Since the release of Minecraft, players on forums have discussed and shown off all their survival builds. The game has been out for over ten years. During this time, players have exercised creativity and execution on cool things to add to their Minecraft world.
There are countless builds you can make in Minecraft, and these can range from buildings to bridges. Survival builds can add an aesthetic touch to make your world more personal and beautiful.
There are many cool things to build in Minecraft survival that are satisfying when completed. You probably might have an abundance of supplies in your Minecraft survival world and want to put them to use.
42 Fun Survival Minecraft Builds
If you are looking for Minecraft building ideas in survival, this list will cover 42 fun things to build.
1. Themed Enchanting Room
Themed enchanting rooms are one of the easy things to build in Minecraft survival. Most players will have a soulless room devoted to their enchanting table, with little decoration.
Nothing adds more magic to a room than amethyst blocks. Adding them to your beautiful themed area is a great combination. Lanterns for light in your room are another excellent decor idea to reinforce the magical aesthetic of the room.
Adding an outdoor enchanting hut will keep your build visible and allow easy access at all times. Combining wood fences, amethyst blocks, leaves, bookshelves, and lanterns can lead to a stunning themed enchanting room.
You can also place an ender chest near the entrance or the bed to amplify the theme of sorcery in the room.
2. Horse Stable Build in Minecraft Survival
Having horses is a great way to move around in Minecraft. In many cases, horses get tied to a fence and are left there. Adding a horse stable will add lots of immersion into your Minecraft survival world.
A well-designed horse stable will consist of many fences, barrels, and hay. If you want to go the extra mile, adding wheat near the stable will give it a rustic vibe. Try to build a stable that would accommodate ten horses, as you can never have too many.
Place a chest near the entrance with all your saddles and horse armor to keep them safe and accessible.
3. Witchy Apothecary
Potions only require a brewing stand and can look ugly if you place them randomly in your house. Creating a witchy apothecary is one of the easy boring things to build in Minecraft survival.
Crimson planks work best to add a witchy color palette to your theme. Other nether blocks work great if your base is in the overworld, as it will help it stick out compared to its surroundings. Nether bricks work great as well for the outside.
On the inside, use a mix of cauldrons, brewing stands, potted plants, and veins to establish the witchy representation.
If you have cats, placing a few down in your apothecary would be a great idea, especially if they’re black cats; be sure to leave them with a friend!
4. Dedicated Nether Portal
Your first nether portal has no focus other than its function. In most Minecraft worlds, they are far away from any house as it is a sore sight. A nether portal is a bridge between two dimensions and should respect.
Ever since the update that allowed nether portals to increase in measurements, players have started creating huge dedicated nether portals that look grand.
The imposing feel your nether portal will give off will always be a sight to cherish.
Using a massive portal and using many nether materials is a great place to start. A popular decoration trend is to give off the effect that the nether is slowly seeping through the portal.
Players give the impression that the nether is seeping out of the portal by placing netherrack, magma blocks, lava, and other similar materials.
5. Cool Minecraft Bridges Ideas
One of the oldest structures in the game is bridges. There are countless search results for Minecraft Alpha bridges.
You will often face water dividing two plots of land. Usually, a short swim will do, or a small cobblestone bridge.
If you are in the mood to be fancy, taking the time to construct a bridge will be worth it in the long run.
Consider investing more time in longer bridges, as they add detail to your world. Making frequent small bridges also works out great!
6. Chicken Coop
Most chicken farms in Minecraft only include fences. Building a chicken coop will make your chicken farm prettier.
There are many ideas and inspirations for a chicken coop. The most common one is a coop with stairs leading to a small outdoor area.
The central coop is small to keep the look of an enclosure. Using slabs and trapdoors perfectly fits a chicken coop. You can also add hoppers in the coop to gather eggs.
Be sure to cover the hoppers with carpets; this will help them remain hidden and remain functional.
The outside area would benefit from wheat, hay bale, and tall grass. Add some water, and then your outdoor space is complete.
7. Lighthouse
Building a lighthouse is perfect if your base is near an ocean. It will always help you find your way home by seeing it from a distance.
