My girlfriend wanted to play something together again — she got tired of watching me rage while camo grinding — and suggested more Minecraft. I didn’t want to just jump in and simply try to “figure it out”, so I proposed a challenge: let’s make our “dream house” that we’d build IRL if money was no object.

We sometimes use Zillow like social media, sending each other pictures and properties that we love, and often watch HGTV and YouTube channels like Enes Yilmazer; so I thought it would be fun for each of us to take a stab at designing something ourselves.

Overall, I think it turned out incredibly. For a relative amateur at both Minecraft and home design, I made something I’d be ecstatic to live in. After the “reveal” my girlfriend helped add some “homey” touches, and I can’t think of much I’d do differently at all. Read on to learn more about (and see) this estate that might even make Frank Lloyd Wright blush.

The Walkup

The vibe I was going for was basically “high-end resort”. I want it to be a place where friends and family can gather and not have to worry about anything. Whether they need to work or work out; they want to party, play games, and enjoy a sporting event or two; or they just want to relax and escape, they’ll be able to do so in this space.

And toward that end, I’ve included a large kitchen and dining area, several outdoor seating spaces, a gym, library/office space, “sports bar”, theater, and plenty of rooms and beds. Not to mention a circular driveway, so nobody has to worry about parking.

I love the idea of a secluded hideaway where there’s nobody around to be bothered by any noise, with enough space to spread out. In the game, it’s more of a forest island, but it gets the point across. I wanted to go with a A-frame log cabin because it felt the vibe of the area, and I thought it was both stately and cozy.

When You Arrive

As I mentioned, we start with the circular driveway; with an awning at the home’s entrance, so guests can arrive comfortably no matter what the weather is. If this house were to be built for me IRL, it would almost certainly be in a climate that often gets cold and snowy. So the awning will definitely come in handy.

Naturally, the area within the circle of the driveway needed a defining feature. In hindsight, maybe I could’ve made some sort of statue — and, I suppose there’s technically still time — but I went with another water feature to create in front of the house.

I wanted the fountain to be as stately as the house; but at the same time, I didn’t want the house to get lost behind it. After some tinkering, I went with this floating bowl-style fountain with several columns of water cascading down into a pool. Fortunately, I didn’t have to worry about supporting the “bowl” or any sort of drainage or overflow. Thanks Minecraft physics.

Entrance & Main Level

Off to the side of the driveway is a garage, but we’ll get to that later. Walking through the foyer, past the stairs leading to the second level, you’ll find yourself in the main kitchen/dining area. We’ve got a huge kitchen to the left; with a second, prep kitchen behind it.

Opposite the kitchen is a large dining room table with tons of seating — Perfect for holiday dinners and game nights. The kitchen and dining room are separated by the stairs to the basement; which, aesthetically, I think looks pretty good, but is not my favorite layout. It really limits the walking room, and can be dangerous for little one’s running around.

I mostly designed the space as I built, though, and the basement didn’t really work out with the stairs in a different location. So it is what it is.

Beyond the dining room is a bit of a sitting area/small office, which probably should have been more of a “living room” space. Angles are difficult to work with in Minecraft, though, and there are enough sitting areas in the house. And you never know when someone needs to jump on a Zoom call.

The bathrooms, I think needs to be said, also consist of a few locking toilet stalls with a couple communal sinks. I’m a big believer in having extra toilets if possible.

Is That a Pool or Lake?

Out back on the deck is the big outdoor barbecue, along with a big outdoor dining table. There’s also a lounge area off to the side.

Down the steps you’re right at the gigantic “pool”. This was a lake, but I leveled the bottom, replaced the sides with more of a “pool” texture, and essentially converted it. It’s a bit over the top, and it’s perfect.

If you go around the pool to the right, you’ll find the sunken fire pit and, since it’s essentially a lake, a beach area. I wanted the pool to keep the “lake” vibes, so I added in some cascading sand with a couple lounge chairs (thanks to the gf for the loungers).

Other First Floor Spaces

Coming back inside, beyond the “sitting area” and communal loo are the first guest rooms. There’s two here, each able to sleep a couple people; and each with their own bathrooms. This first room actually backs up a bit directly to a stone wall; so I did this makeshift light window to give the perception of natural light. For such a seemingly simple game, Minecraft let’s you be endlessly creative.

Moving back to, and past, the kitchen; you’ll find the butler’s pantry — including the second kitchen for prep work and storage — and beyond that is the library. This would also act as the primary office space, so I put some windows to lighten it up; but without the ability to actually go outside. Gotta lock in.

I also left an opening so that I can get between the office and bedroom very quickly. There’s a bit more here, but I’ll come back in a bit.

Heading Upstairs

If we go back through the kitchen and up the stairs near the entrance, you’ll first notice the gigantic triangular window looking out over the property and water feature. It’s a pretty great view. The second floor landing is just that, so there’s mostly just a sitting area where people can hang out and take in views of the pool.

First, the “Second Master”

Going to the right, off of the sitting area, you come into the “second master” bedroom. This takes up the entire wing up here, and is almost better than the main “master”. You walk in to a closet and office, with plenty of storage. If necessary, several people can sleep here, too. There’s even a sitting area, and some great views. You could come to the house, and stay just in this guest room and be 100% content.

