Buildings and their Contents

By request, I am writing a brief guide to medieval buildings and their descriptions. A good place to start is to simply google "medieval buildings", or something more specific, such as "medieval blacksmith". Below is an alphabetical list of buildings and structures you can add to your areas. Keep in mind that these are all only suggestions. Google particular buildings if you are unsure as to what anything should look like.

USE THE ‘FIND’ FEATURE OF YOUR BROWSER TO LOCATE WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. This is generally Ctrl+F

Generic room descriptions:
Office: A desk and a chair, maybe a table and chairs, some bookshelves, a storage chest, a workbench, a good carpet or rug, maybe some plants.
Bedroom: A bed, a workbench, a table and a chair, a desk with a chair, a chest, a window with a nice view, a nice carpet or rug, maybe a plant, maybe some paintings.
Commons: A good table or two table with some chairs, perhaps some couch-like seating, some bookshelves, a good fireplace, perhaps some good rugs, maybe some shelving or other storage.
Quarters: Same as a bedroom.
Kitchen: Chests for food, maybe a counter if its for many people, a wash basin, good shelves for preparing (stone slabs or iron blocks), pistons also make good counter tops at times, an oven or several ovens, either made with furnaces or with brick and lava/fire (ask an admin to place it).

Armoury
Also called an arsenal, an armoury is a military building used to store weapons, armour, and ammunition. Ideally, the armoury is near the barracks and the blacksmith.
1. Chests for weapons, divided into categories such as material or type.
2. Chests for bows and ammunition.
3. Chests for suits of armour, possibly categorised by material.
4. Perhaps a vault for more special arms/armour.
5. An office for a bookkeeper to keep track of all the stock.
6. A very secure door or entrance.

Bakery
A bakery is where baked goods are produced. In Minecraft, this essentially consists entirely of bread. A bakery can be either situated on a farm or nearer to buildings such as the inn or tavern.
1. Chests for bread or wheat to be stored in.
2. A counter where patrons can purchase bread.
3. Some furnaces and/or an oven with a chimney.
4. Some tables or chairs where customers can eat their meals.

Barracks
Barracks are large buildings where skilled or elite soldiers and warriors live. They are often single large buildings filled with rooms where the soldiers live and sleep.
1. Many rooms for soldiers to sleep in.
2. More private quarters for higher ranking soldiers.
3. Even more private and fancy quarters for the highest soldiers to live in.
4. Common rooms for each rank of soldier (about three is good).
5. A mess hall with many tables and chairs for eating.
6. A small kitchen for the mess hall.
7. Perhaps a small armoury within, if there is not one nearby.

Blacksmith
A blacksmith is where the blacksmith works. Generally, anything made of metal is produced here, which includes weapons and armour.
1. A home for the smithy to live in, with a bedroom, common room, and maybe a kitchen.
2. A yard or large enclosed space for the smithy to work in (imagine it has to be high enough for smoke to escape)
3. A forge where metals can be heated, similar to an oven, maybe made with brick or iron with lava or fire within (ask an admin to place it).
4. Chests for storage, or simply leave heaps of ore in the yard for looks.
5. An anvil, perhaps in the form of an iron block.
6. Some water to cool the metal in.
7. Shelving to display items.

Bookshop
Bookshops were somewhat rare, as many could not read and books themselves were often expensive and valuable. Regardless, no good city is complete without a bookshop.
1. Small quarters for the shop owner to live in.
2. A counter over which to make transactions.
3. Chests of books, in case more bookshelves are needed.
4. Bookshelves on display. Consider categorising and labelling sections, such as religious texts, educational texts, etc.

Brewery
A brewery makes beer. Breweries are typically large buildings, at least two stories high. As brewing is not actually possible in Minecraft, this building would serve no real purpose, and is only for looks.
1. Large sturdy vats (storage containers).
2. Wooden containers or large boxes in which beverages can ferment.
3. A boiler of some kind to help with the brewing process, perhaps made with brick or iron with lava or fire within (ask an admin to place it).
4. Underground fermentation tanks to cool the beer.
5. Other bits and pieces that look somewhat like something that belongs in a brewery.

