So. This is going to be a bit of a long one but I’m going to try and take you all through the process I used to build houses or other structures. I won’t make any guarantees that if you follow these steps you’ll end up with amazing building skills, but with any luck, you’ll learn a thing or two. I won’t be going block for block, or mentioning specific techniques or tricks, I’m covering the general process I use. The intention of this guide is not to show you how to build this specific house, but how to build houses in general. Be creative!
Part One: The Basics.
These first few steps are pretty essential to getting a good finished build because everything you do later is based on them, so I’m going to strongly encourage going slowly and definitely making changes if something bugs you. Anyway, I generally start out by making the layout of the house, just a general outline of the shape, nothing too detailed. Usually I use wool as a temporary block. Try and make a shape a bit more complicated and interesting than a rectangle, and maybe even mess with angles and curves if you feel up to the challenge.
Next, I come up with the general shape of the building - the walls, rooflines, that sort of thing. This is probably the most important thing to do right, as no matter how detailed or well decorated the build is, it will still look off if the shape is weird. Balance of elements is important, you don’t want the build to be huge on one side and small on the other, and it should look good from all sides. Mix different angles and styles of roof together, and try not to have features be at the same y level.
Part Two: Turning your wool thing into a houselike object.
Build palettes are probably the next most important thing, as a really detailed house with a sponge and netherrack roof and emerald block walls will look hideous no matter what. Palettes should be a subject of their own, but when I assemble one I basically pick blocks that look good next to each other. I usually pick 2 or 3 blocks for each purpose (roof, walls, frame) to add interest, as well as an accent color that stands out from the rest, but doesn’t look out of place. This is the palette I settled on for this build, though I did end up changing it a bit later on, which is something you often have to do.
After you’ve picked a palette you pretty much just paint by number it onto your wool shape, randomly mixing the few blocks you picked for each purpose to create texture. Don’t randomly mix the walls however, as that tends to be a bit too much chaos. You should end up with something like this:
For the walls I tend to do something a bit more special and complicated, I take 4 or 5 blocks of similar color and place them in a rough gradient with lightest on the top and darkest on the bottom. this can be hard to do, but if done correctly it adds interest to the walls without making them too noisy.
Part Three: Details, Details, Details.
So at this point you’ve got a houselike thing which has no features, no windows or doors. Now it’s time to add them in whichever way you see fit. Again, balance is key; try to avoid making things seem cluttered but also don’t leave massive blank spaces. You should detail windows and doors in the frame blocks you picked earlier. Feel free to mess with your layout as well, adding things like porches, small bump outs here and there, and balconies and dormers. You can also start to use your accent color for the details.
Next, add smaller details, and this covers a wide variety of things. Adding random fences and buttons in various places, placing flowerpots on windowsills, vines and leaves on the build, and mixing in other blocks that match your palette are all good small details. This may not seem necessary but it adds a lot of character to the build.
Finally, there’s landscape integration. So you’ve got a wonderful house now (Hopefully), but on its own it may look a little odd if there’s nothing tying it into the land around it. Adding paths, fences and flower beds/bushes can add a lot, and other details like firewood piles, small toolsheds, and custom trees (which I won’t be covering in this, as custom trees deserve their own guide) can add life to a build. This is the final result for my example house:
Final Notes:
I cannot possibly describe all the details or ideas you could potentially add to a build, so don’t feel limited by my suggestions, at all times, be creative when building. If you have any other ideas for guides I should make or anything else you want to say, feel free to let me know.
