This page offers a guide on how to unlock Pillars and Counters in the Happy Home Paradise DLC.

If you haven’t started the DLC, check out our guide on how to begin Happy Home Paradise.

Niko’s Pillars and Counters¶

You’ll unlock the ability to make Pillars and Counters after completing your 15th Vacation Home, but it’ll only be available to you to craft the day after. After you’ve completed your 15th Home you’ll be told by Lottie to head upstairs and speak to Niko, who can be found in the corner near a DIY table. He’ll ask you to share all your knowledge of DIYs.

After this, you’ll need to wait until the next day before he holds a class at the school all about crafting Pillars and Counters.

Niko’s Pillars and Counters Lesson¶

The following day after completing your 15th house and talking to Niko, he’ll take you to the classroom and explain some of the most basic uses of each new DIY:

• Pillars: they can be used to make right angles when used with partition walls.
• Counters: they come into two different counters - tall and low. They can be used to split the room up without using full partition walls.

Whilst you’ll have access to an infinite amount of pillars and counters during your vacation home designs, if you want to include them in your own home, you’ll need to craft them.

A Wooden Pillar is crafted with x2 Softwood, Hardwood and Wood. The low island counter needs the same amount of the same materials. But then the tall wooden island counter is crafted with x3 Softwood, Hardwood and Wood.

Below, you’ll find some other uses for the pillars and counters!

Pillar Design Ideas¶

Pillars can be used for all sorts of fun things. Their main function is to be at the end of a partition wall so that it all looks a bit neater, but they can also be “freestanding” and be a decorative pillar on its own.

They can also be used to make makeshift partitions with other items. For example putting a bamboo partition or a plant partition or an island counter between a pair of pillars can make for a different kind of partition wall that could add to the style or design of the vacation home.

How to Make Fake Windows in HHP¶

One of the most popular ways to use pillars and partition walls right now is to make “fake windows”. To do this, you’ll want to choose a landscape wallpaper to act as an accent wall. Then, make some partition walls - these will match the walls that the non-accent walls - and place them flesh against the back wall, leaving a gap that shows the accent wall. Then, place pillars on either side as a sort of frame around the accent wall gap. You can leave it like this and it looks like a fake window of sorts, or if you’ve unlocked the glow-in-the-dark-stickers you can use the color customization option to change them to a pattern that resembles a window. If you have unlocked the stickers, you could make a pattern that is transparent but has a border like a window. Then, you could put several on them to resemble window panes (as shown below).

Counter Design Ideas¶

Counter can be used as room partitions or then can be used as a sort of fake window seat with the above technique. You could use them as shelving too as you can place things on them.

Tall and short counters can be used alongside eachother to build fun multi-levelled counters/shelves.