Lighthouses are one of the fun things to build in Minecraft survival; they also provide a great way to survey the area around to plan other builds.
Choose an area closest to the ocean and plan your lighthouse. Red and white blocks work best while using glowstone for the top. There is no exact figure as to how tall your lighthouse should be.
8. Hanging Mountain House
Building a base on a mountain has many advantages, with the main one being amazing views at all times. You can take this to the next level by having a small house hang from the side of a mountain.
Build a house off the side of a mountain. Next, build a support structure connecting your roof to the mountain. You can get creative with how you design your supporting structure.
For the best viewing angles, add lots of glass to your house!
9. Walls
You probably have lots of spare stone blocks from mining and are looking to put them to use. Walls can be one of the more useful Minecraft builds. Surrounding your base with walls will keep mobs away and allow you to establish an area safe from pesky creepers and other hostile mobs.
Castle walls are a great choice when choosing a style for your walls; using a mix of stone bricks, stairs, and stone can create an imposing wall surrounding your base.
Prepare to create at least two castle entrances; this will allow you to have an easy way out at all times.
10. Maze
Building a maze in survival Minecraft is a fun activity you can create for your friends in a multiplayer server. Mazes are fast to plan and lead to a fun activity for you and your friends.
Mazes use leaves, making them cheap and fast to build. Preparing a maze on paper before building it in Minecraft will help you with more complex designs.
Consider adding secret signs at dead ends as a little easter egg for your friends!
11. Fountain
A fountain is a clever build to place in the center of your base. They are easy to build, requiring only stone bricks and water.
Creating a cascading flow to your fountain is essential to prevent it from looking flat or dull. Add life to your fountain by adding glowstone onto the floor to make it prettier during nighttime. Read our guide on the best Minecraft fountain ideas.
Adding a few lily pads on the bottom level of your fountain will make it more pleasant to see. Lily pads will also help you navigate through your fountain without wasting time going around it.
12. Garden
There is nothing better to surround your fountain with than a well-designed garden. With your fountain as the center, clear out an area to prepare your garden.
Use many leaves and grass to surround the fountain while staying organized. Too much will take away from your garden. Adding different types of flowers and lanterns will take your garden to the next level.
Creating a walkway for your garden using tilled dirt will add another layer of detail that will help your garden or even your barn stand out.
You can also add a bench using stairs and trapdoors on the sides as a resting place.
13. Storage Room
Storing your items is a necessary part of any survival world. The longer you play, the more resources you will need to sort. Sorting your chests requires an organized storage room.
Adding a storage room to your main house will keep it nearby for quick visits. Building it as part of your basement can be an excellent idea to keep the storage area out of sight.
Storage rooms or storage drawers involve chests piled on one another, with item frames or signs identifying contents.
Using signs or item frames will aid in identifying the components of any chest. With clear identification, grabbing items will be a breeze.
Using armor stands for your armor is a great touch to add some detail to your storage room.
14. Library
If you love books, this will instantly excite you. Libraries will require tons of bookshelves, which need a lot of resources.
Libraries are a great way to populate a large room in your house or castle.
Towering bookshelves is a great way to start, be sure to add a loft, as it will add an extra layer to your library. Adding your loft will prevent your library from appearing flat. Use lanterns as a light source, except for the central area.
Consider building a chandelier and adding chairs and tables for the central area.
For a fun merging project, implement your enchanting room as a smaller room within your library.
Also read: Best Minecraft Banner Designs
15. Farmhouse
Your farm plays a large role in your Minecraft world. Ever since the hunger update, farms have become crucial for any survival world.
Connecting a farmhouse next to your farms will give them an improved level of detail. The farmhouse does not need to be fancy; a simple cottage farmhouse will do perfectly.
A farmhouse can also double as a food storage room for all your excess wheat and seeds. You can cook potatoes and other foods in the farmhouse as well.
Farmhouses use lots of wood with stone for detail and always use a cascading roof.
16. Nether Hub
The majority of the nether is dangerous.
Where your portal leads matters and plays a role in navigation and safety. A good Minecraft project idea is to create a small nether hub.
