What is the best approach to just start decorating your island?

[EZbot]

I've saved island inspo videos, blank island templates, etc. etc. yet I still feel overwhelmed whenever it comes to finally start getting serious with decorating the whole island. So far I've only finished decorating the edge of the island (a ship harbor area) and not much else.

honestly I have only a vague idea of what I imagined my island to be, but when it comes to just shut up and do it, I just froze in my uncertainty.

What is the right frame of mind to terraform/decorate an island here? Why is it so hard to just start instead of wallowing in field of overgrown weeds and windflowers?

 

[S.J.]

It can definitely get overwhelming when you have an entire island to terraform and decorate!

I have redecorated my first island, and also started a second island last year. The way I managed re-decorating and re-terraforming my first island was by taking it one existing section at a time. I’d focus on one corner with a few houses, then one cliff area, and so on. For my second island, I planned a rough map of what sort of layout I wanted. First I focused on placing the buildings in the correct locations (including terraforming if needed), then adding fences, then adding paths, and then by finishing off any other areas that needed terraforming.

On my first island I just decorated around the natural landscape as I went, and then later re-decorated with terraforming. On my second island, all the terraforming came first. While I love the layout of my second island too, it does feel a little overwhelming that I have so much decorating left to do. I really preferred the way my original island organically grew from a glorified camp into a full island over time naturally.

These were just my experiences of course! I don’t have any advice, and I can’t say the best way to tackle it, but I wish you the best of luck with it!

 

[EZbot]

It can definitely get overwhelming when you have an entire island to terraform and decorate!

I have redecorated my first island, and also started a second island last year. The way I managed re-decorating and re-terraforming my first island was by taking it one existing section at a time. I’d focus on one corner with a few houses, then one cliff area, and so on. For my second island, I planned a rough map of what sort of layout I wanted. First I focused on placing the buildings in the correct locations (including terraforming if needed), then adding fences, then adding paths, and then by finishing off any other areas that needed terraforming.

On my first island I just decorated around the natural landscape as I went, and then later re-decorated with terraforming. On my second island, all the terraforming came first. While I love the layout of my second island too, it does feel a little overwhelming that I have so much decorating left to do. I really preferred the way my original island organically grew from a glorified camp into a full island over time naturally.

These were just my experiences of course! I don’t have any advice, and I can’t say the best way to tackle it, but I wish you the best of luck with it!

tysm for the detailed account of your experience! can I ask have you ever messed up a section of your island real bad (e.g. miscalculated the size of an area you already fully terraformed/decorated)?

 

[azurill]

It can definitely be overwhelming. I agree with @S.J. With going one section at a time . Even then it can be overwhelming when your not sure what to do. One of the things that helped me with terraforming is using patterns to mark where I wanted to terraform. I wanted to make a crescent cliff so I used patterns to mark where the cliff would go. Then I could see how it would turn out before making the actual cliff. I could also easily adjust it if it looked off. I over calculated one cliff and had to make it on the other side of the island. I terraform first and worry about decorating later. I still have many places on my second island to decorate.

 

[VanitasFan26]

Usually whenever I start over a new island I tend to work on the paths first. I go to the airport and place down patterns and connect it to to Resident Services. Then I keep making more paths so I can make a blueprint of where I want the buildings to go. Also fixing up the rivers to see where I want the bridges to go. Lastly I fix up the cliffs so they line up good and it doesn't look off centered.

 

[lunatepic]

I'm probably not the most qualified person to be giving advice on this topic (the state of my island is a mess, to put it lightly), but I definitely relate. with a game like this, with so, so much customization, it's easy to get decision paralysis and not get anything done at all. The number of times I've started decorating/terraforming an area only to wipe it empty with the thought, 'oh, what if there's an even better way to utilize this space' is embarrassing haha.

as much as I love the trial and error design process, it wasn't really working for me in this situation. rather than just trying to jump in blind, I try to prepare (ordering/making all the furniture + saving the paths I know I want to use, having trees of all the different growth stages prepped for use, etc.) to ease the process as much as possible. when designing larger areas, I find it helpful to plan 'inwards' rather than 'outwards', ie creating a basic skeleton (laying main paths, placing infrastructure) and then filling it out, the scale of your focus shrinking as you go, as opposed to trying to perfect the minutiae of one small area at a time. this also helps with the flow of the island - I find that areas will feel less disjointed/compartmentalized.

one last thing that can be easy to forget - it's a game, and the purpose is to have fun with it! an island doesn't have to be perfect. I love tackling creative problems (especially in video games, where you don't necessarily have to worry about functionality), so I don't mind agonizing over these things, but in moments where I feel it isn't bringing me much joy, I put decorating on the backburner and focus on other parts of the gameplay - fishing, talking to villagers, all that good stuff.

 

[S.J.]

tysm for the detailed account of your experience! can I ask have you ever messed up a section of your island real bad (e.g. miscalculated the size of an area you already fully terraformed/decorated)?

I can't say I've messed anything up particularly bad, but the one thing that sticks with me was placing the houses for my villagers! I intended to have a row of four houses, but after placing the first one or two, I realised that I wasn't going to have enough for a row of four and needed to find room somewhere else. I still haven't found the best spot for that house that didn't fit.

On the other hand, some of the areas turned out better than I expected too. I think I expected everything to turn out the way I'd planned on a map, but it probably pays to be adaptable. The great thing is, if it doesn't work out the way you thought or it's not the best design, you can always move on to a different part of the island and come back later.