Crops
Crops are quite self-explanatory. A crop is where some kind of plant product is grown in massive quantities and harvested to yield vegetable, fruit, or plant matter. Consider that the following plants can be made into crops:
1. Oak, birch, or pine trees
2. Dandelions or roses
3. Cacti
4. Sugar cane
5. Pumpkins
6. Melons
7. Wheat

Hospital
Though healthcare in the medieval period was somewhat bleak, a large, rich city might have a hospital.
1. Quarters for the ill or sick.
2. Quarters for travellers to stay briefly.
3. A surgery, perhaps underground with water and heat to sterilise items.
4. A morgue, where corpses can be stored. They can be stored either in beds or in double chests.
5. Other creepy, gross stuff.

Inn
An inn is a large building that provides accommodation and refreshments particularly for travellers. An inn differs from a pub or tavern in that an inn does not specialise in selling alcohol.
1. Quarters and bedrooms for travellers to stay in.
2. A dining hall with many tables and chairs for people to eat at.
3. A counter to buy food at, perhaps with a bar to buy drinks at.
4. Another counter at which one can purchase room keys.

Library
A library is a place where one can read books but generally not purchase them. It would be similar to a bookshop, but ideally would stock far more books. Consider categorising and labelling large sections of bookshelves, such as religious texts, educational texts, fictitious texts, etc. The largest libraries are often grand and decorated.
1. Small quarters for the librarians to live in.
2. A counter over which to borrow books or make inquiries.
3. Chests of books, in case more bookshelves are needed.
4. Many bookshelves on display.
5. A secure area where more important and valuable texts are kept.

Markets
A market is generally an area dedicated to temporary stalls or small stores where separate owners try to compete with one another to sell goods to visitors. A market requires a minimum of three separate stalls.
1. Sufficient seating area for people to rest.
2. Many stalls with as much stock on display as possible. Use coloured wool to decorate the stalls.
3. A central courtyard or main pathway so people do not get lost within the market.
4. Small storage yards behind many stalls where stall owners can store their stock in chests or on the ground.

Pub
See tavern.

Sawmill
A sawmill is where logs from trees are cut into wooden boards or planks. Though this process is instant within Minecraft, a sawmill looks interesting and adds character to a town, especially one near or in a forest.
1. A yard where logs are stored, ordered by size and grouped by their type.
2. A long enclosed platform or room with a long on which logs can be cut.
3. Another yard where planks are stored.

Tavern
A tavern mostly only sells beer and other beverages. It differs from an inn in that a tavern generally does not sell food. Taverns usually only open at night and are also known as pubs.
1. A bar or counter to buy drinks at.
2. A hall with tables and chairs for people to drink at.
3. Seating at the front counter.

Watermill
Watermills are similar to windmills but they are powered by water currents. They must be adjacent to water and the strength generated by the water is used in a variety of ways, from crushing stone to grinding wheat.
1. Small quarters where the mill owner can live.
2. A waterwheel with axles that enter the actual mill.
3. Some kind of grinding place where the mill does its business.
4. A room or area for stock to be stored on the floor or in chests.

Windmill
Similar to a watermill, but it utilises wind strength to create power instead. A windmill must be tall so that it catches wind.
1. Small quarters where the mill owner can live.
2. A giant fan with a central axle inside that runs down the height of the building.
3. Some kind of grinding place where the mill does its business.
4. A room or area for stock to be stored on the floor or in chests.

CASTLES

TYPES OF CASTLES

Palace: A luxurious structure where the monarch of a country resides. It is often more recreational than a castle.

Castle: Usually a clustered group of buildings surrounded by a fortified wall with a gatehouse and a keep in the middle. A castle houses nobles.

Stronghold: A castle that does not house nobles.

Fortress: A single fortified building. It does not house nobles.

Fort: A small fortress, usually bunker-like, with a tower or high walls.

PARTS OF A CASTLE

Keep: Also called a donjon. The strongest and most central tower of the castle. It is also often the tallest and it has living quarters within it.

Walls: Also called curtains, or curtain walls. The surrounding walls of a castle are usually between 3 and 7 metres thick, and can be just as high.

Battlement: The walkway atop the walls where soldiers could fire arrows from. The stone “bumps” along the edge of the walls are called merlons, and are used to hide behind when under enemy fire. The gaps between them are called crenels.

