I think it is fair to say that Animal Crossing: New Horizons turned out to be a bigger game than anyone expected. Being released during the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold over 37.62 million copies!
What makes the game so appealing to all of these players? Is it the colorful characters? The cute pieces of furniture? The in-game events that align with current events? The fishing? Collecting items?
It could be either of those things or a combination of them, but I believe what makes the game so appealing is the ability to decorate your island however you want. Players have spent weeks, even months, chasing a 5-star island and decorating it to match their personality or aesthetic.
First impressions are everything and players have spent days collecting and creating furniture to create the perfect entrance. Today, I will be showcasing some of my favorite entrances I have seen around the web.
Selection Criteria
I came across these entrance ideas through Instagram, and Google searches, and all creators have been linked in their respective sections.
Some of the reasons I decided to show off all of these designs are their interesting uses of furniture items, a special theme, or being interactive. In each section, I will mention the creator of the design, why I like the design, and highlight one (or some) of the items in the design.
If I had to pick a favorite design, the one by Yasmin’s Corner would have to be my favorite. Since my mother’s birthday is on Halloween, I have fond memories of every Halloween my family and I have spent together. The design she created reminds me of a fall carnival, and now I can not wait to head to the pumpkin patches soon!
Twitter User @minsleif
I came across this design by @minsleif on Twitter.
Other than featuring Marshall, one of my favorite villagers, I love the variety of greenery and stone-related items this creator decided to feature. They also did a fantastic job with the surrounding terrain. The cliffs and waterfalls look amazing.
From this design, I am a big fan of the fencing they used (it compliments the pathing well). The fencing is called the iron and stone fence. It takes six stones and three iron nuggets to craft, and the recipe can be purchased through the Nook Stop.
Twitter User @abiacnh
@abiacnh posted this entrance to Twitter, and I am in love with all the small details in this post. This design gives off a “city park” type of vibe. The picked mum and coins on the floor give off the idea that people walk by frequently, and someone dropped some spare change.
If you like the flower on the floor look, head to one of your plants, pick the flower, and you will be able to place it on the floor inside (or it will appear in a vase when placed in your house). For the coins, go into your inventory, hover over your money, click and put some in your inventory, and then you can place them on the floor.
Twitter User @juniperbeaaa
This design I saw on @juniperbeaaa Twitter page is simple, but it looks put together at the same time. The singular path leading into all of the trees gives me a magical and cozy vibe. Do you want to see what awaits you ahead? Follow the path to find out!
While there is only one, and it is such a small detail, I LOVE how the planted pumpkin fits into this design. You can buy pumpkin seeds from Nooks Cranny for 280 bells during October. However, you can also buy them from Leif when he visits your island for 140 bells.
Twitter User @sundropunzie
After looking at a post by Twitter user @sundropunzie, I have concluded that their favorite color is pink. What I like about this design is all the different types of flowers. However, since they are all pink, they look well together. All the water around the main path also looks perfect.
From this design, the mushroom lamp has to be my favorite, and I need them on my island as soon as possible. To craft the mushroom lamp, you will need one skinny mushroom and five pieces of clay. To get the crafting recipe, you must pop balloons burning mushroom season. For the Northern Hemisphere, that will be during November. On the flip side, it will be May for Southern Hemisphere players.
Twitter User @softboyszn
While a lot of the other designs are big and feature great amounts of furniture, this design by @softboyszn is on the smaller side but still looks amazing. I like how the plants make a path into the town square. I am also a big fan of the green and pink combo.
In this design, the Lucky Gold Cat statue sticks out (but still fits into the design). To get one, you will first need to obtain a Lucky Cat statue from Gulliver. You can find him passed out on your beaches every now and then. Sometimes he will give you an item as a thank you, and this is the only way to get a Lucky Cat Statue.
After obtaining a Lucky Cat Statue, you can get the crafting recipe for the Lucky Gold Cat from snooty villagers. Along with the Lucky Cat Statue, you will need two gold nuggets to craft the Lucky Gold Cat.
Youtube User Dream of New Horizons
You can’t see it much in the screenshot, but when you watch the video, you can see the creator utilizing some Garden Wagons. Other than being a nice piece of decoration, it gives this design a little bit of color. You can obtain the crafting recipe for the Garden Wagon from any Peppy villager. Once you have it, it will take two iron nuggets, eight pieces of wood, three white hydrangeas, three yellow roses, and three red cosmos.
Facebook User Toyhouze
After some time, I decided to head to some Facebook groups to see if I could find anything, and I am a huge fan of this design by Facebook user Toyhouze. The video is not too long, so I encourage you to watch it, but I get a museum garden vibe from this design. The two fountains, fields of flowers, and the fossils in the background all make it look like the surrounding area of a museum, or in this case, the town hall.
