Top 30 Traditional Minecraft Starter House Ideas

Dec 8, 2021

Your first few days of Minecraft are the most essential. Setting up a shelter and gathering bits of food will help you survive long enough to begin adventures and exploration. A good starter house will be required to keep you safe from mobs and the elements (and have a place to spawn back to in the event of an unfortunate interaction with a creeper).

What defines a good starter house?

Simplistic Design: Regardless of building skill level, large builds are realistic to starter houses. They should take a few days, at most, and even a new player should be able to build it.
Attainable Materials: The materials need to be easy to gather or find, which is why most builds are made of stone and wood.
Includes the Essentials: What good is a house if it doesn’t have a bed? It should also have space for farming and storage to help you survive long enough to get better tools and experience.

What makes up a traditional style house?

In Minecraft, there are blocks for all types of builds. However, traditional starter house designs tend to include blocks made of wood or stone. Mostly because they are easiest to find in the game, but they’re also blocks for those who prefer a more traditional or rustic style house.

However, that doesn’t mean terracotta or dirt are out of the running. The following builds vary in shape and location so that anyone looking for a traditional starter base can build it!

From treehouse to beach house, this list features traditional starter homes for all skill levels!

h/minecraft • 91 guides

h/gaming • 266 guides

Tutorial by Random Steve Guy
Biome: Forest

Many think that a starter base needs to be a house, however, you can just as easily create a tent! Much sturdier than tents in real life, this starter build is perfect for the early game. It’s quick to make, looks nice and cozy, and requires blocks that are easy to gather! It can even be created with different blocks (as shown later in this list).

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by PixelBot
Biome: Desert

While quartz isn’t an early game block, it can easily be replaced with sandstone or concrete. This was a wonderful tutorial and super easy house to build. It’s great for those looking to build in a different shape, but still have something easy to create. It’s also good practice for building circles!

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by KoalaBuilds
Biome: Taiga or Forest

Most starter houses are made of spruce and stone bricks. However, this tutorial shows how to build with those blocks, but make it look more interesting. The design is easy to replicate, and it’s a great build to try if you’re looking to upgrade your standard starter house skills.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by BlueNerd Minecraft
Biome: Any

Immediately, this starter house catches your eye because of the warped plank’s color! This is a fun build that’s architecturally intriguing to look at. The block palette is perfect for any biome you could want to settle in, with room to grow.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by Mr Mirror
Biome: Badlands or Desert

One of the best strategies to survival in Minecraft? Use the surrounding blocks. This mesa/badlands build uses blocks found in the area to not only match the landscape, but also as to function as an easy starter build. The tutorial made it hard to tell which color terracotta blocks to use, so we’ll tell you now it was light gray and standard terracotta.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by Random Steve Guy
Biome: Any Ocean

Who doesn’t love a good underwater base? It’s both secretive and incredibly cool! While sponge can be tricky to acquire in early game, there are other ways to get rid of water. This starter house is definitely more for the intermediate builders, but it can’t hurt to practice building in a creative world.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by Ayvocado
Biome: Jungle, Forest

Treehouses in Minecraft are a great way to survive and avoid hostile mobs. This tutorial shows how to not only build a base for a tree, but how to make the tree itself! It’s a fantastic way to begin learning how to build custom trees. While the base is small, it can always be expanded as your riches grow.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by Mr Mirror
Biome: Savanna, Badlands, Plains

A circular house is such a unique design that it needed to be included on this list. Not only is it raised up, but it comes with a farm to guarantee you’ll always have food. The tutorial video is very easy to follow, and it doesn’t require blocks that are hard to acquire. We’d love to see this build with a different biome or block palette!

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by SheepGG
Biome: Any Mountains

Live like a dwarf in Minecraft with this starter house built into a mountain! Because of the shape and simple design, it’s a modular build. Try adding in more rooms at different levels! It’s perfect to try in 1.18, Caves and Cliffs Part 2!

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by ImRandom
Biome: Any

Another great design is an underground starter base. With everything you need in view, this build is simple and safe (you don’t have to worry about fall damage while building a roof). You can even turn this base into a system of underground tunnels! This tutorial is easy to follow, with all the information you’ll need!

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by A1MOSTADDICTED MINECRAFT
Biome: Forest, Mountain

When you hear the words “starter house”, the blocks that come to mind are wood. This build is made to be the perfect example of a rustic house. While the tutorial was a little hare to follow at times, it’s an easy build that doesn’t require too many blocks.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by TSMC
Biome: Any

Another simple house that has depth and is visually appealing. The tutorial is easy to follow, though it doesn’t show how to do the interior, leaving that decision up to the player. This is a starter house that is great for beginner builders to help learn detailing!

Featured Blocks

Tutorial By Dio Rods
Biome: Any Taiga or Spruce

Of course, we needed to include a taiga starter house! This build showcases how well stone and spruce go together, and why everyone uses them. Warning: The tutorial is a hard to follow because of poor camera angles, but once you get the foundation and walls up, the details can be completely up to you!

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by KoalaBuilds
Biome: Any Forest, especially Birch

Similar to the first tent-like house in this list, this starter is a great alternative to a typical house-structure. Not only is it quick and easy to build, but it uses blocks that normally wouldn’t be considered for building (like hay bales). You can switch out the block palette easily to fit the biome or style you prefer!

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by Dio Rods
Biome: Badlands, Savanna

Consider this terracotta house to be a starter base+. It has a convenient and safe roof on the top, a stable, and plenty of room for expanding upon. The tutorial is not only well-done, but enjoyable to watch!