Hoardings: Wooden attachments along the battlements that provide extra cover and protection.

Palisades: Fortifications, usually walls, made of wood.

Moat: A trench surrounding the castle filled with deep water to deter intruders. A moat would have a drawbridge at the gate to allow people to cross and enter.

Drawbridge: A gate raised and lowered by chains or ropes. It is usually a wooden structure. Obviously, in Minecraft, it cannot be raised or lowered in real-time.

Gatehouse: Ranging from a single wooden door to a large chamber with a metallic portcullis within, the gatehouse prevents direct access to the castle. The gate made of metal is called a portcullis. Gatehouse towers are often very large to help protect the castle.

Portcullis: The large metal gate in the gatehouse that is raised to allow access to the courtyard. A functioning portcullis is possible to make on Minecraft.

Postern: A second gate that leads to the inner ward, often too small for horses to enter.

Tower: Towers are built along the curtain wall and allow people to easily keep watch over the surrounding lands.

Barbican: Additional towers above the gatehouse to help protect the gate under siege. Sometimes they were small towers protruding at right angles from the gatehouse towers.

Courtyard: Also called a basilica, outer ward, or bailey. It is the central area where people move about. The courtyard is surrounded by the walls.

Inner ward: The inner-most courtyard that led into the castle. It may have a second set of inner walls around it, or it may be surrounded simply by buildings. The keep is within the inner ward. Access to the inner ward is through the postern.

Kitchen: Within the castle is a kitchen, usually quite large, as it has to feed a lot of people. The kitchen needs things like a preparation area, some ovens, plenty of storage rooms, and perhaps a wine cellar.

Great Hall: Or the dining hall. It is usually quite large, with one or more tables and perhaps some chandeliers.

Stables: Though there are no horses in Minecraft (yet) some stables are a nice touch. Add stables for horses and some tethering posts to add some character and life.

Chapel: Often found in one of the towers, or near the gatehouse, the chapel would be a small place of worship. It may have sleeping quarters for some monks or religious figures.

Houses: Castles do sometimes have houses inside, built within the courtyard and up against the curtain wall.

On top of this, castles can contain many other buildings such as blacksmiths, barracks, hospitals, or armouries. If in doubt, use a search engine. Look up the terms, and add “Minecraft” to your searches to get perhaps some more relevant results.

Thanks Sharnan Because of u i now have insperation on waht to build in my city now


Thanks OKDOK

You are most welcome, Mayor Okdok.

Is there anything else people would like advice on?

Emperor Sharnan

More buildings. Another ten structures with guides and descriptions.

Archery Range
Similar to a barracks, but specialising in archery and archery equipment. The targets in the archery range should be against a wall or a place where people do not walk or stand.
1. Chests for bows and ammunition.
2. Chests for suits of light armour.
3. Perhaps a vault for more special arms/armour.
4. An office for a bookkeeper to keep track of all the stock.
5. An actual archery range with multiple targets and markers.

Arena
An arena is a structure in which public fights are held. It is generally of average to large size, and can be made of many materials.
1. Quarters for combatants to stay in.
2. Commons for combatants or spectators to meet in.
3. A preparation room where combatants can ready themselves.
4. An arena area surrounded by secure fencing of some kind.
5. Seating for audiences with good views.
6. An entry hall with a place to purchase tickets or make bets.
7. Perhaps a small armoury for combatants.
8. Good seating, either high up or close to the action, for high ranking officials.

Dock/Port/Harbour
A port is a location where one or more harbours can be found. A harbour is a place near the water where ships are sheltered from rough sea water by means of an artificial obstruction to the deep sea currents. A dock is a structure that extends into a body of water. It is where boats can be moored. A pier is like a dock but is not necessarily used for mooring ships. It may, for example, have a lighthouse on the end. A jetty is generally a smaller pier.
1. Docks, ports, harbours, and piers may have offices to keep track of ingoing and outgoing goods and people.
2. Sometimes a warehouse or two (see below).
3. The docks themselves may be stone or wood, supported or solid.

Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tall structure designed to emit lights that acts as a warning for nearby sailors. Lighthouses typically warn sailors of hazardous terrain surrounding the lighthouse; a ship should never directly approach a lighthouse.
1. A main tower on which the lantern room can be found, with lights within.
2. Living quarters for the lighthouse keepers.
3. Perhaps a fuel house or shed where fuel for the light is stored.
4. Perhaps a small jetty or pier with a small boat for the lighthouse keeper.

Mine
An integral part of Minecraft. But what is a mine? A mine is a tunnel that is used to mine materials from the ground.
1. A vertical or slanted access tunnel, possibly with a secure entrance.
2. Cavern support beams, purely for aesthetic appeal.
3. Perhaps a system of mine carts used to transport material and guide miners out.
4. Above ground, there should be living quarters and commons for the miners, and perhaps storage for found materials or unprocessed ores.
5. Treacherous drops, lava, or pits should be fenced off or marked with warning signs.

Mint
A mint is a facility where coins are manufactured. Though an industrial invention, a more medieval-style mint can be adapted for Minecraft.
1. A furnace for melting metals down, similar to an oven, maybe made with brick or iron with lava or fire within (ask an admin to place it).
2. Some kind of anvil-like base on which to hammer coins.
3. Water in which to cool metal.
4. A home for the smithy to live in, with a bedroom, common room, and maybe a kitchen.
5. Chests for storage, or simply leave heaps of ore in the yard for looks.
6. A mint should be very secure, with sturdy walls and a secure door and vault.

Shipyard
Also called a dockyard. A shipyard is where ships and boats are built and repaired. The drydock of a shipyard, where boats are normally constructed, are very large areas, and the shipyard overall is generally huge.
1. A drydock; a narrow basin which is flooded or drained and in which boats are placed.
2. Cranes and other constructive structures.
3. A slipway; a ramp down which boats or ships can be gently placed into the water.
4. Warehouses for storing materials.

School
As opposed to a modern school, a modern school may not be so structural or classroom-based. A school may be general, religious, science, combat, or trade-focussed.
1. Classrooms dedicated to studying certain topics, such as biology, metalwork, etc.
2. Storage facilities for goods.
3. Offices for those who teach.
4. Common grounds where students can gather.
5. A small library for texts.

Warehouse
A warehouse is a large building used to store goods. Often, they are very spacious and keep out wind, rain, and sunlight. They may be found near ports, docks, or harbours, or near other business-oriented areas of towns or cities.
1. An actual warehouse; generally a large and tall building full of stock.
2. Wide and large doors on the warehouse end, plus smaller doors for human entry.
3. Offices for bookkeepers to keep track of all the stock.
4. Perhaps a secure portion of the warehouse or a vault for more valuable goods.

Watchtower
A watchtower is a militant, freestanding structure. It is generally used to observe surrounding areas. A watchtower is strictly for military use, whereas a tower is for general use. If a tower is attached to a structure such as a castle, it is called a turret.

Coming soon... religious structures explained.

Religious buildings:

Church
A church is a religious meeting place. It is more flexible in function than a cathedral. Uses of churches range from religious gatherings to guild meeting places to plays or banquet celebrations. Since churches are so varying, there is no real generic church design or structure.

Chapel
A chapel is a fairly flexible term that simply denotes a place where Christians meet to worship. It may be a single room in a larger complex, such as a castle, or it may be its own building with its own grounds.

Both churches and chapels require prayer chambers at the very least.

Church and chapel images:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/0901_Kaplica_Gotycka_Police_ZPL.JPG/200px-0901_Kaplica_Gotycka_Police_ZPL.JPG
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Oak_Hill_Cemetery_Chapel,_DC.jpg/250px-Oak_Hill_Cemetery_Chapel,_DC.jpg
http://maps.uchicago.edu/images/buildings/mainquad/bond.jpg
http://mirror-uk-rb1.gallery.hd.org/_exhibits/places-and-sights/_more2007/_more09/England-London-Kingston-the-Lovekyn-Chapel-AKA-Chantry-Chapel-of-St-Mary-Magdalene-at-Norbiton-exterior-and-interior-including-windows-and-organ-and-vaulted-ceiling-1-DHD.jpg