The goal of a nether hub is to create a safe area that allows you to navigate in any direction in the nether. Emptying the area around your portal and ensuring no ghasts will reach your portal is the first step.
The second step includes adding pathways for all four directions North, South East, and West. You can also set up a small base of operations that includes chests, emergency food, and other essentials.
17. Castle
Castles were built by players when Minecraft first came out. Over the years, castles have vastly changed. They now look more advanced and grand.
Building a large castle is the pinnacle of showing off in Minecraft.
The materials used for castles started with cobblestone, stone slabs, and glass. Now that the game has included many more blocks, they have all been put to use to create epic castles.
Surrounding your castle with walls will only add to its awe-inspiring effect. Castles work great as your home, with all your other builds surrounding it.
Add your fountain and garden, maze, and farmhouse on the outside to give life to the castle. As for the inside, you can add an enchanting room, library, and storage room to make use of the large building.
18. Cathedral
Cathedrals serve as an excellent meeting point between players in a survival world. Building a cathedral is a difficult and time-consuming process.
Cathedrals have the potential to be a community project where players plan and pitch in efforts to complete the build. A well-built cathedral will unite any community and display its building prowess.
There is no limit to how majestic you plan your cathedral to be. Larger is better.
You can have several themes for your cathedral, such as gothic or medieval. There are countless examples of cathedrals all over the internet.
The most important aspect is the amount of detail in your build. Since cathedrals tend to be on the larger side, you need to add tons of detail in all aspects of your cathedral.
Failing to add enough detail could cause your build to appear soulless or dull.
19. Automatic Farms
Automatic farms are the backbone of any survival Minecraft world. There are countless things in Minecraft you can automate. Having lots of automatic farms will set you up with the resources necessary to build other things, such as a castle.
You can create an XP farm from a mob spawner, allowing yourself XP for enchanting. An automatic food farm with the help of villagers will result in unlimited food, meaning you never have to farm again.
Building an iron farm is time-consuming but is worth it, as you will have infinite iron once it is complete.
After completing your farm, be sure to decorate around it, as most farms are not appealing to see. This final step cannot be understated as it requires minimal effort and produces great results.
Enclosing your farm will go a long way. For example, you can decorate your iron farm by turning it into a small fort.
20. Sky Base
Building a sky base in Minecraft means that you are creating your environment. By building in the sky, you choose exactly how you wish your area to look.
The majority of bases will remain either on the surface level or underground. Sky bases are rare and can be a lot of fun. Ever since Minecraft added the elytra, sky bases are now more feasible than ever.
The downsides of a sky base include a lot of time building land and gathering resources. If you make it past this downside, it can be exciting seeing your base float while all your friends live on the surface.
Building the island for a sky base requires thought, as a single layer of dirt will look appealing and boring. Creating a design that adds detail to the island is essential to selling the idea of a sky base.
Creating a cone-shaped island is a great way to display the effect of a floating island. The materials used are a mix between stone and grass. Having many small interconnected sky islands is also a viable method.
Having smaller connected sky islands over a massive one can save resources and still show off a grand display.
Another decoration method used in sky bases is having streams of water run down your island. These streams also serve as an easy way to get back up to your base until you have an elytra.
21. Volcano
A volcano is one of the best creative things to build in Minecraft survival. They are great at adding detail to any scenery and are a ton of fun to build.
Placing a volcano within viewing distance from your base will result in you having an awesome view. You can also change things up and turn an entire island into a volcano island.
This is great if your base is already on a smaller island.
Volcanos are easy to build as they require little organization or symmetry. With a lot of stone blocks, you can easily create a volcano.
The amount of lava you want to add is up to you. Smaller volcanos require little lava, while larger ones need a lot to look great.
22. Pagoda
Pagodas are a popular architectural style that works amazingly well in Minecraft. Building a pagoda can be a great second house idea as they require many resources.
To build a pagoda, you need a minimum of four floors. Wood is the most popular choice when building a pagoda.
There are many styles of pagodas, but the Japanese one is the most popular. A Japanese pagoda in Minecraft is striking to see from a distance. Building one is a great idea if you want to add more detail to your survival world.