From this design, I would like to highlight the Grand Q.A. Birdwing Model. I am in love with all of the insect and fish models and have made it a goal to get them all (it is not going well). To get the Grand Q.A. Birdwing Model (or any model), you will need to capture three of the same insect/fish and give them to Flint/C.J. The next day, you will receive your model in the mail.
YouTube User Bangsie
Speaking of the bridges, how do you get them? Unfortunately, it is a long process, but here are the steps. Help Timmy and Tommy build their shop, wait until the shop is built, visit Tom Nook, and he will give you some tasks to gain more villagers. One of these tasks is building your first bridge. After that, you can talk to Tom Nook about building more (and different types of bridges) on your island.
YouTube User Yasmin’s Corner
If I had to pick a favorite aspect of this design, it would be the pathing. It can be extremely difficult to come up with some custom designs, but I recommend using some graph paper to plan out some designs. However, you can always find some stunning designs online.
Instagram User @welcometohillside
Don’t think I forgot about all you Christmas fans! If you are a fan of the snow, hot chocolate, sweaters, and sitting by the fire, check out this design by @welometohillside on Instagram. I adore the way my island looks during the winter month because of the snow, and @welcometohillside has created an amazing entrance to her winter wonderland.
I love how she incorporated the craftable Christmas trees with some apple trees and pine trees. She used one of each craftable Christmas tree, and to get them, you will need to get the crafting recipes from balloons starting on December 15th to January 6th. The crafting recipes are as follows:
- Big Festive Tree: six red and blue ornaments, four gold ornaments, five pieces of wood, and five pieces of clay.
- Festive Tree: three red and blue ornaments, two gold ornaments, and five pieces of wood.
- Tabletop Festive Tree: five gold ornaments, three branches, and two pieces of clay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Where can I Find an Item I Saw in a Design you did not Mention?
Answer: While I was writing this article, some of the items I highlighted I knew off the top of my head, but others I had no idea about. What I did was type a quick description of the item into Google, followed by A.C.N.H. For example, I could not remember the name of the Lucky Gold Cat Statue, so I Googled “Golden Cat A.C.N.H.”
During my research, I came across this page frequently on an Animal Crossing Wiki. It has a lot of information on how to obtain items, where to get specific crafting recipes, and what you will need to craft a certain item.
Question: How are Some of These Players Making Their Own Waterfall?
Answer: Once you reach a five-star island, Tom Nook will give you the ability to terraform your island. You will be able to build cliffs, create custom ponds/waterfalls, and place paths/custom paths more efficiently. It takes some time to get to a five-star island, but according to an article by IGN, some ways to increase your island score are:
- Placing fences all over your island.
- Having an island with 10 villagers on it.
- Having fully grown flowers. Hybrid flowers give you an extra bonus.
- Crafting and placing furniture on every part of your island.
Question: Where can I get Some of the Crafting Materials that were Mentioned in the Article?
Answer: Below you can find a list of some of the most common craft materials and how you can obtain them.
- Tree Branches: Shaking Trees.
- Hard, Soft, and Regular Wood: Chopping tree with an ax.
- Stone, Clay, Iron Nuggets, and Gold Nuggets: Hitting rocks with a shovel or ax.
- Bamboo Pieces: Hitting a Bamboo tree with an ax.
- Various Flowers: Grow those specific flowers and pick them when they are finished growing.
- Manilla Clams: Look for places on your beach that show water being spit out. Use your shovel to dig up some manilla clams.
- Various Sea Shells: You can find sea shells on your beaches.
- Star Fragments: For large and normal star fragments, you will need to wish on some stars during a meteor shower. The following day, check your beaches for fragments. To get the fragments associated with each star sign, you will need to wish on stars during a meteor shower during that star sign. For example, to get the Libra Star Fragments you will need to wish on stars between September 23rd to October 22nd.
- Fruit: Shake fruit off of their respective trees.
Conclusion
While the complexity of these designs may seem intimidating, I encourage you to merely use them as inspiration. The amazing thing about this game is that there is no right or wrong way to play the game. Some of the items I pointed out in this article may not look good to you, and that is okay!
Good luck gathering furniture, terraforming your island, growing trees/plants, and pushing your villagers out of the way while you try to work.
Continue reading:
Animal Crossing Test Your Skills DIY Guide
Animal Crossing Roof Colors Guide
- Animal Crossing Neighborhood Ideas - September 6, 2022
- Enter Here for Animal Crossing Entrance Ideas - August 18, 2022
- Animal Crossing Living Room Ideas - June 8, 2022