Reccomended Home Mod?

[Ren]

Hey all, so I see a lot of people saying Hearthfire isn't worth it, it sucks, better home mods, etc. However I've really liked the Hearthfire homes I've seen, and if this is true I'd like some common suggestions, yes yes, I know about the Nexus list. A lot of them seem to be unfinished, have bugs, or just generally aren't very good, so I'm wondering what YOU would reccomend.

Only requirements I'd say would be that it works with an existing game in progress (As far as existing home overhauls, I've only bought Breezehome, no furniture for it). And that you can move your spouse/family into it.

Also preferably something a bit more lore friendly, rather than the mcmansions with hot tubs everywhere that usually seem to be popular.

Edit: It's a bit big, but I guess I'm going with Hanomaly's suggestion of Morskom state http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/57141/?

Especially because it builds along with you rather than having a magic home pop into the world fully furnished.

[SpeedFreak1972]

maybe this: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/33939/?

[Allelya]

All of the houses you can make in Hearthfire are Lore-friendly as part of the base DLC. I've never downloaded very many mods because I enjoy much of the base game as it is. You can move your family to a new home in Hearthfire from Breezehome, I've done it. The option should come up when you talk to your adopted kids. As for Lydia or any other followers that are staying at Breezehome, you would enlist them back into your service, take them to your new home and then talk to them again for the option for them to be your steward there. You can also hire a carriage and bard.

Hearthfire is worth it, imo.

[Trigger]

I never have problems with Hearthfires, only the display cases don't work, but there is a mod to fix that

[Ren]

Originally posted by Allelya:

All of the houses you can make in Hearthfire are Lore-friendly as part of the base DLC. I've never downloaded very many mods because I enjoy much of the base game as it is. You can move your family to a new home in Hearthfire from Breezehome, I've done it. The option should come up when you talk to your adopted kids. As for Lydia or any other followers that are staying at Breezehome, you would enlist them back into your service, take them to your new home and then talk to them again for the option for them to be your steward there. You can also hire a carriage and bard.

Yeah, I know all that, which is why I like Hearthfire, and don't understand the hate it gets. Was wondering if what a lot of people say is indeed true and there's mods that incorporate everything Hearthfire has and more.

[Allelya]

Originally posted by Damuel:

Originally posted by Allelya:

All of the houses you can make in Hearthfire are Lore-friendly as part of the base DLC. I've never downloaded very many mods because I enjoy much of the base game as it is. You can move your family to a new home in Hearthfire from Breezehome, I've done it. The option should come up when you talk to your adopted kids. As for Lydia or any other followers that are staying at Breezehome, you would enlist them back into your service, take them to your new home and then talk to them again for the option for them to be your steward there. You can also hire a carriage and bard.

Yeah, I know all that, which is why I like Hearthfire, and don't understand the hate it gets. Was wondering if what a lot of people say is indeed true and there's mods that incorporate everything Hearthfire has and more.

For my own taste, I see no reason to mod Hearthfire. I sometimes get a bug with display cases but it's not game breaking so, it's whatever to me.

[Hanomaly]

i love Elysium Estate that Speedfreak linked to. That's my favourite (and most used) house.

Originally posted by Damuel:

Also preferably something a bit more lore friendly, rather than the mcmansions with hot tubs everywhere that usually seem to be popular.

But as you say you don't like large houses you might find it too big, although i think it's *just* the right size especially for collectors. But for some people it might feel too big.

Here's other suggestions.

Hassildor (if you're a vampire)
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/52057/

Thornrock
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/51980/

Dragon Falls Manor
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/10901/

Morskom Estate (this one is really fun, because it builds along, but probably too big for you)
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/57141/

Riverside Lodge
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14308/

Originally posted by Damuel:

And that you can move your spouse/family into it.

You pretty much cannot move your family into custom homes created by other users without using yet-more mods. (well some custom houses do include such "helper" scrips to move the family in - but for the most part.. you'll find you'll need the below mods)

My Home is Your Home (for followers)
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/18045/

My Home is Your Home 2 (for followers - more options than the first, but maybe unnecessary)
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/62040/

Spouses can Live Everywhere (for your spouse of course)
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/11370/

Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions (for kids and spouse)
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/29249/

Custom Family Homes (housecarl, steward, kids, spouse)
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/47621/

[Ren]

I see, thank you for the suggestions everyone, I've seen a few I like, that's kind of unfortunate that you need to install more mods to move families in, but oh well. I'll take a look through them, might update the OP with whatever I go with later.

[wowszer]

Here is one other, requires Heathfire, and expands Lakeview, adds extra characters, gardens, etc. The only disadvantage is you have to completely finish Lakeview, I mean every item, before activating the mod. If you start a new game, deactivate the mod again until you finish Lakeview again.
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/31380
Changed link

[Trigger]

♥♥♥♥♥ Eyes Caravan = mobile home on wheels and is compatible with Frostfall

[gnewna]

This is a nice one if you like the "built with my own two hands" aspect of Hearthfire/Morskom (must check that one out in my game...) http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/49892/? Starts with the basis of the 'riverside shack' on the way from Windhelm to Riften (down by the river a little north of Anga's Mill, usually has a saber cat prowling around and evidence of the former inhabitant) and you can either clean it up and make it a pretty nice little cabin by the water. I don't think it's spouse/family friendly, though (I don't think you can make it big enough!), but perhaps for a weekend getaway without the family, or a 'bachelor pad' while you're deciding who to marry and where to live?

