Minecraft - Sandstone Manor

Happy ‘21 to you all! It’s been quite the year hasn’t it.

I hope you are all doing well and keeping safe. I had hoped this build would of been finished a while ago, alas, things don’t always work out. Maybe I was over ambitious in this creation, and yet I hope you can learn some good tips from this, and hopefully get started on a Manor House of your own. This won’t be a typical step by step, due to the sheer size, and more of a guide on building tips and tricks, whilst seeing the house take shape, so there is no specific part list this time round, but each section will explain what was used, and how to use them.

Without further ado, let’s begin...

P.S: Apologies in advance for the abundant darkness (of which I should of learnt about a long time ago!) The manor is quite, quite dark. All the modules and candles could only do so much :P

As with most things, life started out with a single stone block. And then said block got an ego!

Sandstone Manor takes a lot of inspiration from Downton Abbey's Highclere Castle, situated not far from DwarvenMithril himself! With its 19th century design and striking yet complex image, I figured it was time I really challenged myself, and boy did I! as of January 3rd 2021, this has taken near 8 months whoooo!

The walls of the manor are standard sandstone (huh, coincidence) with the plinths and edges layered on top with sandstone blocks, which provide more depth and prevents them from blending into the walls.

To combat the build from getting too angular, I utilized sandstone stairs to round off the edges, and make it pop just a bit more.

Making it with normal bricks or cobblestone seemed a bit drab for my liking, hence why I used sandstone. You can use anything really, but if you want to prevent details from blending into the walls/foundation, I suggest bright/er colours, as the shadow is what really brings out all the cool angles and patterns.

Even this entrance is too flamboyant for my liking, and that is most definitely by design! The main entrance to the manor house takes its design from the Brandenburg Gates in Berlin, with its imperial-esque motifs and slightly roman way of resembling some form of temple. Top Tip - To layer up more complex builds, always use a different colour thats not too different from the original block. The subtle difference is enough to really make it pop without distracting your gaze too much.

Slabs make for the best griebling. Due to their "teenager syndrome" they will refuse to bend to the rules of gravity, and hence make for great pieces for statues or horizontal tiles.

The two statues adorning the doors are taken from my prior build of the Greatish Pyramid, only shrunk and using different colours to simulate the look of a person/alien of interest sitting on something that he/she is not connected to. So the two thrones are sandstone, while the person itself is normal stone. You really notice the difference instantly!

When planning a big house build, you can either just go with the flow and hope for the best that it doesn't end up crooked or not proportioned well, or you can plan the rooms like real architects (this did backfire on me, so bear in mind, I am well aware of my arrogance :P)

Sandstone manor has a central foyer when you walk in, with a grand marble staircase upon your arrival. The base design for the interior was your typical haunted house vibe, so I went for the chiselled bricks as foundation for the separators, give it a real Egyptian hieroglyphic vibe.

The floor is a fancy marble mosaic. That really goes well with the marble staircase. Don't be afraid to use the same colours sometimes for conjoining structures, you may just be lucky with what you come up with :)

To add a little bit of light without maintaining the whole Hogwarts flying candle aesthetic, I did those pocket square modules throughout, some away from sight, some not. This gave a decent creepy ambience that I was looking for.

The chandelier is made from a speaker block with purple fence panels, with blaze rods as candles (actual candles were too dim)

A spooky mansion is not without an extra creepy dining room, and I went all out on this one.

Even when making it look as realistic as possible, I couldn't resist to go for the extra long triple xxl dining table, made with dark oak panels to make it look old and worn.

The mosaic carries on into this room, but neatly hidden away with the carpet, which to ensure it didn't warp the table, I had it stand on both wool blocks and wool tiles. subtle yet not so easily noticed; kind of actually makes it look like a crumpled carpet.

The candlesticks were once again, purple fence posts with the same rods as before. They will be a reoccurring feature throughout. The roof was a fresco-type ceiling, using special etched blocks. This did take time to position together but the results don't lie. it certainly makes it look far more regal than it has any need to be! Make it as polar opposite to the wall connectors in terms of colour/pattern - It wants to be seen.

The typical site for a murder mystery.

The drawing room, or living room, lies directly adjacent to the foyer, and is also one of the biggest rooms on the first floor. I wanted to give off an old Victorian hunting lodge look, so the fireplace was extended and made to be one of the biggest sources of light in the room, minus the chandelier of course.

