I need some island design ideas (HELP ME)

[Velvet_nosebleed]

So I’m really bad at designing my island and I would really like some ideas to do on my island. I have so much space that I don’t know what to do with. I’ve only placed paths connecting the villagers houses and put gardens by each house but that’s it. I wanted to put a picture of my map but I can’t bc it says “file too large”. I barely have cut down any trees and I haven’t even touched the 2nd and 3rd tiers of my island. I don’t know where to start

 

[naranjita]

don't know if this will be helpful, but if you don't have a particular concept for your island, it's probably a lot less overwhelming to start out by decorating small areas, and then connecting them together.

I was in the same situation as you until I started recreating stuff I saw online. I was inspired by this reddit post to make an outdoors café, and this super creative museum gift shop gave me the idea to build a plaza around my museum with stalls holding some one-piece fossils and other science-y stuff (like a microscope or a plasma ball). you can also use some of the Nook Miles items to build a theme park, or even just a regular park. then I came up with the idea of making an outdoors library, and a picnic area situated on the second level of my island, surrounded by nature. so I just kept building these little areas and connecting them together, and that really helped improve the look of my island with relatively little effort.

also, don't feel forced to have a super curated island. I think there's a lot of charm in keeping your island looking natural and even overgrown. I've tried to keep my island looking more like a small town with a few areas of interest than a huge city like some people do, and that has taken a lot of the pressure off (of course, if you want to go for the urban look, that's fine -- but I feel like if you don't know where to start, it's best to leave that idea for later).

 

[senbeiiscool]

I was in the same situation as you until I started recreating stuff I saw online. I was inspired by this reddit post to make an outdoors café, and this super creative museum gift shop gave me the idea to build a plaza around my museum with stalls holding some one-piece fossils and other science-y stuff (like a microscope or a plasma ball).

Wow that museum gift shop idea is fantastic!


Also to OP, do whatever you want! My island literally has pockets of random ideas which don't really tie together, but I don't care! I think it's great! There are some islands with fantastic themes and are great inspiration but don't feel the need to stick to one thing. If there's 1 thing this game has improved so much from New Leaf, it's customization on almost all levels. If you make something and don't like it 2 months from now, tear it down! You're not tied down to your choices anymore so be free!

Edit: typo

 

[MelaniteMoon]

When I started decorating my island I looked at what furniture I had in storage and tried to imagine what sort of areas they could fit in. Then I did little builds at a time. I still have plenty of empty space but that means I can still expand and build whatever ideas I have in the future. And if there's something you end up not liking, you can just remove it.

Designing your grand plan for your entire island at once can be overwhelming, it's much more enjoyable and less stressful to do it in little chunks.

 

[Velvet_nosebleed]

don't know if this will be helpful, but if you don't have a particular concept for your island, it's probably a lot less overwhelming to start out by decorating small areas, and then connecting them together.

I was in the same situation as you until I started recreating stuff I saw online. I was inspired by this reddit post to make an outdoors café, and this super creative museum gift shop gave me the idea to build a plaza around my museum with stalls holding some one-piece fossils and other science-y stuff (like a microscope or a plasma ball). you can also use some of the Nook Miles items to build a theme park, or even just a regular park. then I came up with the idea of making an outdoors library, and a picnic area situated on the second level of my island, surrounded by nature. so I just kept building these little areas and connecting them together, and that really helped improve the look of my island with relatively little effort.

also, don't feel forced to have a super curated island. I think there's a lot of charm in keeping your island looking natural and even overgrown. I've tried to keep my island looking more like a small town with a few areas of interest than a huge city like some people do, and that has taken a lot of the pressure off (of course, if you want to go for the urban look, that's fine -- but I feel like if you don't know where to start, it's best to leave that idea for later).

I did make a playground and a cafe on the rocks on the beach. I think one of my main dilemmas right now is what to do with all of the trees because that’s what is bothering me the most. I just feel like there are so many trees and I don’t know how to manage them.