Terraforming is one of the many new features in Animal Crossing: New Horizons that has been allowing players to transform their islands into amazing works of art. There are endless possibilities to what players can do with their island once they unlock the Island Designer application on the Nook phone after achieving a three-star island.
With the combination of furniture and building placements, some players have created truly spectacular islands. Others have done wild things with the feature to test out the limits of it. Here are some amazing terraforming makeovers that may inspire new ideas for one's own island.
Updated February 6, 2022, by Stephen LaGioia: Animal Crossing New Horizons continues to churn out new content, rotating events, and updates, strengthening the already stout legs of this evergreen title. The 2.0 Update brought a slew of fun new DIY items, collectibles, and new villagers, setting the stage for new possibilities. While terraforming add-ons have been somewhat scarce, the influx of items does open new avenues for creative ideas related to this feature.
With this in mind—and so many neat ideas for terraforming and themed areas in Animal Crossing from fans, it seemed fitting to revisit and refurnish this list.
20 Park On The Lake
There are plenty of creative ways to work with land and water in conjunction, as this Reddit user illustrates nicely with this scenic park. This lavish lake-bound hangout serves as an appealing centerpiece to one's island, with colorful visuals and a serene, relaxing vibe, punctuated by the central fountain.
The ability to terraform with the flexibility the game allows sets the stage for all sorts of unique water-and-land formations like this.
19 Hedge Maze
While New Horizons, like most AC offerings, thrives on its low-key nature and free-roaming gameplay, Nintendo surprised gamers with a more linear puzzle-based trial (and a fairly tough one at that). This took the form of a hedge maze featuring a few tools and resources to pass it, added as part of the limited-time May Day event.
While this cryptic puzzle got the brains of fans working, it also spurred the imagination of many others with regard to other grassy formations and hedge maze designs.
Some gamers, like this Reddit user, took this concept to the tenth degree—crafting dense, elaborate maze gardens full of twists and turns, and decorated with cobblestone paths. This design is effective, as it's not only pleasing to look at, but also fun to navigate.
18 Garden/Orchard
The ability to grow colorful flowers and various fruits is one of the stand-out appeals of New Horizons. This can really be exploited here, as the limits in planting all sorts of varieties are virtually endless.
Players can allocate a field to plant countless trees and other growth, which end up being "fruitful" in more ways than one while looking pretty in the process. Reddit user Birdcliffe showcases a particularly nice example.
The only downside to going wild with a forest is that villagers will sometimes complain about getting lost within the crowded trees. For most though, the scenic wilderness and bounties of fruit are more than worth it.
17 Beach/Camping Vacation Spot
Given the prominence of beaches in New Horizons, it makes sense that this locale should be optimally decorated—yet it often seems neglected by players. YouTuber and New Horizons player JammerProHD demonstrates one example of a cool, decked-out beach area.
This beach is given a vacation treatment, as it's spruced up with tropical themes, fishing equipment, and camping gear. Elements like a coconut tree, lawn chair, and bonfire go a long way in adding to that beachside party vibe.
16 Clean Neighborhood Of Brick
This island, posted on Pinterest is spotless and has a very beautiful layout that's super clean and aesthetically pleasing. It's simple, but the brick path combined with the brick fencing works perfectly. The houses are also spaced out nicely and not too close to each other.
The occupying residents definitely want their personal space and this player seems to have taken that into consideration.
15 Symphony Hall
Terraforming is especially powerful when creating special Instagram-worthy moments for villagers. This Symphony Hall designed by Jess, for instance, is the perfect date spot, and incorporates pretty much every aspect of terraforming into it, along with gorgeous statues and musical instruments.
By creating small islands that have one visually-appealing item placed on them, the view becomes a bit more diverse and interesting. It helps to really break the monotone look of the game, and lets players place items in ways that better complement the scenery. There's no shortage of musical-themed objects in New Horizons, and they can be utilized in many creative ways to construct an elegant music hall.
14 Staggered Waterfalls
A uniform green and white theme for an island can look surprisingly good, but what really makes or breaks such a specific color theme is how terraforming is used to vary things up. Lex decided to use terraforming as a way to ensure the island would have a much more natural appearance.
In particular, the fountains she's created here are slightly staggered, which seem much more realistic and comparable to real life. It really gives this view that mystical forest look that fits an island striving for a natural theme.
13 Moon Lake
Another great part of terraforming is the ability to create lakes of various different shapes and sizes. While it might be tempting to just go for something easy, like a round or square-shaped pond, sometimes going for those fantastical designs can be the one thing that pulls the look of the island together for good.
Reddit user yellowhiteflash wanted to bring in a witchy, mythical theme with butterflies, mushrooms, and tiny flowers. What better way to complete the magical forest theme than with a crescent moon-shaped pond?
12 Natural Path
Not everything has to be whimsical, as there's definitely beauty in symmetry as well. Paths like this designed by Reddit user Suitcasemanz have a powerful effect on islands, as they help to lead players and visitors alike to various locations. It's a fantastic entrance to a museum or resident services for instance.
The trick here is to line the sides of the path with small ponds, narrow waterfalls, and cliffs. It creates an almost valley-like appearance to the path and opens up the terrain in the middle in a majestic way.
11 Sculpture Garden
It's no easy task making things look natural. In fact, it's almost impossible. However, Reddit user Bibbiero achieved just that by creating this magnificent and mysterious sculpture garden using their leftover art pieces from the mysterious Redd's trawler.
Terraforming doesn't always have to follow rules of symmetry. In fact, having elaborate gardens and forests like this one can really make a difference, although in order to avoid clutter they should be decorated lavishly with thought, as shown above with custom flower designs, narrow waterfalls, and shrubs.