Building Nordhaven: Creator Builds in The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies

Bustling streets framed by boldly colored, unique buildings set the scene for endless creativity in Nordhaven, the new world introduced in The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack. 

Inspired by the architecture and aesthetics of Northern Europe and Scandinavia — including cities like Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin and Amsterdam, as well as Manchester’s Northern Quarter and London’s Camden Market — Nordhaven captures the essence of creativity and entrepreneurship. To bring this vision to life, we collaborated with community builders Eva Rotky, Kellyhartx, Laireen35 and yohannabuilds, who helped design lots for the new neighborhoods of Gammelvik and Iverstad, making the perfect backdrops for Sims to dream big and turn their hobbies into thriving small businesses.

To learn more about the creation process behind their builds in Nordhaven, we sat down with the talented Simmers to hear how they brought their visions to life!   ⤵️

Eva Rotky – Eva

Eva, commonly known as Eva Rotky, designed the Konst Modern museum lot and The Old Foundry, AKA the Urbane Housesharers household. 

Eva, a London-based interior designer, originally from Austria, has always had a deep passion for architecture and interiors, and her love for The Sims was a key influence in her decision to transition into interior design as a career. Eva especially loves crafting detailed homes in The Sims that seamlessly blend contemporary and vintage elements into a minimalist aesthetic. Since 2020, Eva has been sharing her realistic builds—often inspired by the historic architecture of cities like London, Paris and New York—turning a lockdown hobby into a thriving pass time. 

❔THE SIMS TEAM: You have created a lot of beautiful and quite fancy builds on your channels before, did you learn anything through that experience that you used to help create the Konst Modern museum?

EVA: As creating fancy old buildings with a modern twist is my “bread and butter”, the design came to me quite quickly! I made sure to include plenty of features on the exterior of the part that used to be an old manor to convey the age and rich history of this building. My favorite way of juxtaposing an old building is by connecting it to something very different and modern hence the big glass extension. The challenge on the interior was to make sure the two felt connected and not like separate entities, which is why I included the same concrete flooring and wall finishes, as well as the same furniture throughout. Instead of taking away from the beauty of an old building, the contemporary side actually enhances it!

❔THE SIMS TEAM: We love The Old Foundry! What are some of the ways you tried to tell the story of Crispin, Cannonball and Ollie in the Urbane Housesharers lot?

EVA: When creating the Urbane Housesharers lot I considered the different personalities of Crispin, Cannonball and Ollie. While Crispin works in the arts, he doesn’t take his work home. His room is therefore monochrome, very minimal and quite architectural. As a lover of all things ‘jazz’, Cannonball has a penchant for the lavish, so I included more opulent furniture and rich colors in his space. Ollie is a brainy teen, which is why their room is more youthful than the others with neon and fairy lights, and I made sure to include items for logic skill building like the telescope on the roof terrace – I can so picture them sneaking up there at night!

Kellyhartx 

Kellyhartx created two lots for Nordhaven: the Old Torget House starter home and the Spilled Neon Tattoo Parlour home and small business lot.

The Sims has always been Kelly’s favorite game, diving headfirst into The Sims at just eight years old! She loves channeling her creativity into the game, building and crafting new stories that bring her joy. Outside of gaming, Kelly enjoys the beauty of autumn, exploring nature and traveling.

❔ THE SIMS TEAM: What design decisions did you make to ensure that the homes you built for this expansion felt unique and distinct?

KELLYHARTX: I wanted to give the starter house something extra. With the focus of the Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack in mind, I wanted to add space for Sims to start their own business or work on their skills. While the interior is quite minimalistic, I still find it to be cozy and playful. 

 For the Spilled Neon tattoo parlour, I played with lightning and colors a lot! In my own builds, I tend to add a lot of details and clutter, so I tried to do the same in this build – I wanted to make it feel lived in. Creating an industrial loft felt unique and perfect for Iverstad. Mixing the industrial, warm and cozy styles was a bit of a challenge, but I enjoyed the process of creating it and the team’s feedback was very helpful along the way! 

 ❔ THE SIMS TEAM: What sort of Sims do you see taking up residence in the Old Torget starter home you built?

KELLYHARTX: I can see a Sim that is ready to start their dream business settling into the Old Torget starter home. Whether they be a young adult or an elderly couple, I hope this is a space that can help Sims’ dreams come true. 