Another interesting one is Silverfish Grotto - not sure if it's family friendly, but it's pretty gorgeous http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/35966/? it also has interesting features like if you're away too long it starts to need cleaning, and it's another one you can fix up rather than moving into a fully furnished mansion.

This is similar to the first one, expanding on an existing shack with an unlucky former inhabitant: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/18480/? It's also significantly bigger than the first one if you fully build it, and it says you can use Spouses Can Live Anywhere with it. (Silverfish doesn't say on the mod page that you can't, by the way, it just doesn't mention that you can. It looks big enough.) Not sure about kids, though.

[Ren]

I love the idea, but honestly if I'm not going to have my family there it seems a little pointless, can't imagine me stopping there unless Ineed or frostfall forces me to a nearby stop by it.

[gnewna]

Aye, fair enough! I think the first one is simple enough that it might be worth while if you have a character who doesn't get married until sort of mid-game, but if having a family is a significant part of your gameplay, maybe not! I also really like this house: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14308/? It's not build-it-yourself, but it is pretty sensible in dimensions, not filled with freebies, mod page says you can move families in with appropriate extra mods (honestly, I've never heard of one that supports moving families in without an extra mod that doesn't have a ton of bugs/issues with families not *actually* moving in and such, so I'd rather get a well-made house mod and a well-made 'move your family into a modded house' mod, really). It does have a hot tub, but it's in a nice little cabin with a book on the 'True Nord Sauna' experience or something like that. I also found a little book or note or something explaining that the house was built for the previous Thane of Whiterun who went missing, which I thought was a nice touch. I don't go in for families, but it's a decent size for me and a couple of followers (I usually end up with half a dozen buddies in various homes...) and a dog :) It manages to feel distinctive while still feeling like it totally fits into the area, in my opinion.

Perhaps the best thing would be to make a backup save, install the ones you like the look of, and go on a 'real estate tour', then you can uninstall the ones you don't like and revert to your original save (which hasn't had any of them installed yet) and keep the one you like best? (Of course, if you're set on the one I've just noticed you already picked, ignore that suggestion!)

[Ren]

Originally posted by gnewna:

Aye, fair enough! I think the first one is simple enough that it might be worth while if you have a character who doesn't get married until sort of mid-game, but if having a family is a significant part of your gameplay, maybe not! I also really like this house: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14308/? It's not build-it-yourself, but it is pretty sensible in dimensions, not filled with freebies, mod page says you can move families in with appropriate extra mods (honestly, I've never heard of one that supports moving families in without an extra mod that doesn't have a ton of bugs/issues with families not *actually* moving in and such, so I'd rather get a well-made house mod and a well-made 'move your family into a modded house' mod, really). It does have a hot tub, but it's in a nice little cabin with a book on the 'True Nord Sauna' experience or something like that. I also found a little book or note or something explaining that the house was built for the previous Thane of Whiterun who went missing, which I thought was a nice touch. I don't go in for families, but it's a decent size for me and a couple of followers (I usually end up with half a dozen buddies in various homes...) and a dog :)

Doesn't sound bad really, the hottub remark was more just to the overly fancy houses that have really awkwardly out of place furniture and stuff. I don't really want to single out any modders/mods but Oblivion/Fallout had some really... lore unfriendly houses. With perfectly clean marble gilded furniture, stripper poles, and really just looked like something even the jarls would be drooling for.

The families thing isn't really a gameplay thing, it's more of an aesthetic, I like to have my family at the same house where I have everything displayed and looking fancy. Instead of having to navigate between houses for different experiences.

[gnewna]

Originally posted by Damuel:

Doesn't sound bad really, the hottub remark was more just to the overly fancy houses that have really awkwardly out of place furniture and stuff. I don't really want to single out any modders/mods but Oblivion/Fallout had some really... lore unfriendly houses. With perfectly clean marble gilded furniture, stripper poles, and really just looked like something even the jarls would be drooling for.

Yeah, I know what you mean, it's definitely not one of those IMO, it's a nice house for a minor noble, but it's not a palace and it doesn't seem to have a ridiculous underground cavern filled with fancy storage and whatnot.

Oh, I'm guessing you've seen Breezehome Fully Upgradeable, but if not, it's worth checking out if you fancy a better-equipped Breezehome some time. Some of the upgrades are maybe a little OTT, but you can always save before buying them and reload if you don't like them. It also adds in a couple of fun features like a treasure hunt around Skyrim with clues rather than quest markers and whatnot. And it should be family friendly, although apparently there's a potential issue around getting the balcony after you move kids in, or vice versa (can't remember which). It also gives Lydia a slightly nicer bedroom which is also, well, not right opposite yours.