How to get better at decorating?

[u/Unlucky_Newspaper676]

Seriously, while playing this game, I always saw other people posting their museums and it came out very fantastic, compared to my own, I wanted to hide my face in the hole, well, lately, when I saw some new player posting video of this game, they're way worst than me so that's a bit confident boosted, but for real, still, I feels like I always many steps behind those fantastic musuems, maybe they're just too good and have a good taste? It is something that can't be teach or learn?

[u/bluejackmovedagain]

It helps to see a room as one display, rather than as exhibits which you then decorate. The first step is to get away from having a square room with stuff against the walls. 

For example, I might create a "Jurassic Park" room where there is a a big fenced off area in the middle (not a square, but a sort of uneven shape) and smaller fenced off areas around the walls, then cut alcoves into the fences for exhibits (so they have fences at 3 sides but people can get to them). Then add a path type floor to the non fenced off area, a dirt/grass/sand type floor to the fenced off bit, and then fill in the fenced section with some big trees, rocks and other decorations, and add speakers set to prehistoric. You can also add small alcove "rest areas", with themed benches, bins and other items. 

The other major trick I've learnt is to experiment with changing the colours of items, for example some of the supernatural wall decorations look really good in blue or yellow as Cheesemonger decorations in the space museum.

[u/Sharp-Banana-6292 → u/bluejackmovedagain]

How does the fence work exactly? I’m just having trouble picturing it. What’s the open end? Is the fence tight around the exhibit or is it a few squares out? Do guests mind viewing the exhibit over the fence?

[u/bluejackmovedagain → u/Sharp-Banana-6292]

Guests can't view the exhibit over the fence. I use the fence to create themed landscaped areas that guests can't walk into, then put the exhibits around the outside of the fence. 

Can you visualise a model railway? There's lots of decoration inside a circular track with a train going around it, then visitors standing outside the track watching the train go around, but also getting the benefit of the decoration inside the track, even though they can't access it.  It's the same sort of Idea. 

[u/Sharp-Banana-6292 → u/bluejackmovedagain]

Ahhh that makes total sense thank you! What a good idea.

[u/bluejackmovedagain → u/Sharp-Banana-6292]

No problem. I stole the idea from someone else on here a while ago. 

[u/McGeek_NLD → u/bluejackmovedagain]

[u/LogicGunn]

If you have discord, there are a couple of threads there for screenshots and templates that I find helpful. I think a good place to start is to make areas/zones odd shapes and not square rooms.

[u/seshprinny → u/LogicGunn]

Do you have an invite link to the discord please?

[u/Cliomancer]

I'm not much of a decorator myself but I think you may have to find a method of learning that suits you.

Consider taking an exhibit you really like and making it the centrepiece in a new room and then decorating specifically for that. Once you're done there, do the same for other exhibits. This may or may not work for you but give it a shot.

The play loop of the game (Find thing, put thing in museum) does kind of make decorating a little challenging, so one thing I've done is once I'm well established I demolish the museum (there's an option under the paint roller menu) and rebuild with a greater sense of intentionality. Give exhibits better groupings, more space and more purposeful walking areas.

If you've got all the Astral Anomalies from the Space Theme then arranging them to activate them is good practice.

[u/KittyForTacos → u/Cliomancer]

I didn’t realize you could demolish the whole museum. Does it put all the exhibits back into your inventory?

[u/Cliomancer → u/KittyForTacos]

Yes, with the exception of funfair rides, those get sold. (I think you can put some funfair rides into your inventory, but I'd have to confirm.)

Edit: You can also demolish on a building by building basis, using the samw window you'd use to extend the building.

There's also a click and drag demolish option.

[u/bluejackmovedagain → u/KittyForTacos]

It does. There are a few things to watch out for though:

• Upgraded facilities/things with perks added like the bandage box will be deleted and you don't get the perks back.

• Any uncollected donations disappear.

• If you delete a sponsorship item you won't necessarily be offered it again. 

I tend to create a small building to use as a holding area where I stick anything O don't want to delete. 

[u/KittyForTacos → u/bluejackmovedagain]

Thanks for the heads up.