Laireen35 – Laireen

Laireen built the Koffieboon cafe lot and New Harbor Park.

Laireen, also known as Christina to friends and family, is a longtime Simmer from Copenhagen, Denmark, who has been part of the community since the game's launch in 2000. As an Executive Assistant, her work involves extensive coordination and planning, making The Sims her go-to creative escape. While she initially focused on gameplay in The Sims 1 and The Sims 2, her passion for building truly flourished with The Sims 4, where she now mostly builds. She especially enjoys designing community lots inspired by real-world locations and taking on build challenges that inspire her to push her creativity boundaries. 

❔ THE SIMS TEAM: Did you pull any inspiration from coffee shops you have visited to build the cafe space of Koffieboon?

LAIREEN: Of course. I always take inspiration from the places I’ve been to in real life when building in The Sims, but the new items included in the Businesses  & Hobbies Expansion Pack really helped make the coffee shop look just right. The new Build items in the pack are amazing! The furniture has a very Nordic style, so it was fairly easy to add in the items and make the coffee shop look as cozy and inviting as the real-life coffee shops I frequent.

❔ THE SIMS TEAM: New Harbour Park is a unique space and a bit of a built-in ‘shell’ challenge. Can you walk us through how you approached creating it?

LAIREEN: I had so much fun creating this lot! I loved the fact that it’s a combo lot, with two types of builds in one. It added an extra dimension and made it even more challenging to make the combination seem natural, especially when the two parts on this lot are very different from the other. The team gave some really helpful guidance and my ideas flowed from there! I immediately had ideas about what to do with the space, specifically the commercial ‘under construction’ part, as I have previously worked at real life construction sites. Being able to draw inspiration from my own experiences definitely gave me an advantage with this build. I enjoyed making it look half-finished and abandoned, and the new ‘under construction’ items, such as the warning signs and fences really made it all come together in the end. 

I had a lot of fun with the park side as well. I wanted to create a run-down park that was unkempt and unsupervised, so I added misplaced greenery and puddles to make it feel overgrown and forgotten. I imagined mischievous teens hanging out here after hours without the prying eyes of annoying parents, so I included a lot of graffiti, forgotten toys and a collection of out-of-place furniture. Overall I’m very happy with how this lot turned out. I hope both the players and builders see the potential of the lot and will be inspired to create amazing and fun stories here.

yohannabuilds

yohannabuilds created the Terra-Potta pottery home business lot and The Rouge Note music lounge.

yohannabuilds – more commonly known as Johanna – is a Simmer from Northern Europe. She loves building in The Sims 4 and has taken the opportunity to create new spaces in the game almost every day since joining The Sims community in 2021. When she’s not building, Johanna likes to watch movies with her family, spend time with friends and relax at home.

❔THE SIMS TEAM: Let’s talk about the Koopman household and their small business, Terra-Potta. How do you see Jolanda and Gert using the place? Were there certain elements you added that were specific to them and their story?

YOHANNABUILDS:  I wanted to keep the apartment very simple and light so it feels like a great place to go after a busy day of work. While there is some tension in their relationship, I see them making pottery together and having fun, but when emotions take over, there is a place for them to have some alone time. 

❔THE SIMS TEAM: The Rouge Note music club has a very distinct style. Is there anything you learned or experimented with during the process of building it that you may use again in future builds?

YOHANNABUILDS: I don’t usually use the color red in my builds. I used a lot of red for The Rouge Note build and I have to say, I think the build looks amazing and I am so happy with the results. Maybe I will use red in my builds in the future! 

❔THE SIMS TEAM: Is there a dream business you would open up either in real life, or in-game?

EVA: I’ve always wanted to open up a business that’s a cafe and bookshop at the same time – a really cozy space that invites you to get comfortable and feels like your own home littered with books, cushions and blankets…and cute puppies!

KELLYHARTX: If I had to open my dream business in real life I would probably open a museum about cheese and stroopwafels (syrup waffles) where you can taste all kinds of cheese and syrup waffles!

LAIREEN: In real life I would very much like to do more graphic design work – specifically designs for print, for instance, T-shirts, mugs, notebooks and general artwork. Another dream of mine is to do graphic designs for tarot and oracle cards. In The Sims, I would love to have my Sims work with construction (I’m a builder, what can I say?) – so a career where the Sim can design houses/commercial builds, hire construction workers, and then oversee the progress of the build, while under construction, finally see the end result, and then sell the property!