23. Artificial Trees
Minecraft trees are small and dull. Creating artificial trees is a great way to decorate the area surrounding your base. While converting all the trees in your area into artificial ones is not feasible, choosing a select few to change is a brilliant idea.
Selecting a few key points where a mega tree would look great is your first step. The number of trees you add depends on how large your base is. Smaller bases will benefit from a couple of custom trees, while a massive base will require a ton.
The size of your artificial trees should remain a manageable size, as they should not overpower the surrounding area. The goal is to help them complement your landscape and make your base look better.
24. Japanese Cherry Tree
If you are looking for cute things to build in Minecraft survival, a Japanese cherry tree is a fun idea. Adding just one to your survival world is a great addition that will add a touch of needed color.
Japanese cherry trees are easy to build, requiring only pink wool, pink concrete, and wood. Using two types of pink blocks prevents your tree from looking bland.
Adding dangling lanterns will make your build shine at night and make it look pretty at any time. For a cool tip, try adding a few pink carpets below your tree to add the effect of fallen leaves!
25. Ponds
Small ponds are a great way to add variety to your land. Ponds can be pretty and add lots of diversity to the area surrounding your base.
Smaller ponds work great and can work alongside other builds such as your Japanese cherry tree.
Ponds look best when covered with a layer of cobblestone, mossy cobblestone, and stone. Using a blend between the three gives the effect of an older pond. Using only one type of stone leads to a bland feel.
Adding lily pads to the water is essential to break up and add detail to the water. Consider adding a few lanterns around the pond to bring light and life to the area surrounding it.
Using bone meal on the inside of the pond to add movement to the bottom of your pond. Ponds do not need to be deeper than two blocks.
If you want to go the extra step, consider adding a few fish to your pond.
26. Mountainside House
Living inside a mountain sounds like a ton of fun! Building a mountain house is an easy build in Minecraft.
The only downside to a mountain house is that you will need to dig out a ton of space for your indoor areas. Decorating your entrance is vital to portray a fancy mountainside house.
Using lots of glass and window frames is a great way to pull this off. Using stairs to lead into your base is also another idea to add detail.
27. Underground House
Underground houses are a fun twist on the traditional house in Minecraft. All it includes is building a normal house underground but using glass for the ceiling.
Cover the glass with slab blocks such as wood or stone to prevent it from looking odd from above.
Decorate your house as you normally would, but use glass for the ceiling.
Alternatively, you can only use a glass ceiling in one or two rooms of your underground house. The goal is to have a visually stunning view from above into your amazing house.
28. Roller Coaster
Roller Coasters are a bunch of fun in real life and Minecraft. There is no predestined design, so you can go all out and create your creative plans.
There are a few tricks to make your roller coaster more fun, such as having underground sections near lava and taking things high up.
Since roller coasters require a ton of iron, building an iron farm first is vital so you do not run out of iron during construction.
29. Road with Streetlights
Building a road between all your areas of interest is a smart way to connect your world. Be sure to add streetlights to your roads to make them look even prettier.
There are countless road designs, with the main ones being a mix of dirt paths or stone.
Dirt paths look great in bases with lots of medieval-themed builds, while a stone one suits a modern aesthetic.
As for the streetlights, using fences and lanterns works great for almost every design. You can also choose to use glowstone or sea lanterns for better lighting.
30. Spleef Tournament Stadium
Spleef is one of the oldest minigames played in Minecraft. Players would compete on a layer of snow, attempting to cause others to fall only using an iron shovel.
Building a small stadium for a Spleef tournament is an excellent idea for a fun minigame.
Designing a Spleef stadium is easy. You can choose a square design and surround it with a sitting area. Add lava below the fighting area and a layer of snow above, and you are set.
31. Parkour Course
Parkour courses are super popular online, so why not create your own? They can be a ton of fun for you and your friends or even alone.
You can make a simple parkour course by using a large ocean as your starting ground. Since the area below is already cleared out, you can begin.
Incorporating long jumps, ladders, and slime blocks is a fun way to add lots of excitement to your parkour course.
32. Underwater Base
Minecraft allows you to build a base everywhere, including underwater. After the aquatic update, oceans have been beautiful to look at.
