Welcome back to Room Reno #8 here at The Sims Resource! This week we’re helping a vampire Sim who just moved to the big city of San Myshuno. Let’s get to know her!

Meet Tessa!

Tessa is a vampire Sim who used to live in Midnight Hollow. Seeking a change, she decided to move to San Myshuno for its exciting nightlife and events. Tessa is a fashion photographer who loves to dress up, so she definitely needs a lot of clothing storage. There’s just one problem: the studio apartment she found is bright and sunny, and as a vampire Tessa can’t be exposed to the sun! Let’s check out Tessa’s apartment to see what we can do with it.

The Before

The studio apartment that Tessa bought was completely empty when she first arrived, so I knew I would have to find ways to partition off the room to make it feel like it was made of multiple distinct spaces instead of one big one. The challenge with this is that I also didn’t want to make her space feel closed off or cramped, which studio apartments can also suffer from. I also knew I would need some heavy curtains to cover the windows that lined two of the walls, or my client would be up in flames! Let’s get to planning the renovation.

The Planning

Tessa’s apartment is shaped in a way that made it pretty easy to section out, even if each area is small. First, I put the bathroom in the upper left corner of the apartment–these were the only walls I put down in the build to avoid making the apartment feel too small and cramped. Once I had the bathroom in place, I knew I could fit a U-shaped kitchen in the space next to it with an island and bar stools for a “dining area”, even though Tessa doesn’t eat regular food. Then, I decided to place the living area and bedroom in the wider space. I knew I wanted to use room dividers to help separate the two areas without truly closing off the apartment. Let’s get to building!

The After

I really love how this apartment turned out! I think I really managed to balance Tessa’s needs as a vampire with her gothic style to create something both fun and functional. The canopy over the bed adds something vintage, as well as the wrought-iron dividers between the living and sleeping areas. The red and black floor tiles in the kitchen carried over the color scheme without overpowering the small area. I even added some plants (I hope they’re low-sunlight, or Tessa might have trouble keeping them alive). I’m glad I stepped out of my comfort zone with this Victorian Gothic apartment for Tessa!

Thanks for checking out Room Reno #8: Gothic Victorian Room! If you liked it, be sure to check out Room Reno #7 or the Design Q&A blog. Looking for something else? Watch our video review of Dream Home Decorator or our Sailor Moon inspired video lookbook.