There’s also a huge bathroom here, complete with wet-room and large soaking tub. The tub sits right in a window, so it’s like you’re bathing in nature.

Second, the Main “Master”

Coming out of the second master and heading back past the sitting area, you’ll reach the main master bedroom. This room has a sitting area when you first walk in, along with the passage down to the office/library.

Heading into the bedroom, you first walk through the dressing room/closet. It’s a nice size, and still has a ton of storage and even an “island”. But honestly, it kind of pales in comparison to the other closet. At least this one is a bit more well-concealed.

Once you get through the closet, you walk in to the main area of the bedroom. Here you’ll find a gigantic bed, a sitting area, and a ceiling-mounted flip-down TV. Just off the bedroom is the Master Bath, which has it’s own giant tub with gorgeous views of nature.

Back in the bedroom, you’ll also find a massive doorway heading out to a huge balcony. The balcony features a picnic table for morning coffee and late night snacks; and a fire pit for those cozy snowy nights. It’s a veritable oasis.

Talk Softly About This Next Part

If you have a keen eye and noticed that the library seems a little small for what it looks like on the outside, you’re not crazy. Initially the entire space was the library, with basically a wasted “hallway” leading to it. My gf had an idea for a speakeasy/wine cellar, though, and I thought that was a fantastic idea; so I started building that.

In order to really hide the bar, I built a redstone door that reveals an entrance when you press a button. You’ve got to be quick, though — the door will close on you.

In the speakeasy, There’s some barrels where our spirits are aging, and a walk-in cellar to house all the bottles we currently have. There’s also a small deck off of it in case you want to have a drink outside. Given the fact that it wasn’t really my idea in the first place, I’m really impressed with how this area turned out. I’d definitely spend a lot of time there IRL.

Making My Way Downtown Stairs

Making our way back to the main/kitchen/dining area of the house, we’re going to head down the stairs. The first thing you’ll see is the sports bar. It’s got the huge, well, bar in the back, with a window looking into the pool behind it. It’s pretty dope, I think.

There’s also several high-top tables, so people can relax and have a place to set their drinks; and a bunch of TVs so nobody misses out on the action.

And no estate of this caliber is complete without a theater. Off of the bar in the basement is a red carpet that leads you to the in-home cinema. I built this before I saw any others — and I think I did an incredible job here. I’ve seen some better ones since, but I’m really happy with how this turned out.

But Wait, There’s More!

Remember that garage I talked about earlier? If you head this way, across this bridge, you’ll find it. I’m still kind of impressed with myself, the way I used stone walls and glass blocks to give the illusion of garage doors. I even used a couple trap doors to make drainage grates on the floor.

Head through the doorway into the room beyond the garage and you’ll come across a bit of a seating area with a large window looking into something — that something is the gym. Like I said, I want all needs taken care of here.

And because of the aforementioned winters, I wanted to be sure the gym could be accessed without going outside, so I put in a tunnel that leads to/from the basement bar area (with another, hidden, redstone door, so you don’t see it while watching the game).

We Bought a Zoo

Between starting this post and posting it, we’ve made some additions to the property. We added a full on zoo. Which, is a pretty cool addition, in Minecraft; but isn’t really something that would really make sense IRL.

Maybe a small garden and a few farm animals, or possibly a haven for foster dogs and cats, but that would be it. Here, though, we’ve got polar bears, wolves, pandas, horses, llamas, and more. We also included an aviary which is home to several owls and parrots (well, there were parrots, but I’ve since lost them. Maybe the mod didn’t load).

And because I was going for “over-the-top”, I even included a space in the back of the aviary to house dragons and a couple ghasts. I unfortunately didn’t know how much room I’d need, and I think I made it way too big. But I’m not going to go back and change it now.

And if you’re feeling particularly dangerous, head to a relatively innocuous opening in some bushes to the side of the birdhouse, and you’ll land in a hidden, underground, mob zoo. It’s not for the faint of heart.

If you’re feeling particularly daring, I built a passageway to a glass container within the enclosure, so you can get up-close-and-personal. And when you’re finished, simply head up the bubble elevator and out the other side of the bush.

What Did You Think?

Thanks for reading! Even after all of this, I’m seeing more things I can add to make it better. The second floor landing area could use a balcony, and I need to add better access to the pool area from the guest wing.

A part of me wants to add a balcony on the second master as well, but I’m afraid it’ll make the house a bit too “matchy-matchy”. Though, now that I think about it, I do like the idea of a connecting, half-wrapped balcony on the back as well. It might interfere with the fire pit. And that’s the beauty (and addictive nature) of Minecraft. I can tinker forever.

Also, there’s a completely hidden treehouse on the other side of the property — opposite the garage/gym. It’s so hidden, in fact, that I’ve completely forgotten about it twice, now. Check the YouTube video to see that.

Overall, I just thought this was a pretty sweet build and wanted to share. Let me know your thoughts, or send me some of your builds, I love to get inspired by what other people make!