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animal crossing: new horizons

7 Tips to Make Your Animal Crossing Island Feel More Like Home

This article is over 4 years old and may contain outdated information

Animal Crossing is a lot of people’s go-to feel-good game, and it’s not hard to understand why. You get to build any kind of island you want while designing your home, becoming friends with your neighbors, and spending your days relaxing on the beach.

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However, the DIY recipes you can get take a long time to accumulate and it takes a while for your island to start to have a cohesive atmosphere. We thought it would be fun to make a list of ways you can make your island feel more like home!

Spruce up Your Yard

Animal Crossing New Horizons

Adding a fence and some items in front of your house can make it feel much more like home. There are plenty of fence options, like country style, brick, stone, etc, that once they are set, helps define what part of the island is yours (really it’s all yours).

Adding flowers or a fruit tree will give it some color, while a BBQ or hammock gives it a very relaxed feeling.

Build an Animal Crossing yard that every middle-aged dad would be proud of.

Spruce up Everyone’s Yard!

Focusing on your own house is a big part of Animal Crossing, but so is helping your villager friends live comfortably on your island.

Try giving each of your villagers a yard that fits their personality. This will constantly change as you get more items and DIY recipes, but it’s always a fun project that is always ongoing.

Grouping certain villagers together in smaller communities based on their personality is also a possibility once you get more bells and can move around houses.

Build a Community Garden

Animal Crossing New Horizons Community Garden

This simple little idea is easy and can make your Animal Crossing town a lot cozier early on.

All it really takes is a fence, some flowers/trees, and a place for people to sit. You can get the DIY recipe for a fountain or big bath from the Nook Miles terminal, which will make your garden feel like more of a landmark.

It’s a cute little idea that will only take a couple of minutes to implement, and will really give some life to your island getaway.

A Beach Lounge

Animal Crossing New Horizons Beach Lounge

Craft some log garden lounge chairs and a bonfire and you’re already halfway there.

Customize the lounge chairs to give them some comfy pillows, put them on the beach and you have a place that looks as good as any real-life resort. The big bonfire adds really good lighting at night and crafting some wood stools really completes the whole area.

Huge bonus if you are able to add some coconut trees.

A Campfire Getaway

Animal Crossing New Horizons Campfire

This doesn’t add a whole lot to your island, but it is fun to have a little campfire away from the hustle and bustle of your town. All it takes is a campfire and some stools for your friends to sit at, and you have a cozy little getaway.

It’s pretty fun to sit around the fire and chat with your friends on discord or over the phone.

It might make you feel better, sitting around a fire and talking with your friends since most of the world has to partake in social distancing at the moment– Animal Crossing is just so wholesome.

Plant an Orchard

Animal Crossing New Horizons Orchard

Really all you have to do is plant some trees in close proximity to each other, but it feels like a part of your island is dedicated to growing fruit, which can be fun.

Whether it’s one kind of fruit or multiple, it still adds a lot of color to your island since a lot of stuff is just plain green.

Show off Your Museum

Museum

Since the things you gather for Blathers are displayed on the inside of the museum, it can be cool to show off some of your extra exhibits outside of the museum.

Adding some rope fencing and a water fountain can make it feel a lot like a real-life museum and the dinosaur bones give a good glimpse of what people see inside. Plus it just changes things up from the typical scenery of trees, flowers, and houses.


These are all just suggestions of course, and you’re free to do what you want with your island. That is the whole point of the game, to live and build whatever kind of life you want. If you have any cool/cozy ideas that you have implemented on your Animal Crossing island, let us know down in the comments and maybe we can even visit each other’s islands!


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Author
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Sterling Silver
Lover of all things turn-based. Playing Games Since 2001, Favorite Genres: JRPG, Survival