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by BigTonyMC
Biome: Swamp or anywhere with a beach

This is a great starter house for builds in shallow water. Whether you want to deter hostile mobs, want an ocean view, or just like the added height, this tutorial will guide you through easily. There's even a small dock for boats!

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by ItsMarloe
Biome: Any water biome

For those sea lovers out there, here’s a starter build just for you! Regardless of what body of water you want to live on, this raft is incredibly quick to build. So quick that you can use it as a temporary home or decoration through the world.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by TheMythicalSausage
Biome: Mountains or Snowy

Why not build a better igloo than the Minecraft developers? TheMythicalSausage is known for his detailed builds, but he makes a great tutorial that’s easy to follow along with. This design is so unique (even including wildlife as decoration)!

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by Nuec
Biome: Taiga or Forest

This is a perfect starter house for any beginning builder or Minecraft player. With a traditional house style and a block palette that’s easy to acquire in survival, this is a great starter base for any forest or taiga biome.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by Folli
Biome: Any

Again, wood and stone are featured in this easy to follow (and gather) tutorial. The style is simple to copy, but with an added layer of nice detailing than other traditional builds. The tutorial video doesn’t cover the interior of the base, so keep that in mind when starting.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by Experimental Dude
Biome: Any

Not enough popular starter houses are made of birch, so here’s a tutorial for birch lovers! It’s a very basic build for new players or builders, that even includes a basement. The architecture is borderline modern, though it has certain aspects to it that has it fitting the traditional theme. The pacing of the tutorial video makes it incredibly easy to follow!

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by csx42
Biome: Any

What’s great about this tutorial is how the creator emphasizes the versatility of the build. Not only can you use any blocks you want, but you can build upon the house as you need to. This starter house is perfect for those wanting a small starter space to keep safe until they expand their riches and inventory.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by KyloMC Builds
Biome: Any

For those looking for something a little more than a one level build, this brick starter house is perfect. Not many would think to combine birch wood with bricks, but it works really well here. It also provides a great view with large windows in both the front and back, as well as a nice blend of nature.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by Ayvocado
Biome: Any

That’s right, it’s a starter house made of dirt. It may be a meme to have a dirt house, however, this is an upgrade to the typical square dirt design. It’s a perfect first day shelter tutorial that shows in survival the process of gathering resources and turning the typical box of dirt into a beautiful home (made of dirt).

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by SwiftFoxy
Biome: Any

For those wanting a more traditional brick house, this small brick house is for you. The tutorial is harder to follow than most, so be prepared to pause and rewind a few times. However, once it's complete, you’ll have a cozy little home to begin your Minecraft adventures.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by FPgaming
Biome: Beach or Desert

Take advantage of the ocean view with this beautiful beach house design! This build works with the terrain, and features multiple levels with room to expand. The roof is especially unique with rounded sides! The tutorial doesn’t show height information, but it’s simple enough that you can still follow along with the video.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by KyleKraft
Biome: Any

Early warning: The tutorial doesn’t actually start until five minutes into the video. However, it’s an incredible tutorial that goes over everything you could need to know about this build, including design choices and options. Since it’s built withing one chunk, this starter base has everything you need for early and mid-game. There’s even an infinite water source and mine!

Featured Blocks

Design by Mojang Studios
Biome: Any

Villagers are so nice, they won’t even mind if you move into one of their houses! Whether you just want to explore, or you’re trying to speed run, use a generated village house as your base! It comes with everything you require in the beginning: a bed, farm, and an iron golem guard!

Tutorial by Sv Gravity Biome: Any

This is a perfect small and cute build that’s great for those who want a raised home along with the essential farming and storage space. Resources are easy to find, and the tutorial is fantastic to follow along with.

Featured Blocks

Tutorial by Nesco Biome: Forest

For those dark oak lovers, here’s a great dark oak starter house to build. Whether you want to tuck away into a dark forest or simple have a cozy home to return to, this tutorial will show you the way. The interior is on the smaller side, which makes it good for early game, and comes with a small attic space for extra storage!

Featured Blocks

All houses were built in a 1.17 world using BSL Shaders and Jerm’s Better Leaves Add-on.

NEXT UP

Britt (157)

Jan 20, 2022

The first few days of Minecraft are the most stressful, which means a good starter house is required to keep you safe from mobs and the elements (and have a place to spawn back to in the event of an unfortunate interaction with a skeleton or zombie). What defines a good starter house? Simplistic Design: Regardless of building skill level, large builds are realistic to starter houses. They should take a few days, at most, and even a new player should be able to build it. Attainable Materials: The materials need to be easy to gather or find, which is why most builds are made of stone and wood. Includes the Essentials: What good is a house if it doesn’t have a bed? It should also have space for farming and storage to help you survive long enough to get better tools and experience. What makes up a cottagecore style house? In Minecraft, there are blocks for all types of builds. Cottagecore starter house designs include a lot of stone, wood, and (of course) greenery. They’re great for early game in Minecraft because their resources are easily found in the Overworld. For those who have fallen down a TikTok cottagecore hole or simply just want a cozy cabin to escape to, cottagecore and fairycore Minecraft builds are meant for you. However, that doesn’t mean concrete, sandstone, or even terracotta are out of the running. The following builds vary in shape and location so that anyone looking for a cottagecore starter base can build it! From desert to flower forest (to even a mushroom), this list features cottagecore starter homes for all skill levels!