Furnishing a homestead without mods is actually kind of fun if you stop expecting it to look like a

[NordOfSolitude]

I've been doing a modded playthrough for so long that I forgot what vanilla homestead decorating felt like. Started a new run on Switch and just finished the main hall at Lakeview, and honestly? The limited furniture options are forcing me to actually think about what my character would actually own instead of just filling every room with the fanciest stuff available.

Like, my Nord warrior doesn't need a bunch of fancy alchemy tables and arcane enchanters everywhere. I'm doing like a proper "retired adventurer settling down" vibe and it's weirdly satisfying to just have a few key pieces, some mounted weapons, a good bed, and call it done. The emptiness actually reads as intentional now instead of feeling like I'm missing out.

Anyone else find that the vanilla furniture limitations actually work better for roleplay? Or am I just coping because I can't mod on this playthrough lol

 

[RiftenWanderer]

I think you're onto something real here. I did the same thing a couple playthroughs ago on my PS4 run and yeah, the constraint actually forces you to be intentional. My Orc blacksmith's house ended up feeling way more lived-in than when I had access to like fifty different chair variants and could just carpet every room with clutter.

The mounted weapons thing especially - that's such a good detail. In vanilla you're actually limited enough that every mounted head or sword feels like it means something instead of just being decoration noise. My Nord had maybe four or five trophies from major kills and it told an actual story, you know?

That said I think part of why modded playthroughs feel empty is because people go overboard with it. Just because you can fill every surface doesn't mean you should. Sounds like you're just playing vanilla the way it was kind of meant to be played - not every space needs to be maxed out. The emptiness is part of the aesthetic.