Chapter 2: Interiors
Since the last chapter of this guide was so popular, and also because I implied I was making more, I have made the second chapter. This chapter will be about building the interiors of the beautiful houses you made thanks to the last building guide. This guide also has a video that goes a bit more in-depth, so make sure to check it out here:
The Exterior
We start out with the exterior. For this guide, it really serves no other purpose than to give us a big interior.
The Interior
And here is that interior. Right now, it’s just an empty stone floor, but we’re going to change that!
Laying Out the Walls
Our first step is to lay out where the walls are going to be in this house. I did this by laying down some blue carpets (like blueprints), where I wanted the walls to go. I left little holes wherever there were going to be doors. This is a very important step that is crucial to interiors that a lot of people overlook.
Floors
One big part of buildings that people don’t give much thought to is floors, but they can make a big impression.
Half Slabs vs Full Blocks
The biggest decision you’ll have to make for floors overall is whether to use half slabs or full blocks. Most people will choose to use full blocks, as they’re easier to manage with doors, but half slabs do offer advantages. Mainly, you can make more interesting furniture and overall designs, but there are a few other less prominent ones. However, they can cause a headache when it comes to putting blocks on top of them.
Layering your Floor
An easy way to add a bit of depth to your room is to put the floor on multiple levels. However, this does not work with small rooms, as it can get a bit messy on a small scale. It is also best to keep all entrances and exits on the same level, or you might find you’re building one room a block above the next.
Furniture
Furniture is the main thing that people think about when you mention interior design, and that’s what this part will be covering.
Tables
One of the staples of a room is tables. Tables come in multiple shapes and sizes, but I’ve shown three here. The one on the far left is just two upside down stairs with half slabs in between, and can also be used as a bench. In the middle, there are four stairs combined to make a base, and half slabs covering them. The last one is four glass panes covered by carpets. These are just a few of the many ways you can make a table out of the blocks given in Minecraft.
Seats
When using a table, it’s more comfortable to be seated. So why not build some seats! On the far left, we have a standard couch, with stairs in the middle and corner stairs on the end. In the middle is a chair you can actually sit in, which is just a minecart in front of a door. On the far right is an interesting couch, which uses a half slab floor to create the appearance of a wool half slab, with a birch wood backing.
Vegetation
Indoor plants are quite common in real life, and also help spruce (or oak) up the inside of a house. These are just a few different ways to use leaves and plants to make a neat looking house plant. The braver soul may try to use other natural items, like vines and lily pads, but unless you’re specifically going for a natural feel, that’s not always the best idea.
Lighting
One of the most important parts of a build is lighting it up, and in this part, we’ll talk about a few ways to do that without placing torches all over the place. (Pro tip: Placing torches all over the place is a bad idea)
Using Pistons
In Minecraft, there’s a certain set of blocks that are classified as transparent. These blocks can let light shine through them. The list of transparent blocks includes the obvious ones, like glass and leaves, but also stranger ones, like pistons. Therefore, if you place glowstone underneath a piston, it will shine through. This can be useful if you want to light up a room in the most discreet way possible, as most people don’t know about it.
Carpets
Another way of lighting up a room is placing glowstone under carpets. This is very good if you’re using wool for a floor, but you can also pull it off for other floors as long as the carpet does not look too our of place. At the moment, this is the only block that has this effect, as the only other block this thing, snow layers, melt around light.
Hiding with Furniture
This is probably the least effective method when it comes to lighting, as it doesn’t actually light up surrounding areas, it just gives the illusion of casting light. However, it still looks like it’s lighting, so if you’re in peaceful or creative, it works just as well as the others.
Ceiling Lights
This method is pretty self-explanatory, but it is quite useful, as it allows you to add light without having to compromise whatever you’re building beneath. This is generally the most effective method for rooms that have a direct purpose other than to look good.
Sharing Light
The last way to light a room, without placing any blocks, is to share light from another room, or from outside. This can be done with windows. However, the other room has to be well lit, or else it won’t spread nearly enough to light the whole room. It is also generally a pretty limited method, and unless it’s a very small room, you’ll need another source.
Stairs
Our last part in interiors will be talking about stairs. Stairs are the simplest way to get from one level to another, without having to mess with complicated redstone elevators.
The Small and Ugly
I mainly put this staircase in the guide as a warning. It consists of stairs facing 90 degrees away from each other and one block up. It is the staircase with the smallest footprint that you can get without having to jump, but it is really ugly. Please avoid this unless absolutely necessary.
Spiral Staircase
This staircase works similarly to the previous staircase, but it is a bit bigger, and a lot prettier. By using halfslabs on a 3×3 footprint, you can go up without being stopped, and you can use a lot of different materials. I put the glass panes in the middle to keep from falling, but that can be whatever you want, including air, if you’re a daredevil.
The Grand Staircase
This is the final, and most commonly used, staircase. It is what you’d expect from a staircase: made out of stairs and going in one direction. This is generally the best design if you have enough room for it, but it is quite bulky, so it should be avoided if you have limited space.
Functional Interiors
We have reached the end. I will not be doing an overall summary build for this chapter, as it’s hard to cover all the rooms in a few images. However, this should suffice. For the floor, we have a flat checkerboard pattern. The white blocks are quartz, and the black parts are glowstone covered with black carpet. I used polished andesite for the countertop, to give off the appearance of a kitchen, and included the crafting table and furnaces. On the top are cupboards, which hold chests for storage. There are also windows to help provide light and scenery of the beautiful rocky landscape.
Thanks for Reading
And so ends Chapter 2 of the How to Build guide. Make sure to check out the first chapter, which you can find here: http://imgur.com/a/tiUgT. I also have a redstone guide, which can be found here: http://imgur.com/a/LL0IN. And lastly, make sure to check out the video of this guide, which goes a bit more in-depth on things I may have glossed over: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuL26ntfwj4. Anyways, thank you for reading, and I’ll see you in Chapter 3!
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