How to build a Minecraft house: your first great-looking home

1. Decide the floor plan and size

Start with the footprint. About 9×9 blocks is enough for a first house. Mark the corners with torches or blocks and build the floor first. Plan at least 3 blocks of interior height per floor so doors, stairs and lamps have room and you do not have to duck all the time.

2. Pick a palette of 3 to 5 blocks

Houses look calm and consistent when you mix only a few materials: one main material for the walls, one for corners and frames (for example logs), one for the roof and an accent such as stone at the base. Too many different blocks quickly look messy.

3. Corner posts, walls and base

Place the corner posts from the ground up first, then fill in the walls between them. A base made of cobblestone or stone bricks in the bottom row makes the house look firmly grounded. Walls that step one block in and out in places give the house depth.

4. Windows and door

Glass panes are thinner than glass blocks and look finer. Trapdoors as shutters and slabs as window sills bring the facade to life. The door is two blocks tall; a small step or a path in front of it fits well.

5. The roof

A roof made of stairs and slabs looks more natural than a flat ceiling. Let it overhang by one block at the edges, which adds a shadow and a clean edge. Steep roofs need more material, flat ones are quicker to build.

6. Interior and lighting

Without light, monsters spawn inside. In current versions they only spawn at light level 0, and a torch gives light level 14. Put the bed, crafting table, furnace and chests against the walls so the middle of the room stays free and the house feels bigger.

7. In survival: gather materials first

Work out how many blocks you need before you start. A material list saves you trips: you see how many stacks (64 blocks each) of wood, stone and glass you need. On Craftory every build has a material list and a layer-by-layer tutorial.

Houses to recreate

You can view these buildings in 3D on Craftory and recreate them step by step:

• Big Mangrove House 2
• Mangrove Starter House 2
• Mangrove Villager House 2
• Big Mangrove House
• Mangrove Villager House
• Mangrove Starter House