Cathedral
A cathedral is a type of church and it differs from standard churches in size and importance; they are much larger than churches and they contain the seat of a high ranking religious official of a region. A cathedral is defined by the seat within.
1. An actual seat for the religious official. This may range from a chair to a throne and is placed at the opposite end of the cathedral from the facade and entry.
2. An altar in front of the seat, used for offerings.
3. The facade is the front display of the cathedral, where people enter.
4. The nave is the main hall, usually very spacious and lined with columns.
5. A high vaulted or domed space in the ceiling interior to draw attention upwards.
6. Quarters for varying religious people, from monks to bishops.
7. Aisles of seating for audiences.
Cathedral floor plans and images:
http://www.visitingdc.com/images/national-cathedral-picture.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Milan_Cathedral_from_Piazza_del_Duomo.jpg
http://www.great-britain.co.uk/world-heritage/canterbury-cathedral/Canterbury-Cathedral.jpg
http://www.ohta.org.au/confs/Sydney/Sydney_conf_photos/StMarysCathedral10.jpg
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/files/2011/02/CC-cathedral-1a.jpg
http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/1photos/churches/Cathedral10-plan.jpg
http://static.oprah.com/images/obc_classic/book/2007/pote/pote_floorplan.jpg

Monastery
A monastery is a large dwelling occupied by religious figures such as monks or nuns. They can range from a single home to a large community of buildings. They are often peaceful places.
1. A church or chapel
2. Walls or some other kind of distinct boundary
3. Domestic quarters for monks or nuns to live and sleep in
4. A cloister or courtyard with paths or gardens, or multiple courtyards
5. A mess hall or refectory
6. A library
7. A bathhouse
8. A hospital or infirmary
Monastery floor plans and images:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Gall_planta.PNG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prokudin-Gorskii-09-edit2.jpg
http://blog.ratestogo.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/gregoriou-monastery.jpg
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/images/jerusalem/monastery-of-cross/monastery-of-the-cross-cc-heatkernel.jpg
http://www.globeimages.net/data/media/8/Taktsang_Monastery_Bhutan.jpg

Basilica
A basilica is a permanent title given to a religious building with more authority, significance, and importance than a church. They vary widely in architecture and style, though they generally resemble a cathedral in that it has a long nave or central hall with a raised altar area at the far end and an aisle down either side. A basilica may or may not be a cathedral.
1. An altar in front of the seat, used for offerings.
2. The facade is the front display of the cathedral, where people enter.
3. The nave is the main hall, usually very spacious and lined with columns.
4. A high vaulted or domed space in the ceiling interior to draw attention upwards.
5. Quarters for varying religious people, from monks to bishops.
6. Aisles of seating for audiences.
Basilica floor plans and images:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Petersdom_von_Engelsburg_gesehen.jpg
http://photographsandimages.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/index_basilica.jpg
http://famouswonders.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/st-marks-basilica.jpg
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/media/images/b/bari-bldg-lg.jpg
http://images.placesonline.com/photos/16176_padova_la_basilica.jpg
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/images/ephesus/basilica-st-john/plan-fossp93-1024h.jpg
http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Plans/floorplan-3d1.jpg

Temple
A temple is a structure used for religious ceremonies such as sacrifices or prayer. Temples vary widely between cultures. Generally, they are all sacred buildings and are tall and grand.
1. A main room with an image or statue of the primary deity of the temple
2. An altar for offerings
3. A storage room behind the main room for equipment and offerings
Temple floor plans and images:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Russia-Moscow-Cathedral_of_Christ_the_Saviour-8.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Salt_Lake_Temple,_Utah_-_Sept_2004-2.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_Delhi_Temple.jpg
http://www.templenet.com/Orissa/konark.jpg
http://www.touropia.com/gfx/d/ancient-roman-temples/temple_of_augustus_and_livia.jpg

Mosque
Where a church is predominantly Christian, a mosque is used for Islamic worship. They are mostly used for prayer and for congregational sermons.
1. A minaret; a tall, thin tower situated on one of the corners. It is normally the tallest tower in the area
2. A prayer hall, a mostly empty hall, possibly columned
3. A domed ceiling above the prayer hall
4. Fountains or washing facilities for cleaning oneself before prayer
5. Possibly other rooms, such as restrooms, quarters, libraries, and such
Mosque floor plans and images:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Morocco_Africa_Flickr_Rosino_December_2005_82664690.jpg/800px-Morocco_Africa_Flickr_Rosino_December_2005_82664690.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Badshahi_Mosque_July_1_2005_pic32_by_Ali_Imran_%281%29.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oman-Muscat-Grand-Mosque-22.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sultan_Ahmed_Mosque_Istanbul_Turkey_retouched.jpg
http://www.caitloon.com/mosque.jpg
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/images/istanbul/hagia-sophia/floor-plan-labeled.jpg

Other religious structures include synagogues (a Jewish prayer house), pagodas (Taoist worship houses), and gurdwaras (a place of worship for Sikhs). Use Google images to do your research.

