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Cordelia

Global Moderator
Staff member
Depends on preference, I think. A lot of people like Lakeview Manor, in Falkreath (including me). I haven't even built the other two houses, but my bestie chose Morthal. She said her character's wife and children complained about the area being swampy and dangerous, and she had do deal with bandits and draugr, I believe, while you deal with bandits and giants in Lakeview.

I plan on building the house in Dawnstar for my mage for its proximity to Winterhold.

Ultimately, I think Lakeview is so popular because of the views. It's lush, and green, and overlooks the lake. It's a really pretty rural setting, so it always gets my vote.
 

Kohlar the Unkilled

Time for some ale
I enjoy my Lakeview house. My kids like it too. Only my wife, Aela the Complainist, complains. She asks me "What were you thinking, sending us out here," to which I reply, "What was I thinking when I married you, you glitchy, dramatic, never has anything good to say SABERCAT! AND STOP CALLING ME BROTHER! I"M NOT YOUR BROTHER, I'M YOUR DAMNED HUSBAND. I KNOW THE MOONS HAVE SHIFTED... I DONT CARE ANYMORE!
 

Fenix09

Member
I dunno I very much enjoy the Heljarchen hall home. All though my family dislikes it they would rather live back in whiterun. But I am thinking of making that lakeview home.
 

Wildroses

Well-Known Member
Aela is one of the spouses who only likes the Solitude house. Luckily, I have so far mostly only married characters who are cheerful and upbeat about all the houses I move them into or don't have the "How are the kids?" option at all, although I have read some of the optimistic spouses are a bit doubtful about how safe Markarth is.

Lakeview Manor is universally beloved by all children and most spouses, and has the prettiest view in my opinion. However, most people say it gets attacked way more often than anywhere else.

Girls like Heljarchen Hall a lot because of the snow, but boys hate it for the same reason. Boys don't mind Winstead Manor, but girls hate it as they are convinced there are monsters in the swamp. Winstead Manor is the only house which lets you have a fish farm. Those who use alchemy often pick Winstead Manor purely for the fish farm. Girls aren't very keen on Riften either, thinking it is a place full of scary people and wanting promises to keep them safe, although they seem to like Brynjolf (which is not a point in Riften's favour from my perspective).
 

Atz

Member
House in the Pale . Heijarchen Hall, central location is a + . I have X - 360 , so the Lakeview Manor home is waaaaay to FULL of glitches , it actually causes Dragon Bones to rain from the sky , and sometimes on arriving home there would be Bandits inside.
 

Lucid

Well-Known Member
I'm on PC and I have nothing but problems with Lakeview Manor.My favourite Hearthfire house is Heijarchen Hall.

For vanilla homes my top pick is Proudspire Manor. I really like the layout and cosiness of Hjerim, but I wish it had better seating on the main level, and a big chest at the foot of the bed (or any chests, anywhere for that matter).
 

Atz

Member
I'm on PC and I have nothing but problems with Lakeview Manor.My favourite Hearthfire house is Heijarchen Hall.

For vanilla homes my top pick is Proudspire Manor. I really like the layout and cosiness of Hjerim, but I wish it had better seating on the main level, and a big chest at the foot of the bed (or any chests, anywhere for that matter).

Lucid >> I found out that when I do the blood on ice quest that if I omitted looking for clues in the bedroom at Hjerim I would be missing the chest at the foot of the bed. I felt the same as you cause no chest is a downer . If I check out the bedroom for clues it is there every time . Hope this might help :)
 

shadowkitty

Mistress of Shadows
Lakeview manor for Indari, because she is marrying Farkas and it's close to Whiterun.
But Kiara my vampire Lord is going to build in Morthal, because of its proximity to the creepy swamp, and the creepy ruins, and the creepy sea of ghosts, and the creepy horkers, and the creepy re-spawning dead draugr.
 

Nathan1710

New Member
Im with lakeview manor! i just like the views apart from that guy behind the doing voodoo crap
 

ZeroDragon

Bring me my broadsword, and clear understanding.
I want to say Winstad Manor because it can have a fishery, but apparently, in the world of property it's location, location, location so Heijarchen Hall is the winner. I just wish I'd done the layouts the other way round.
 

DestroyerDevourMaster

"Zu'u Alduin. Zok sahrot do naan ko Lein!"
I like all the homesteads but my wife tends to get kidnapped and my livestock murdered so I tend to make my family live inside city walls. My favorite house in Skyrim therefore is Proudspire Manor, I just wish it wouldn't mess with Jordis' and Brelyna's heads; Jordis has amnesia and Brelyna sleeps in the basement. It's a glitchy but nice house and city :p On a side note why can't I move my Telvanni wife into Severin Manor, Bethesda?
 
