Laireen, an unbelievable creator known for her breathtaking gallery creations, has been playing The Sims™ since the first installation. Currently residing in Copenhagen, Denmark, The Sims has become a creative reprieve from her demanding professional life. She purchased the game the day it came out in 2000, primarily exploring the chaotic gameplay and storytelling it offered. However it wasn’t until she discovered building that she began to flourish, “with The Sims 4, my inner builder definitely came to life. Now building is all I do. My favorite builds are community lots, often inspired by my own neighborhood or places I’ve visited. And I love build challenges, they kick me out of my comfort zone and give me new inspiration”.

For our upcoming The Sims 4 Home Chef Hustle Stuff Pack, we’ve collaborated with Laireen to create a charming European inspired styled room that players can use in their builds. This ready made kitchen can be easily inserted into existing builds adding instant charisma to your Sim’s home.

As a part of our ongoing YMTS series, we’re continuing to spotlight creators across the world who inspire us and the game we make. We sat down and spoke with Laireen about the inspiration behind her build and the behind the scenes process of collaborating on a stuff pack.

Can you describe the styled room you built for the stuff pack? Where did you draw design and decor inspiration from?

When building my styled room for this pack, I was inspired by the Nordic, very light and airy type of kitchens you’d see here in Denmark, where I live. The especially sleek design of the cabinets, the built-in lighting, and the L-shaped counter space are popular design choices here, and I wanted to show off these features, as well as some of the most common color swatches; white, lightwood, and black.

In addition, I wanted to emphasize kitchens can be more than just a room to prepare food. Kitchens are also able to work as a multi-purpose room; a place where family and friends come together, hang out and socialize while cooking. It’s a hub where the kids do homework, while the adults cook; or where the older generations pass on secret family recipes to other members of their family on family cooking days. I added a dining table, a high chair and a radio to accommodate these activities.

What sort of Sim would live in this styled room? What kind of traits and interests do you imagine they would have?

I pictured a family of several generations including elders, adults, teens, children, and toddlers using this kitchen, for cooking - individually or together, or as a social hotspot in the house.  They interact by listening to the radio, catching up on reading, doing homework or other social activities together. Their traits and interests would obviously be focused on family, socializing, cooking, and baking.

We’re so excited to see what players do with your styled room! What sort of houses and lots do you see them using with the room?

I myself would definitely use this kitchen for multiple generation family homes, most likely those suburban type homes. But I can also see this kitchen being used in apartments as well, as the kitchen is very conveniently furnished with a dining table, making it easy to add to a house in game, giving you a kitchen and a dining room in one.

The Sims 4 Home Chef Hustle Pack is all about honing your skills and exploring your passions. Do you have any passions you’d like to pursue?

I have a couple of other creative outlets besides building in the Sims, of course. Occasionally I create graphics for print on t-shirts, mugs etc., and I’m currently working on some ideas for personalized artwork, but it’s just on the drawing board as of now. Lately I’ve been looking into taking some classes in silver jewelry making, but that would be for my own enjoyment, not something I plan on making into a side hustle - some things you have to keep for yourself!

We’re seeing a lot of really exciting new Kitchen appliances being added to this pack, are any of them featured in your styled room? Which ones are you most excited about?

In my styled room kitchen, I’ve added the pizza oven and the stand mixer. I’m without a doubt mostly excited about the pizza oven! I mean - who doesn’t want to be able to make real Italian chef’s pizzas at home???

You were lucky enough to see a sneak peek into the pack, what are you excited for your fellow Simmers to explore?

The Anywhere Any Fare Food Stand – easy! Being able to bring the selling table around with you and sell your homemade goods? Being able to live off your own cooking and baking skills, being your own boss? I can’t WAIT to try out the gameplay with this.

The Styled Room by Laireen will be available beginning 9/28 in The Sims 4 on PC via EA app, Mac® via Origin, Steam®, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One systems.