A good website to explore: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/

Town Halls

Generally speaking, a town hall is the minimum requirement for each starting town in the land. Since the purpose and definition of a town hall is somewhat vague, here I will describe what a town hall is to be. The following rooms are mostly flexible in their description, and a logical approach should be taken when designing the town hall.

A town hall is the centre of administration of a town or city. It is the base of the elder, mayor, baron, or duke. It houses the city or town council, and thus acts as a type of council chamber.

Auditorium: The main hall of the building. It is generally entered directly from the entrance to the building, though a foyer may separate the entrance and the auditorium. This room may also be called the great hall, main hall, or grand hall. It may or may not have seats or pews. It is often long and tall, and may have columns and a stage or high seat at the end.

Mess hall: Rather optional. The mess hall would be where everybody would eat together if the arranged event was related to food. It would be similar to any other mess hall.

Kitchen: Supplies the mess hall with food. The kitchen generally has a door leading outside where food and things are stored.

Offices: Offices may be the most common type of room in the town hall. You can have offices for clerks, auditors, chiefs, superintendents, and whatever other fictional town ranks you wish to invent. Some of these offices, such as auditor and clerk offices, may have their own vaults for confidential documents.

Waiting rooms: The higher offices might have their own waiting rooms outside for visitors to sit in. These are quite optional.

Board rooms: Smaller meeting rooms, generally just with a table and chairs, for committees and the like to meet.

Mayor’s office: The official office for the town leader. It should be secure and decorated well.

Council chambers: The primary meeting hall of the town hall, and its main purpose. The council chambers may range from moderate to epic in size, and can be a round table, a hemisphere of chairs around a high chair, a long table, or whatever is suitable for the town.

Library: A small to medium sized room containing many common or public documents. Optional for smaller towns.

Some images to give examples:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/New_town_hall_Hannover.jpg
http://xplane10.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/townhall7.jpg
http://www.ohta.org.au/images/St-Kilda-Town-Hall-01A.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Bielsko-Bia%C5%82a_Town_Hall.jpg
http://www.angaston.org.au/images/slideshow199.jpg
http://www.classic-town.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Town-Hall-and-Market.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_anDpzjfvZpw/TGa42hY7_WI/AAAAAAAACqg/ku_tGMHsK5o/s1600/DSCF3270.JPG
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UsH1fo2OPgQ/TGJWIaK8aRI/AAAAAAAAIFY/yt18gN6Vj70/s1600/BELGIUM+aug11010.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Eccles_old_town_hall.jpg

INTERIORS

Filling a town with magnificent structures is one thing. Furnishing all those structures is another task altogether. Many people find interior decorating a daunting task and leave interiors empty. I personally do not blame them. There are a massive range of items needed to suitably decorate the interior of a house. So, I thought it was suitable to type up a short guide on what to put in homes and how to do it. I am not the best interior decorator, but I have seen many buildings on Minecraft over the years.

This list is not exhaustive; there are many other furnishings to be discovered!

Bed. Beds are fairly essential. They can be a standard bed, a double bed, or the “big bed” made of wool, that doesn’t actually function as a Minecraft bed. Consider bedside tables.

Workbench. A pretty important addition to any home, both aesthetically and pragmatically. They look good almost anywhere.

Painting. A painting can save a blank wall. An excessive number of paintings tend to give an upper class impression. You can help limit the painting size by placing blocks to the right and above where you’re placing the painting, since it won’t select a painting that will not fit in the space you want.

Carpet. Best done on lower floors unless the floors of upper levels are more than one block thick. Carpets or rugs are generally wool, but they can be almost any material. Also consider the flooring material of kitchen or bathroom type areas.