Building an underwater house is a different twist than anything you have been used to.
The most common theme among underwater houses is large glass panes showing off the surrounding ocean.
33. Ship
Living next to an ocean can be great, especially if you have an underwater base.
One downside to oceans is that they may appear dull without much detail. A quick way to fix this is by adding a ship. Ships are one of the good building ideas for Minecraft, as they look amazing.
The sails are built using wool, and the body requires only wood.
If you are in the mood, you can also create a ship house and have it as a fun house on the ocean.
34. Medieval Town
Building a medieval town requires a huge amount of effort, but with a few friends, it can be easy to build.
In a medieval town, all your friends can build houses close to one another. Roads and gardens can surround the landscape, and all be covered by a wall.
Towns are a great community-building project, and the result is always inspiring.
Within your town, you can integrate other buildings, such as a fountain or a witchy apothecary.
35. Mushroom House
If you are looking for creative things to build in Minecraft survival, a mushroom house can be a fun little project.
Red mushrooms work best as they have the most color and work great alongside other building blocks. Birchwood and red mushrooms can create a stunning appearance for a cute little cottage house.
36. Graveyard
There is a lot of stuff to build in Minecraft, and a graveyard is a fun project you can add to your town.
Cobblestone and iron fences work great in a graveyard alongside dirt and grass.
Adding a graveyard adds immersion to your town and can be a fun spooky area.
37. Shopping District
A shopping district is one of many great Minecraft project ideas. Clearing an area out and turning it into a shopping area is a great way to establish an economy between your friends.
Using roads and streetlights will create a beautiful shopping district.
Provide several plots of equal size to each player for their shops.
38. Themed Shops
A themed shop is an easy thing to build in Minecraft survival.
Shops are an excellent way to establish a barter system between your friends. Theming your shops is essential to prevent shops from looking too similar to one another.
If you are selling potions, consider building a witchy apothecary.
39. Airship
A fun thing to build in Minecraft is an airship. They add detail to your skies and can double as a base.
Airships will usually consist of wool and wood. The only difficulty in building them is the elevated height. Once completed, you will have a beautiful sight in the sky.
You can also create themed airships, such as one from Final Fantasy.
40. Windmill
Windmills are great things to make in Minecraft since they work great alongside a wheat farm. Surrounding a windmill with tons of wheat is a simple way to decorate a wide landscape.
Building a windmill is easy and a lot of fun. The material requirement is low, as you only need wood and wool.
More miniature windmills work great and allow a large area to be decorated with wheat.
41. Tree House
A tree house is one of the staples of Minecrafts build ideas. Custom building a large tree and adding a house to the top is a ton of amusement.
Vines also play a large role in tree houses, as the dangling effect contributes greatly to the look. Be careful of using too much, as it can take away from the intended look.
You can also connect tree houses using a bridge, this allows you to create a jungle of tree houses. With larger trees and lots of tree houses, you will have a breathtaking sight every time you look up.
42. Statues
If you are debating what to build in Minecraft survival, you can never go wrong with a statue.
There are infinite ideas for statues in Minecraft, anything you can think of is possible.
Building a statue of your Minecraft skin is a simple idea that can be easily built.
You can also create statues of flying dragons, knights, or mini-statues.
Mini statues are easy to build and require few materials. They add a lot of detail to any Minecraft world.
Wrap-Up
The question of “what should I build in Minecraft” has been on every player’s mind more than once. Survival worlds are a ton of some but can get boring if you have nothing to focus on.
There are many builds you can build in a survival Minecraft world. If you are playing with your friends, there are lots of builds that are fun to build together.
Among the cool houses to build in Minecraft are floating sky bases, underground homes with glass ceilings, and underwater bases surrounded by all the colors of the ocean.
There are many complementary builds, such as a windmill surrounded by wheat, statues such as dragons, or even artificial trees near ponds.
If you are looking for a construction project with friends, you can take on building a medieval town with a cathedral.
There are infinite possibilities on what to build in Minecraft, every idea is a fun one.
Also read:
How to get Honeycomb in Minecraft?
