When building spaces in The Sims, it's easy to overlook the great outdoors. For many houses, the bare minimum amount of attention is paid to the front yard, while the backyard is turned into a dumping ground for any outdoor equipment your Sims might have.
It doesn't have to be this way, and there's plenty of custom content available if you want to add more pizzazz to your Sim's patio. From outdoor furniture to garden supplies, we've scoured the Internet for the best and most essential custom content for your Sims' outdoor spaces. Want to get started? You've come to the right place.
8 Outdoor Water Sources As Sprinkler Systems
- Creator: Teknikah
- Available on: Mod The Sims
Attaching a sprinkler system to the exterior of your home will protect the entire house against accidental fires. The only problem is that the EA sprinkler alarms are ugly as sin and aren't easily concealed by plants or decor items. Fortunately, Mod the Sims user Teknikah has the solution to this dilemma.
Their Mod the Sims page boasts a variety of different custom sprinkler alarms, all disguised as ordinary household objects. You can choose which one to place on the exterior of your Sims' home based on your individual needs. A historical or fantasy simmer might want to use the water pump or well, while the bucket and garden hose are perfect for your everyday modern suburb.
7 Sims 3 To Sims 4 Fire Pit Conversions
- Creator: TheJim07
- Available on: Mod The Sims
TheJim07 is an active member of the Mod The Sims community, dedicating their entire custom content career to both real-world art pieces and recreations of items from older games. The Sims 3 had a number of different fire pits that your Sims could use for camping or get-togethers, but The Sims 4 had less of a selection.
Fortunately, TheJim07 has you covered. This set converts all the Sims 3 fire pits you know and love to The Sims 4, giving your Sims more options for all their fire pit needs. Now your Sims can hold the cookouts and bonfire parties of their dreams, even in the smallest of spaces.
6 Half Trellis
- Creator: Qahne
- Available on: Mod The Sims
With The Sims, the simple things are often the most overlooked. You can find fancy custom content with all the bells and whistles everywhere you look, but a simple black sweater or unadorned coffee table can turn up plenty of dead ends. So it goes with outdoor spaces, where simple arbors and trellises are rarer than you'd like.
This trellis from Qahne is meant to go up against a wall and is perfect for your entryway or garden. It gives your Sims a bit of shade as they head through the door, but it can also be used to accentuate a seating area or flower garden. No more will you have to jump through hoops in build mode to build a functional arbor.
5 Garden Supplies Set
- Creator: Sandy at Around The Sims 4
- Available on: Around The Sims 4 Website
Around the Sims 4 has been around for a long time in the Sims custom content world, staying active to this day and making sure all their creations stay updated in a timely manner. They've also done work for The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, although their Sims 4 work is by far the most expansive portfolio they have.
There's no shortage of beautiful, photogenic garden objects for The Sims 4, but it's somewhat harder to find clutter items that make your garden look and feel like they're actively being cared for by a Sim. This collection from Around the Sims 4 gives you compost bins, wheelbarrows, and garden tools as clutter items for Sims with a green thumb. There's even a flower arranging table!
4 Cozy Backyard Set
- Creator: Max 20
- Available on: Patreon
This is a great patio furniture set if you're just starting out your custom content collection. The set comes with 24 items and covers everything you'd need to set up a fun outdoor seating space, from furniture to decor pieces. It even contains a decorative mini greenhouse for your garden.
Perhaps the best feature of this set would be the outdoor fireplace, but the container plants are also a joy to add to any porch or patio. You even have a modular set of dividers to create separate spaces in an otherwise open garden, giving you more options for customization.
3 Kids' Playground Equipment
- Creator: Sandy at Around The Sims 4
- Available on: Around The Sims 4 Website
If your childhood was spent playing on wooden playground equipment, burning your thighs on a metal slide, and trying your best to avoid splinters, this is the set for you. While EA has a set of more modern playground equipment for your Sims to use, it doesn't match with all aesthetics.
This set from Around the Sims 4 gives you the ability to decorate your backyards and neighborhood parks with a more subdued style. It's a sweet, nostalgic look that fits well with both modern and retro neighborhoods, making it perfect if you're doing the decades challenge and don't want to constantly update outdoor spaces.
2 Dreamy Outdoor CC Pack
- Creator: sixamcc
- Available on: Curseforge
This custom set from sixamcc is an ode to hazy summer days spent lounging by the pool, soaking in all that vitamin D while letting your daydreams consume you. If you think that sounds lovely, then the Dreamy Outdoor CC set is a great addition to your mods folder. The bright colors and cute, summery designs make every piece in this set look like something out of a dream.
The functional pool floats that come with this set would be reason enough to download, but they're far from the only thing you get. For the low, low price of free, you can also get your hands on a porch swing for your Sims, as well as a fire pit and cozy patio furniture. That's everything you need for your Sims' next barbecue or pool party, but letting your Sims chill by themselves is also great.
1 Garden At Home Stuff Pack
- Creator: Max 20
- Available on: Patreon
The Romantic Garden Stuff pack was one of the first DLC released for The Sims 4. It provided exactly what it advertised, even if its offerings were a bit too grandiose for some spaces. If you want a romantic outdoor space that still looks down to earth without needing DLC, the Garden At Home set from Max 20 might just be for you.
There are 35 new objects for you to play around with in this pack, including swing chairs, new patio furniture, an outdoor water faucet, and a variety of different flowers. The pack doesn't shy away from providing less glamorous garden objects, either: it also provides dry fallen leaves, a wood chopping log, a mini greenhouse, and your very own wheelbarrow.
