Complete 15 vacation-home designs in Happy Home Paradise, then return to the Paradise Planning office the next day and speak with Niko. He teaches you the first wooden pillar and island-counter DIY recipes. To unlock more styles, donate the materials he requests in the box upstairs and talk to him again.
How to unlock the first counter and pillar recipes
- Make sure you can access the DLC. You need Animal Crossing: New Horizons or Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, plus Happy Home Paradise access through a purchase or an active Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. To start work at the airport, Nintendo says your resident must have a house, you must have attended Tom Nook’s DIY workshop, and Resident Services must have been upgraded. The “I want to go to work” option becomes available at least one day after those conditions are met. See Nintendo’s access instructions.
- Complete 15 vacation homes. Count vacation-home designs, not facilities; facilities do not count toward this milestone.
- Return the following day and speak with Niko. Visit the Paradise Planning office and talk to him to receive the introductory lesson and recipes. If you have completed the fifteenth home but have not received them, make sure you have returned on a later day and spoken to Niko. The published guide establishes this timing but does not detail every possible save-specific exception. See Nintendo Life’s unlock guide.
What you get in Niko’s first lesson
The initial set contains a wooden pillar, a low wooden island counter, and a tall wooden island counter. The tall counter recipe calls for 3 wood, 3 softwood, and 3 hardwood; the low counter uses 2 of each. Counters can form a kitchen island or provide a surface for displaying and dividing objects. Pillars can add a decorative accent or frame a partition. These are design choices, not documented gameplay advantages. Recipe and use details are listed in Nintendo Life’s counters and pillars guide.
How to get more counter and pillar styles
After the first lesson, go upstairs in the Paradise Planning office and place the materials Niko requests in the materials box. Then speak to him again to learn additional recipes. The documented styles include steel, simple, marble, brick, concrete, and golden variants. Recipe costs differ by style and counter height, so check each DIY recipe before gathering materials. The items can also be customized into different colors.
Do not confuse this with the partition-wall unlock
Niko teaches the partition-wall DIY after your eighth vacation-home design. That is a separate, earlier milestone; it does not unlock the counters-and-pillars lesson. The partition wall recipe requires 3 wood and 3 clay.
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![Animal Crossings New Horizons - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ErvUL40zL._SL160_.jpg)
- Build your community from scratch on a deserted island brimming with possibility; Create your personal getaway and customize your character, home, decorations, and even the landscape itself
- Collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools. Then, use what you create to give your island a personal touch
- Watch as the time of day and seasons match real life—even your hemisphere. Each day holds potential for surprises and discoveries
- Get to know the island residents, garden, fish, decorate, hunt for fossils, and more.
- Show off your paradise – play on the same system with a total of 4 people, or play together online or over local wireless for fun with up to 8 players
Where you can use the items
Once learned and crafted, counters, pillars, and partition walls can be used in your own home and in vacation-home designs. Nintendo Life also reports that they work in Photopia, but cannot be placed outdoors. Nintendo’s Happy Home Paradise FAQ says certain features unlocked through the DLC remain usable on your main island if DLC access is suspended; access to the archipelago itself requires an active purchase or eligible membership.
Quick Recap
Rank #3
![Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51JAzQozLgL._SL160_.jpg)
- Take in-game photos of your designs and add them to your portfolio. Show them to other characters and you may get more requests to create vacation homes. Share the photos with other players using the in-game Showroom in the Happy Home Network app and they can tour your personally-designed resort islands or go tour theirs for some relaxation and inspiration.
- Purchase the Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise DLC from Nintendo eShop, or download and play it as part of an active Nintendo Switch Online plus Expansion Pack membership at no extra cost.
Rank #2
- Share Your Paradise - Show off your island utopia to family and friends - or pack your bags and visit theirs.
- Get Building - Experience a robust new crafting system - collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools!
- Create Your Perfect Getaway - Craft everything from tools to creature comforts as you create and customize your island community.
- Explore Your Island - Collect bugs, decorate your paradise throughout the day, or enjoy sunset on the beach while fishing in the ocean.
- Play Together - Up to eight players can reside on an island; four residents of the same island can play together simultaneously on a single system.
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