 

[xxcodexx]

keep it simple at first. think pathways and where you want the villagers to go. you need to make rather large decisions here, as to the layout of your island. once youve decided that, then just plant a few trees here and there *i kept my island rather barren for that reason* and a few well placed hybrids. once youre happy with where ever youve placed those items, then start filling in the rest. create parks or fishing spots, or pirate ships or castles lol!!! just think ahead, keep it small at first and dont worry about filling everything in all at once

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I suggest just doing whatever you feel is right for your Island in the beginning to get K.K. Slider to come visit and then start decorating however you see fit. Just don’t flowers until you know you have an area that can contain them. They will multiply like crazy and will become increasingly harder to get rid of if you don’t keep an eye on them.

 

[dizzy bone]

Figure out whatever theme you're going for and a decent idea of the layout. I don't think you need to plan out EVERYTHING but at least get a general idea of the pathways and work around that, unless you're going for a more natural theme and the pathways can be flexible. I like to work on section by section. Complete that and then move on. I order all the items I need in advance and place them in that section I'm working on. For me the most annoying thing is getting into the groove of decorating and realising that I'm missing one piece of furniture and I have to wait a day to order it. Usually when I'm working on something (because I don't time travel often anymore) I will either spend a week ordering things in advance bit by bit or bulk buy from someone off the forums.

 

[nightglow]

I personally start around buildings for decorating. For villagers, make yards.
The actually terraforming is tough. I don't really have much pointers for those. I do think starting with small cliffs and then adding a house before making the rest of the cliff can help. I personally have a bad habit of lining buildings up, so I try to have them at different depths or at different heights. Sometimes I count the tiles that buildings use and use paving to mark stuff out. Sometimes I mark bridges and inclines.
I try not to have my reps house too far from the public buildings just for convenience.
Personally I try to work in small areas and go really slow. I also try to keep a less is more mentality, which is a personal preference.
Best of luck.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I personally start around buildings for decorating. For villagers, make yards.
The actually terraforming is tough. I don't really have much pointers for those. I do think starting with small cliffs and then adding a house before making the rest of the cliff can help. I personally have a bad habit of lining buildings up, so I try to have them at different depths or at different heights. Sometimes I count the tiles that buildings use and use paving to mark stuff out. Sometimes I mark bridges and inclines.
I try not to have my reps house too far from the public buildings just for convenience.
Personally I try to work in small areas and go really slow. I also try to keep a less is more mentality, which is a personal preference.
Best of luck.

Definitely agree with this. Just start placing that sort of work well together such as the outdoor cooking pot next to an outdoor table to make a small cookout area or a beach ball and lounging chair on the beach. Doesn’t have to be elaborate but doing this will give some character to your Island and does increase the rating. The rating is affected by how much you’ve decorated your Island not by what you’ve put out. If you want to get K.K. as soon as possible, you can even put random items outside and it still counts as decorating. You don’t even need to plant flowers like Isabelle insists. I got four stars in two days by putting out a tv, stereo, a desk, and a refrigerator outside randomly and the game didn’t care and just let the rating meet the requirements to have K.K. play a concert and so I could get everything else that you can get once he visits.

 

[EZbot]

Thank you all so much for the advices! Sorry for the late response but I can only play on weekends (at least this week). I finally started to decorate the upper parts of my island and work my way down bit by bit.

Post automatically merged: Mar 24, 2023

Figure out whatever theme you're going for and a decent idea of the layout. I don't think you need to plan out EVERYTHING but at least get a general idea of the pathways and work around that, unless you're going for a more natural theme and the pathways can be flexible. I like to work on section by section. Complete that and then move on. I order all the items I need in advance and place them in that section I'm working on. For me the most annoying thing is getting into the groove of decorating and realising that I'm missing one piece of furniture and I have to wait a day to order it. Usually when I'm working on something (because I don't time travel often anymore) I will either spend a week ordering things in advance bit by bit or bulk buy from someone off the forums.

omg ngl this actually happened, especially with the shrubs. Had to time travel 3 days forward to get everything ready

 

[Olimar]

WOW! Your pictures you shared look so good! I love how you've decorated them. It looks like you've got a good vision for what you are going for and know how to place things in a way that is interesting and unique. I say keep doing what you're doing because it all looks awesome!

What I've found for my own decorating is to just work bit by bit and not be afraid to rework something in a way that makes more sense. Sometimes I plan out an area and realize partway through that I was off with spacing or where a building should go, and previously that would make me want to completely give up, but now I roll with it and find something that fits the space. I also had to really get away from thinking like my island needed to be completed quickly. This is a place that I'll probably always be tweaking and trying to make better, so not every aspect has to be "perfect."

 

[-Blue-]

I haven't touched NH in a while, but when I did get serious about decorating/terraforming, I would just tackle a small part every now and then. I didn't try to tackle the entire island at once. I just had a plan for a small part and I slowly developed other ideas somewhere else at another time.

 

[Pokeking]

I have done minor terraforming. Some instances was to move a pond one square left, terraform to accommodate a couple bridges, and to correct a couple of alterations that I changed my mind about in an attempt to restore how it looked day one.

As for decorating, I looked at the series available and picked one that best matched what I was going for. It helped me to have all my villagers live next to each other. I have Able Sisters, Nook, and the campground all very close to the airport in case I have any visitors.