Plants. Often just a grass block or two with signs or raised trapdoors on its sides. They add a lot of life and colour to a home. There are many plant types to choose from. Consider placing an unseen block of water within the wall so that you can have potted sugarcane growing in your home. Plants can be positioned outside of windows on grass, protruding from the wall.

Staircase. Fairly essential for getting to upper or lower floors. Consider the material; if you’re going into the ground or into a dark place, stone looks better. Going up and down upper floors or places with lots of light might just need a wood staircase.

Table. Also fairly essential. At the very least, a pressure pad on a fence post looks good, but large tables can be built out of things like log or wool blocks. Consider using upside-down slabs or stair blocks to create different table designs.

Chair. What house lacks chairs? The classic stair block with two signs still has its charm, though there is possibility for larger and more extravagant chairs if you have the imagination. Consider using slabs or stair blocks for the seat area, and create a back with some other kind of block.

Bookshelf. Another item that adds an upper class touch. The more bookshelves you can see, the richer the household looks. Consider that bookshelves can also be an architectural feature, and can form arches or become support pillars.

Fireplace. Something to add warmth. A fireplace can be lit or unlit, but if you’re going to light it, ensure you have nothing flammable around it. Fire tends to climb up walls, so you need to be especially sure that it won’t burn down. Fireplaces can take on many appearances, but they must be built from something that won’t ignite.

Oven. Probably something just for larger kitchens. Ovens are similar to fireplaces but have a different purpose. Consider adding multiple ovens to large castle or mess hall kitchens. A furnace acts as a small oven within a kitchen setting.

Sink. Often just a water block in the corner of a kitchen area. It adds a nice touch. A lever can be used as a tap above it, despite plumbing being a fairly modern invention.

Counter. Often used in kitchen areas. They are often stone of some kind and can have wood or stone pressure plates on them, as they look like plates, countertops, or chopping boards.

Desk. A desk can be a single log block with a chair, or it can be extravagant and consume an entire wall of a study or bedroom area. Experiment with slabs and stair blocks in the wall above the desk to make things that look like slots or drawers. Use wool to colour the main space of a large desk like the old coloured inlaid desks.

Chest. Fairly essential for storing things, or making it look like you’re storing things. A peasants home may only have a single chest, whereas a castle would have entire rooms dedicated to storage.

Wardrobe. Usually a superficial item. Wardrobes can be from merely two blocks (one on top of another) up to 3x3 blocks for something larger and more regal. It would normally be made from wood of some kind or it could be brown wool. In some taller rooms you could build it on top of a stand made from stairs, fences, steps, or something similar. Try adding signs or raised trapdoors to add other details to wardrobes.

Drawers. A chest of drawers can be as simple as two wood/log/brown wool blocks with buttons on the front. You can add as many levels to a chest of drawers as you see fit.

Curtain. Curtains are almost always wool. Colour schemes affect appearance quite strongly, so choose with care. Simpler and plainer colours such as greys and earthy colours match poorer homes, and richer and rarer colours such as blue, red, or purple suit upper class households.

Cauldron. Suitable for washing areas, cooking areas, bathing areas, or perhaps even in gardens. They can take on a variety of imaginative roles depending on what’s around them.

Fence. Fences can make good architectural features. They can represent railing, table legs, rope for hanging lights, or sconces. Torches can be placed on fence posts, and they can also support pressure plates or slabs acting as tables or shelves on the wall. You could also use fence gates against the wall and place trapdoors on it for an alternate shelf.

Lighting. Consider your lighting. Many lights and large windows looks upper class, whereas dim lighting and small or no windows looks like a peasant’s abode. Can you fit a chandelier? Are the torches just on the wall or on fence posts on the wall? Or on desks? Redstone torches and glowstone often have a more upper class feel to them. For lower class areas, stick to plain torches.

Miscellaneous Blocks
Have you thought about using these blocks: pistons (made to look like a countertop in DistantLands texture pack), brick, double slab, log, plank, stone brick, stone, cobble, lapis or iron block, or wool blocks?

Barrels and crates
The birch plank block on the DistantLands texture pack looks like an actual crate. You can also make similar items by placing pressure pads on log blocks, as you may have seen around Orelus.