My family and I live at winstad manor. However, I like to tell my wife I am going to a meeting in Falkreath, then go and spend the weekend with my secret other family at lakeview


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

GrumpyBadger

Article Writer
I've built all three -
Lakeview Manor isn't bad for a family, it's easy to get, and in a good "middle" location - ish. :D

Windstead Manor, depending on the wife, is by far the best for a family. I have Lydia as Broc's wife. She loved Windstead the most by far. I also like Windstead because of the fishery, and my three-year-old for some reason is obsessed with Slaughterfish lol

Heljarchen - my favorite for a "reclusive" main home. My Khajiit will have Heljarchen as his residence, it just seems "out of the way." It's close by giants however, so I'm too much a fan of it for families. I seriously think of like the "Batcave" cept above ground, in the middle of a tundra, and that for me is Heljarchen. I don't know why though, it is what it is!

as for ascetics -
Windstead Manor (notice a bias here?) I think has the best view with Solitude off the master bedroom's porch.
although
Lakeview well, has a lake :D
...instead of a marsh ;)

if I were building all three for the same character -

Windstead - home: kicthen, bedroom, mine has trophy room, maybe storage instead - but honestly there's plenty of storage in these homes

Lakeview - vacation spot - kitchen, bedroom, trophy room (again)

Heljarchen - working space - library, alchemy, greenhouse

basically, there's plenty of storage, so no worries there. I don't really get having the enchanting and alchemy towers, even though I heavily use both. I also don't build the armory, because I just make one down in the cellar.
"bedrooms" is a misnomer - it puts a master bed, and two twin sized beds in the same room!! If you have kids in real life, you'll understand the idiocy of this! :D So I still build it, I just don't build the kid's beds. Makes it a master suite fit for a king, jarl, or Dovahkiin.

If I could mod it to have any wing how I wanted it -
West Wing:
I love the bedroom for family types, greenhouse for a bachelor, so that's fine.
North Wing:
Alchemy Tower if I could but with an enchanting table as well ;), or the trophy room for a family spread.
East Wing:
Kitchen - I think it's a blast. I love to cook in real life, so this probably plays heavily into it. BUT, don't discount the food, their properties now, have some good stuff in them depending on the meal. Juniper Berry Crostata is a favorite of mine - I never have enough butter.
or maybe a Library. But that's tough for me, because I am so biased towards the kitchen. However, I know plenty of people who think the "kitchen" option is the silliest addition to Hearthfire, so to each their own ;)

hope this helps!
 

Dovahkiir

Member
Lakeview is the nicest, other places are too cold or out of the way for my liking. Windstad has a fish hatchery which is unique, I think
 

Frozen Nord

New Member
Well.... really... it's more of a "which would you build first, and how would you build them" question than anything. Lakeview is always my favorite. What I do is think of them from a roleplaying aspect. Lakeview is the best spot for a family. It's close to Falkreath, Riverwood, and Whiterun. It's in the warmest location with the best views, it isn't close to any draugr or giants, and it has a central location. I usually make this into family home and my main residence with all the deck additions and it's where I store most of my stuff.

Heljarchen Hall also has a central location, but it is also more remote and harder, from a roleplaying perspective, to get to. It is also at a very cold location and near a giant camp. I usually build all the tall roof additions onto this one and use it as kind of a retreat to make trophies that have the most significants to my character as well as to grow various alchemy and cooking ingredients.

Windstad Manor... is not where I'd ever see having the family stay. It's extremely remote and hard to get to. It's surrounded by monsters. And it is very cold. I usually use this as a retreat for magical study. I build all the tower additions and store most of my books here. Keeping copies of books I can imagine my family liking in the bookshelf at Lakeview. The presence of nearby draugr is useful if you need souls for enchanting. It's really the ideal location for a mage hideout. Bad location for a family. And of course you have the hatchery if you need fish for alchemy ingredients.

In all the locations I try to keep the plants in the outdoor gardens realistic for the climates of each location. I know I could mix and match the additions more, and I have in the past. But I really love how all of them look in those configurations in these various locations. And... the kitchen really isn't necessary for the family home because the cooking spit does everything the family needs. All else the kitchen is good for is baked things, most of them sweat and an indulgence, and I always keep a supply of baked goods at Lakeview as a roleplaying gesture anyway. And it makes more sense, roleplaying, for the kitchen with the oven being at the location with the mill and the greenhouse.
 

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