floor tiles to square ones by pressing “Ctrl+F”.

Now you can add some color to the walls. Select the “Wall Coverings” in the Build Mode and choose either wall coverings by room or by wall piece. There are plenty of options to choose from, so feel free to experiment and find the one that reflects the feel you want to achieve.

Design the Home of Your Dreams

Once you are done with the floor plan, floor, and wall coverings, you can start adding furniture to complete your interior design. Fortunately, Sims 4 comes with hundreds of beautifully designed objects to help furnish your design to perfection.

We have already told you how to extract objects from styled rooms. You can browse objects by function or by room. If you prefer to do room by room, we suggest you use Objects by Room. If you just like to go with the flow of your decorating decisions, Objects by Function may be more convenient for you.

Some of the furniture pieces have alternate color options. For kitchen cabinets and counters, you will also be able to choose alternate appearances and shapes. To do this, you need to go into the “Surface” section. And with the “Automatic counter placement” option you can build a kitchen in no time. Disable this option if you want to make a completely custom kitchen design.

Why Leave 3D Interior Design to Professionals

When you have completed your 3D interior design using Sims 4, it is better to leave the final product to professional interior designers. There are plenty of reasons to do this, some of them include the following.

Interior Designers are More Experienced

Chances are that this is your first interior design project. On the other hand, a professional interior designer has had serval hundreds of clients in the past. Professionals in this field are familiar with the best practices.

The experience also enables them to be thorough and to know what they are looking for. They will be able to spot something you’ve missed. They will also make the necessary changes to complete the design.

Save Time and Energy

If you decide to follow through your own design, you will have to contact, organize and collaborate with a number of contractors. Do you have these contacts? Do you have experience in this sort of matters? Do you have the time to put into this?

With a professional interior designer, you will save a lot of time and energy. Why? Because an interior designer is going to be your single point of contact. A designer will be in charge of contacting and scheduling all other contractors. You can just sit back, relax and watch as your design comes to life.

Cut Down Expenses

A professional designer will be able to save you some cash. Designers tend to do repeat business with suppliers and contractors once they develop trust. In return, suppliers and contractors provide substantial discounts.

If you directly cooperate with them, chances are that you will get charged the full price. Leaving your 3D interior design to a professional will save you money while you won't have to make any trade-offs in terms of material and service quality.

Professional Guidance

While your 3D interior design may look great on the screen, the reality can be quite different. Maybe you’ve decided to go with a design that is very hard to pull off, or you’ve made a mistake that makes it dysfunctional.

A professional interior designer will review your design and help you make subtle adjustments. Once you tell a designer what you need from the space, you can also get advice on how to make it even more functional and better.

Since Sims 4 was designed as a game, it is interesting to see that it’s used in home design. As you can see, the Build Mode in the game is quite powerful as it can help you create a floor plan in no time. Add rich coloring and texture options with hundreds of furniture pieces on top, and you have a powerful interior design tool.

As you can see, once you are done with 3D interior design in Sims 4, it is a smart decision to leave it to professionals. Experienced interior designers will provide professional guidance, help you save some extra money, and allow you to benefit from their nurtured contact lists.