YOHANNABUILDS: I love to host dinners at home and set tables. I can use my best decorations and let my creativity flow. If that can be a job, sign me up!

❔THE SIMS TEAM: If you had to choose, are you more team Gammelvik or team Iverstad?

EVA: I’m on team Gammelvik for sure because I really like old buildings, their character, history and architecture. I wish people still built buildings the way they used to with lots of consideration for decorative details. I love nothing more than wandering the streets swooning at all the gorgeous architecture!

KELLYHARTX: That's a difficult question, but I think Gammelvik because it reminds me of where I live. I love the canals and the shape of the houses. 

LAIREEN: The architectural style of Gammelvik, specifically the tiny alleyways, the pedestrian areas, and the open squares have always been what I look for and treasure most, when I visit other European countries because they feel cozy – I love the vibe in those places. However, for real-life homes, I have always been more into the clean and streamlined architectural features of the more modern and sleek builds, as seen in Iverstad.

YOHANNABUILDS: I am team Gammelvik. The atmosphere is always so cozy with the little boutiques and restaurants.

❔THE SIMS TEAM: Is there anything you might say to aspiring builders or new players of The Sims 4?

EVA: Building in The Sims can seem daunting, especially when starting for the first time, but a lot of it is just practice! I find every time I sit in front of a large empty lot it helps when I have a concept or reference image in mind that inspires me for a house design, be that interior or exterior. They can provide a great starting point and can guide where your build takes you. It’s also useful to lay out furniture placeholders in rooms to see the scale and check if you have enough space for everything. And my general tip is just to add lots of details – they make a build come to life!

KELLYHARTX: There are no limits to what you can create, if you can dream it you can build it. And most importantly, have fun!

LAIREEN: You do you! There’s no right or wrong way of building or playing the game. As a new player, I think the most important thing is to explore the game and its possibilities at your own pace. When it comes to building, it’s definitely a learning process, but I think the build tools are very easy and intuitive. The one piece of advice I’d give is to take inspiration from the world around you – both in real life and in the game. Look at the buildings and the architecture and get a feel for the environment. Then try to recreate the specific architectural type. By now we have a lot of small build items that add to a certain style, for instance, spandrels, dormers, corbels, shutters, awnings, greenery and roof ornaments, making it very easy to give the houses a specific expression. Other than that, you have to learn by doing. There’s a lot of trial and error in my own build process. There’s a reason I have more than 15,000 hours of game time!

YOHANNABUILDS: Starting from scratch can be overwhelming but keep practicing and be inspired by others – you can find great friends along the way!

❔THE SIMS TEAM: Alright, last question for each of you. Which lot are you most proud of, and why?

EVA: I am particularly proud of The Old Foundry lot because of its unique shape – the industrial factory with the inset modern extension in the roof. When I first started this build I didn’t expect this feature to work out so well and I’m so happy with how real it looks! I also really love the minimal interiors with the big open-plan kitchen and living area which despite the pared-back styling feels inviting and homely.  

KELLYHARTX: After reading the story about the Sarpong household for Spilled Neon, I was really inspired. I wanted to give them the home and space for their business that they need. I love how everything comes together in each part of the house and business. Downstairs is where Nia’s business and passion thrive, then the first and second floors are where she and Lerato meet and spend time together, and the third floor is Lerato’s bedroom, which is a dream bedroom for a child who's interested in science if you ask me!

LAIREEN: I love the Koffieboon! First, because it’s a coffee shop! (people who know me in real life as well as in the community know my sometimes slightly unhealthy obsession with coffee). Secondly, this pack really allowed me to build in a style that is familiar to me, as I live in Copenhagen, where the city center is filled with houses of this particular architecture. I had so much fun creating a multi-generational, family business build, and the build/buy objects in the game made it very easy to show off the typical interior and exterior of the buildings you’d see in a Nordic capital city.

YOHANNABUILDS: The Rouge Note music lounge. Building a community lot challenged me in a new way, and I gained more confidence and faith in my abilities and skills as a builder.

Thank you again to our wonderful Simmers Eva Rotky, Kellyhartx, Laireen35 and yohannabuilds for sharing their creative process with us and exploring the wider world of The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack. By collaborating with talented creators, we can craft more immersive worlds and tell stories that allow our players to express their individualities, interests and aspirations.

The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack is available now for EA app™, Epic Games Store and Steam®, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One systems.