The furniture was made of green terracotta, hear me out! Whilst wool sounds like it makes more sense, terracotta brings to it a more smoother colour, and I didn't want it to clash with the big carpet.

The trees were used to not mute the colours too much. A simple construction of birch fence posts and lemon tree bushes.

To connect the rooms and floors, the hallways became quite expansive, and quite tall - the height was intentional to swallow up the light, only strengthening the eerie feel, coupled up with a white and black checkerboard floor, it really makes it look a little bit surreal and off putting.

Now, the doors. these doors were created with wooden trap doors, placing them on an 4x4 block wall, only to delete the blocks, and they stay put, creating a great door substitute. I am glad how these turned out, and these certainly work when regular doors just dont cut it.

The tall windows give each room a little character, and makes for more complex looking rooms. These small libraries were an obvious addition to an old manor, and the map room is perfect for the budding regal explorer! To create large maps on a horizontal space, use scaffolding to create the table, then placing picture frames on top of them. This should allow you to add maps, which fill up all the available space with whatever map you have placed.

Once I hollowed out the roof to make a perfect glass ceiling to the swimming pool, I decided to fill up all this space on the roof, I installed a nice basic garden, using the uninterrupted weather to grow all kinds of flowers and plants. Add a couple of scarecrows using display stands and whatever armour you have.
Wooden panels, slabs and tiles were used to give it a real rustic feel, and to not make it blend in to the sandstone roof.

Without doubt my favourite part of the manor house, I love how it turned out and it certainly took the longest to get JUST right!

Your very own personal spa and professional swimming pool, right above your bedroom. I really went out on making this look just like a greco-roman spa.

To all who know how hard it to make the water look as smooth as possible, I too now understand the pain of getting it right. From balancing slabs to literally confuse the water physics was a tough enough job, but through enough trial and error, it works! Install a mosaic underwater to bring depth to an otherwise bland off white pool, and illuminate it with light bricks, obscuring them within the white panels, to keep it bright even at night.

The loungers were made by balancing wooden trap doors to identical fence doors, they're easily manipulable - add a random block to prop up the head panel, then delete it: the panel should stay in place.

Whoever owns Sandstone Manor is no pauper, he/she certainly has a fair few cars at their disposal, and there is no way they will expose them to the element outside, so an underground car park is necessary.

Abandoning style for purpose, this car park lacks any glitz and glamour, and is made entirely out of normal stone, as to make it as bright as possible.

I went for a showroom look here, so the partitions are separated by a layer of glass, as to keep the precious vehicles away from the grubby paws of the paupers. Light bricks are used to give it a futuristic look, and to brighten up the otherwise dark cavity underground.

No 21st Century manor house would be complete without a secret private cinema nestled underneath the superstructure.

Hollow out the stone, angle the stone to descend until you got a big enough screen, then go nuts with the decor. DW loves cinemas, and one day he'll make a proper full size multi-plex, but for now, this single room will do. Purple and nether stairs make for great cinema seats and floors, not too bright that it ruins the immersion, and not so dim that you cant make anything out! Finish it off with striking scarlet red curtains/drapes to finish off the theater look, and voila!

A last minute addition, but a welcome addition.

This kitchen is very modern in design, no cauldrons or wine cellars here!

I wanted it to stand out compared to the different rooms, so I opted for Dark Prismarine. I wanted a very contemporary feeling without it being too modern. No glass hobs for DW!

The floors are quartz bricks. Tiles make the best kitchen floor, plus it contrasts well with the prismarine.

The counters were a random mix of all the stone cookers/smokers, blast furnaces, placed around the kitchen in random order. The top counters are dark stone, with cobblestone buttons to simulate handles.

Bring with you any in-game appliances to cook whatever, I certainly did. A lamp to attracts the bugs, and a bell to signal when a delicious (or poisoned) meal is ready to serve.

And that is Sandstone Manor. This took a lot out of me, and because of that, I will be taking a small break. I hope you've enjoyed this build, I hope you've learned some new tricks of the trade, and I look forward to seeing what you lot can come up in 2021.

Coming Spring 2021 - Would you like Fries with that?

Keep Building, and Keep Safe - DW.