13 Cool Minecraft Houses to Build in Survival

Minecraft houses come in all shapes and sizes and can be built using different building styles. The most popular types of Minecraft homes to build in survival usually follow either a modern or medieval style.

Medieval Minecraft houses are popular in survival because they usually are made of wood and stone. Both of these materials are very easy to get and there is a variety of blocks to pick from. For example, with wood blocks there are many different colors depending on the tree the wood came from.

If you are up to the challenge, you can also build a large modern house. Usually this will require more complicated building blocks like concrete and will also take more time to build.

In this article, we have a variety of styles and sizes for both beginners and more advanced players. Here is our list of 13 cool Minecraft houses that you can build in survival mode:

1. Simple Modern Home

Modern Minecraft houses usually have lots of glass, white colors, pools, multiple floors, and staircases. This house built by WiederDude is a good example and includes these elements. For the building blocks, usually wool, quartz, or concrete is used. Quartz is often the best because you can also make staircases and slabs with it.

Some tips when building a simple modern Minecraft house are to use plenty of glass to provide natural lighting, use asymmetrical shapes, and to include big “open concept” spaces.

Want to build this exact house? Check out the YouTube video tutorial on how to build this Minecraft house.

2. Sandstone Mansion

If you are looking to build a large Minecraft house, look no further and build a large mansion. This example features multiple stories and is mainly made from sandstone which is relatively easy to get in survival mode.

If you want to take a deeper look into this specific mansion build, you can download the mansion file at the source website.

3. Modern Minecraft Villa on the Lake

I just LOVE this modern Minecraft build! And the best part? This build has a tutorial video (shown above) to help you build a similar house all by yourself.

Everything about this build is stunning: the huge glass windows and natural lighting, the choice of decorations and furnishings, and last but not least the waterfront lake.

4. Suburban Home

A model of a real-life home in the suburbs is a cool thing to build in Minecraft. Use blocks like concrete, wool, stone, and wood to make a Minecraft house just like this one.

Most suburban American/Canadian homes have an attached garage, which definitely adds to the “real life” feel of the home. Even though there are no cars in (non-modded) Minecraft, the garage can still be used as a storage area.

To make a scale version of a real-life suburban home, you probably would have to make a much wider and taller building to be able to include all the rooms, hallways, bathrooms, kitchen, and so on!

5. Simple Home with Balcony

Another option for building a cool Minecraft house is to elevate the first floor with a staircase. This example also has a balcony with some crops growing on it as well as a basement under the balcony and first floor. The glass allows a large amount of natural light to enter the building.

READ MORE: The 15 Best Minecraft Modpacks To Play In 2023

6. Modern Minecraft Mansion

This modern Minecraft mansion is beautiful, simple, and also relatively easy to build. It features a pool in the front as well as an overhead balcony from the second floor. Note that the front entrance is actually on the sides rather than right in the front which adds to the uniqueness of this build.

The blocks used to build this mansion are not too complex and include glass, wood, stone, leaves, water, etc. This video obviously uses a custom texture pack, which makes the build look much better than it would in regular “vanilla” Minecraft.

If you want to give this one a try, the above video is a tutorial that shows you how to build it step by step.

7. Simple Medieval Minecraft House

This is a house from a naturally generated village as found in the 1.14 Village & Pillage Update. The homes in villages can be a good starting point or example for how to build a simple Minecraft house.

Note the easy-to-get materials for building a medieval house: cobblestone, wooden logs, wooden doors, and trapdoors. You can improve the appearance by using smooth stone (by cooking cobblestone in a furnace) or stone bricks (by crafting 4 smooth stones in a square).

These types of houses are perfect for your “first days” when playing survival Minecraft. They aren’t exactly beautiful, but they get the job done and protect you from monsters.

8. Wooden Forest Mansion

This kind of Minecraft house is similar to a Woodland Mansion. Modelling your house after a naturally generated mansion in the game can make building easier. A forest mansion would usually be built somewhere in the middle of a forest and made primarily out of wood and a bit of stone.

This kind of mansion is relatively easy to build since wood is so common in the game, but you will probably have to build a tree farm to get all the necessary wood for it. I would recommend getting an enchanted axe to increase the speed you can cut the wood at.

In the photo, the builder used a lot of torches on the building. I personally would suggest using a different light source like glowstone or redstone lamps if you have these materials as too many torches can look ugly and make the building look like it’s under construction still.

If you are wanting an easier option, you can also try finding a naturally generated Woodland Mansion and then renovate it to your liking and live in it. If you are playing with “fire spread” turned on, be careful not to accidentally burn down your entire mansion!

9. Asian Pagoda Minecraft House

An Asian themed Minecraft home can be challenging to build because of the angles and curves involved. You might find it helpful to install an Asian decorations mod to help you build with this style.

While this pagoda has many floors, you can also start with an easier one that is just a couple stories tall. Also consider adding a bit more color variety into the building, like shades of red or yellow, to make the building stand out a bit more.

If you search “pagoda” on google images, you will find tons of examples which you can use as a reference when building your pagoda styled house.

10. Large Oak Starter Mansion

A beautiful oak starter mansion in the forest with multiple levels for farming on the sides. This one is really not too difficult to build in survival and uses simple materials like oak.

An elevated house like this will look way better next to a hill or a forest as you can see in the video. If it were built in the middle of a flat field, it definitely would not look as good!

If you want to give this mansion a try, the above video is a tutorial that shows you how to build it step by step.

11. Multilevel Simple Wooden House

A simple wooden home that has multiple floors. It’s compact and practical, with a main floor, a basement, and a second floor. You could easily put a storage chest room in the basement.

A house like this is quite easy to build and is best for beginners or players in their first few days of the game. Once you have advanced in the game and have access to more materials, you may want to consider building a bit larger or even a castle!

12. Small & Compact Modern Minecraft House

Tiny and compact homes are becoming increasingly popular, even in real-life. Despite the small size of this house, it is possible to make it practical for your needs too. A tiny house is usually best for just an “outpost” place to sleep and grab some supplies like food.

Another cool idea is to make a tiny house like this on the ground, and then have a massive underground base beneath it. People will come inside expecting a tiny house, and be pleasantly surprised when they find a massive underground base under it!

13. Modern Apartment or Hotel Tower

A very cool, modern tower which can be used as a hotel or apartment. Each unit has glass walls with an opposing balcony. This build makes use of blue stained glass to enhance the modern look. Taller towers can be built as a part of the city building survival Minecraft challenge.

A tall building with windows looks great with a view! Try to build a tower next to a scenic area like a beach or by a large valley.

Looking for more modern Minecraft house building ideas? Check out this blog post from minecraft.net.

READ MORE: 34 Cool Things to Build in Minecraft When You’re Bored