The Island Builder Tool in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is an impressively comprehensive way to establish, build, expand and customize your island in the game, but where there are endless possibilities, there can sometimes be decision paralysis – what do you start doing when you can do something?
In this list, we've found some inspiration for your Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Island decor plans to help you get started designing your dream island paradise. Create neighborhoods, parks, boardwalks, islands, and much more that you'll unlock for building!
Updated on June 27, 2026: Now that the game has been out for a while, and we've seen more creative ideas pop up on the internet about how to design your islands, we're updating our list of island design ideas to include Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. Have fun building and live the dream!
Default island goodness
If the default island layout in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream wasn't so adorable, Nintendo would have given us something else, so there's no shame in sticking with this instant classic for a while!
There's nothing wrong with sticking to the default island layout for a while, especially if you dress it up with unlockable paths from the Wishing Fountain and various outdoor decorations like plants, seating, playground equipment, and more. If you're just starting to make Miis for an island, it's a good idea to start small anyway, to help get the lay of the land.
between prisons
Do you have a Mii that won't stop asking if you'll put a vending machine on the beach, or a side or two off the grid? Just put it there yourself? Is someone arguing with your favorite Mii, and you need to think about what they've done? Make an area of the island for the mischievous Miis to think about their decisions for a while with the Tide Pool of Despair.
Create a small indented area of the island with the beach below ground level, but avoid placing any stairs leading in, and drop in any Miis that need a time-out. They won't stay there permanently, but it's a fun idea that they are in the penalty box.
If they are hungry, this is a good time to feed them any spoiled food.
solitary confinement
But what about the times when prison beach just doesn't cut it? What if you made your romantic partner, but things have gone south, and you need a moment before you delete them? What if you have a themed island, and your traditional lonely character needs some extra space?
Go into the water with the ground tool and create a small island far away from the main area, not connected by any land areas or beaches, and move the Mii out there. They may occasionally appear on the main island, but we like the idea of leaving them alone.
Bustling Boardwalk
While there aren't many playground or amusement park attractions in play without creative use of design tools, you can still access plenty of outdoor furniture and wooden walkways to create your own boardwalk space. Between the Ferris wheel, Tomoria restaurant, and all the beach furniture you can buy and keep, there are plenty of places to get creative.
You can also use the Mii Network News Tower to give the atmosphere of a drop ride or beautify the outside area with benches, palm trees and colorful lights. Place colorful banners to welcome guests, and you've got a boardwalk worth visiting.
Suburban Islands
While you're technically still called a single island in the eyes of the game, there's nothing stopping you from creating all kinds of outlying neighborhoods outside of a main city space, separating your urban and suburban areas.
Place all your shops and attractions on the main island with the fountain, then create outer islands for all your Mii to house. Connect them all with small coastal paths, and your Miis will be able to travel seamlessly to and from the city. You should leave some green spaces with trees and plants in the suburban areas, and use the stone path to get a more downtown feel to the island with shops.
natural bridges
You can make independent districts of your island, though, if the idea of a beach route isn't doing it for you! This option provides a mixed-use array of spaces for your Miis, including various utility spaces in homes and shops.
Everything is connected by thin ground bridges, which tend to work best if you leave them at least two spaces wide so your Miis can walk to the center without any crowding issues. You can also equip them with pathing tools, providing stone or metal bridges for your Miis. If you're feeling generous, your fanciest Miis can even get a golden flooring bridge!
Dockside bungalows
This Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Island layout gives off such a tropical vibe, with Mii houses placed along wooden docks that drop into the water from the neighborhood's central dock. You see this style a lot in Southeast Asia, and some users have even taken it a step further with custom outerwear for the region.
Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream – Complete Souvenir List
Send your Miis far and wide with travel tickets in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and collect the souvenirs they bring back for you.
Take your tropical Miis back to well-decorated beaches, place Tomoria right next to the sand, and you can make the island feel more like an all-inclusive resort than a residential place for permanent residence.
Expand the fountain
The size of the fountain is one of the biggest complaints we've ever seen when people are looking for Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Island layout ideas, but why turn a flaw into a feature instead and make a cute pool to go around the fountain?
You can draw a shape around the fountain space and use tasteful decorations and greenery to enhance it. You'll still see a lot of Miis hanging out here, and they'll have such a cool place to do it – it's especially good for high-level islands that might not need to access the fountain for more than regular daily donations.
Seasonal parks
There are a lot of buildings and decorations to put up in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, and the more Miis you make, the faster your island starts to get crowded, but it's always a good idea to try to leave some green spaces for your Miis to enjoy all year round, especially when using seasonal decorations.
Grab the plants, shrubs and flowers you get from the fountain at any time of the year – which you unlock when MNN broadcasts tell you it's the start of a new season – and redo the green spaces on your island to make them look natural. Line pathways with seasonal decorations like sakura petals or snowflakes, and you'll have an area you can constantly redecorate to keep yourself busy.
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Keeping it organized
After granting a few wishes, you'll be able to start unlocking all kinds of new paths from the Island Builder menu in the Wishing Fountain, and with these you'll be able to get creative with the way you build roads and walkways on your island, as you can see above.
Mii's houses all line the sidewalks and paved paths through the area, there are mixed-use neighborhoods with shops and homes alike, and the whole island always looks orderly. Pop down some decorations and bars to keep things in line with your decor and your island will always look well organized.
