Adding paths is a fun way to get creative on your island, but one area continues to cause confusion: buildings.
Players have tried various methods to pave underneath buildings to create a polished, harmonious theme. So can you pave under buildings, and if not, what are your options?
Can you put paths underneath buildings in Animal Crossing?
You can’t lay paths directly under any buildings in ACNH. However, you can place paving right underneath the doorstep of the Able Sisters shop, your home, and your islanders’ homes.
NOTE: there is an area of islanders’ homes you can’t pave: the islander homeowner’s sign.
After a few upgrades to your home, you can move the mailbox by pressing ‘Y’ and picking it up. This allows you to pave even more areas around your home to create a coherent aesthetic.
NOTE: If you lay paving and move a home on top of it, the path underneath will be erased once the home has relocated.
Paving underneath island buildings
Other buildings like your museum and Nook’s Cranny don’t benefit from the same styling ability.
These buildings will always have a grass ring around them, including on their doorstep. It’s impossible to make your paving flush underneath their structure.
This design flaw can make paths look unfinished and awkward, so play around with styles to see what works for your island.
How to camouflage grass under buildings
The grass underneath buildings can make your design efforts look uncoordinated, but there are a few ways to camouflage the gap between the path and grass.
Use flowers and shrubs
Get green-thumbed and use flowers and shrubs to draw attention away from the obvious grassy area. They can make a great border around homes and buildings, and brighten up any dreary island corner!
Use items you’re yet to place
You buy an item with the best intentions, but the right moment never comes around to place it on your island. We’ve all been there, but this might be the perfect excuse to finally use it!
Dust off those unused items in your storage and place them in front of buildings to hide any awkward visible grass areas.
Strategically place paths and fences
Depending on your island theme, you might not need to worry about paving around the un-paveable areas.
Leaving areas around buildings be, but strategically using paths and fences (the simple wood fence is a versatile DIY for this!) to frame a building means no one will notice that awkward grass area.
You’ll tactically draw more attention to the paved areas, which you can spice up by flanking them with trees, greenery, and items.
Paving underneath your home in Animal Crossing
The jury’s out – you can’t pave underneath buildings in ACNH. However, you can pave right up to the doorstep of island homes. You’ll still see a patch of grass under the front window of homes, but this area can be masked by using flowers, shrubs, and items.
Happy paving!
Redecorating your home but don’t know how to get rid of an accent wall? Check out our guide with all the steps you need on how to remove an accent wall once and for all!