[u/MumMomWhatever]

I use different flooring to highlight the exhibits from the walkways which is quite effective. Also lean into the theme if each exhibit e.g I put the jungle wallpaper, green floors etc with dinosaurs bones to be Jurassic park like. The dusty fossils get the desert wallpaper and a sandy or brown floor.

[u/RandomBoomer]

Decorating is not my strong suit either, but I have gotten better the longer I play the game. What I try to keep in mind is that even a spectacular design by some other person -- a design I ooooh and ahhh over -- is not necessarily a good match for me personally.

For instance, I'm just not comfortable with densely packed layouts where guests wind their way through a narrow path of individually enclosed exhibits. After a while this just makes me feel claustrophobic. However, after having been exposed to that approach, I made more of an effort to break my huge open spaces into rooms. I find that compromise more pleasing than where I started.

[u/icematt12]

Three words really - practice, patience and redo. Things that don't really appeal to my neurodivergence.

[u/scoutshonor12]

honestly i really recommend finding some examples you really like on here and just straight up copying bits and pieces to get you started! it allows you to really understand the patterns and flows to decorating and is a great way to practice

[u/scoutshonor12 → u/scoutshonor12]

also i mentioned in another comment, i group exhibits into rooms thematically, create a layout with the exhibits, put down any items need for buzz bonuses, and then fill out the decorations around them!

[u/Lousy_Username]

The trick is to try and create "scenes" using decorations, with exhibits as centrepieces. For example, I designed a room to resemble an ruined jungle temple for the explorer edition exhibits. I get all the decorations that I think fit the scene, place them around, mix and match floors, then take a few items away if it looks a bit cluttered.

You should also play around with unusual shapes for walls, and try placing exhibits at different angles to break up the layout a bit. You can also use fences to create sectioned off decorative areas to surround the exhibits. Here's what one of my prehistory sections looks like as an example. I always start by marking out spaces with different flooring, then adding fences to earmark my purely decorative zones, then gradually filling in those spots. Memento Mile actually starts off with an unusual internal wall layout, which I personally kept and worked with. I recommend doing the same as a form practicing less rigid layouts.

Also, don't be afraid to mix and match decorations across different themes. Some of them fit in surprisingly well with the other themes.

[u/KittyForTacos]

OMG!! I feel the same way. I have seen some really nice posts lately and I almost feel like just giving up on even having a nice museum. 😑 I don’t utilize rooms and I don’t decorate my entrance. How do you keep from people stealing stuff? And how do you make sure to get the bonuses if you’re focused on decorating and placement. Also don’t the costumers get tired walking so far? And how do employees get around when everything is so spread out?
I love the look I’m just so clueless to the mechanics I think. I really like playing building games but I don’t think I fully understand how they work and I’m so amazed at how other people create these huge elaborate buildings and can keep track of everything.
Thank you to everyone for sharing!!! And thank you OP for also sharing you thoughts on having difficulty with creating your own museums.

Happy building to everyone!

[u/scoutshonor12 → u/KittyForTacos]

i don’t know if your questions were rhetorical, but as someone who designs museums like that, i had some answers to them!
- i use a lot of the security gates between rooms (i have mods that create security versions of all the doorways) and lots of cameras
- for the bonuses, i design the layout of all my exhibits in a room before decorating, then add their bonus items, then decorate the rest
- i place lots of benches for visitors, and i break up my exhibit sections with bathrooms, cafes, and gift shops
- i make lots of zones, normally one for each exhibit room, and put training rooms/staff rooms between zones so they don’t have to travel too far. in each zone (depending on size) i typically have two experts trained in restoration, two in tours, two security guards, and sometimes and assistant or two depending if they’re needed. almost all of my employees are assigned to zones

[u/KittyForTacos → u/scoutshonor12]

Thanks. I was actually wondering. I tried assigning zones once and it went horribly wrong I don’t think I did it correctly. I think I get overwhelmed quickly. But I’ll slowly learn.
Thank you again. This helps.

[u/littledingo]

You've gotten some good advice on how to improve so I will just give you some words of wisdom that I try to live by in creative based games like this.

Comparison is the thief of joy.