13 Cool Minecraft Houses to Build in Survival in 2026

We think the best houses to build in survival are wood and stone medieval designs, or more modern builds with concrete and glass.

_{This list is current for 2026 (Minecraft Java 26.3 and Bedrock 26.50, Wilderness Bound).}

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

Medieval homes are popular in survival because they are usually made of wood and stone. Both of these materials are very easy to get and there’s 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, and the Wilderness Bound drop added one more with poplar wood from the new dappled forest.

If you’re 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’ve included a variety of styles and sizes for both beginners and more advanced players. Here is our list of example 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 used to be the best pick because it was the only one of the three with stairs and slabs, but since Wilderness Bound, concrete and wool have stairs and slabs too. That makes white concrete a cheaper way to get the same clean look. For a fancier floor, try using glazed terracotta patterns as a centerpiece.

Some tips when building a simple modern house are to use plenty of glass for natural lighting, use asymmetrical shapes, and include big “open concept” spaces. For the living room, cushions (also new in Wilderness Bound) let you put real, sittable seats on your sofas.

If you want to build this exact house, check out the YouTube video tutorial.

2. Sandstone Mansion

If you’re looking to build a large house, a mansion like this one is a good option. This example features multiple stories and is mainly made from sandstone, which is relatively easy to get in survival mode.

3. Modern Villa on the Lake

This lake villa is my favorite modern build on the list. The tutorial video above shows you how to build a similar house yourself.

The huge glass windows let in a lot of natural light, the decorations and furnishings are well chosen, and the waterfront location makes the whole build stand out.

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 house just like this one.

Most suburban American/Canadian homes have an attached garage, which 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 or a stable for your horse.

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 your house is to add a second 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.

6. Modern 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 aren’t too complex and include glass, wood, stone, leaves, water, etc. This video uses a custom texture pack, which makes the build look much better than it would in regular “vanilla” Minecraft.

7. Simple Medieval 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 upgrading the cobblestone. Smelt cobblestone in a furnace to get stone, then craft 4 stone in a square to make stone bricks (a stonecutter does it one for one). Smelt the stone a second time if you want smooth stone.

These types of houses are a good fit 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 house is similar to a Woodland Mansion. 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. For an autumn version, build it in a dappled forest, where the poplar trees have red, orange, and yellow leaves.

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

In the photo, the builder used a lot of torches on the building. I personally would suggest using a different light source like lanterns, glowstone, or redstone lamps if you have these materials, as too many torches can look messy and make the building seem unfinished.

If you’re 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’re playing with “fire spread” turned on, be careful not to accidentally burn down your entire mansion!

9. Asian Pagoda

An Asian themed home can be challenging to build because of the angles and curves involved.

While this pagoda has many floors, you can also start with an easier one that’s 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. Pink cherry wood from cherry grove biomes is another great fit for this style.

If you search “pagoda” online, you’ll 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 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 wouldn’t look as good.

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’ve 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 House

Tiny and compact homes are becoming increasingly popular, even in real life. Despite the small size of this house, it’s 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. A straw bed is perfect for that, since it lets you sleep through the night without moving your spawn point away from your main base. Each one only works once, so keep a few in the chest.

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 the base under it!

13. Modern Apartment or Hotel Tower

A modern tower which can be used as a hotel or apartment. Each unit has glass walls with an opposing balcony. This build uses blue stained glass for the modern look. Taller towers also work well if you’re building a whole city in survival.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you keep mobs out of your Minecraft house?

Light every room, since hostile mobs only spawn where the block light level is 0, and use the right door. On Hard difficulty, zombies can break down wooden doors, so use an iron door with a button or lever on each side if you play on Hard.

Will villagers use the beds in my house?

They can. If you build near a village, villagers can claim any regular bed that is close enough, and you may find one asleep in yours at night. Straw beds are the exception, since villagers ignore them.

That’s our full list of cool Minecraft houses! Which one are you building next? Leave a comment below.