A huge part of what makes Minecraft such an amazingly addictive game is how seemingly limitless it is in terms of building. There are very few rules and boundaries in place, consequently encouraging creative, out-of-the-box thinking. It’s essentially a space where you can build whatever you want. All you need are the resources, the patience, and an intrinsic understanding of how the resources work.
There are thousands – if not millions – of beautiful community-created Minecraft builds out there; from intricate cities underwater to beautifully symmetrical, larger-than-life mansions. There’s virtually no end to what people can come up with when they have the time, energy, and resources for it.
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On that note!
We’ve decided to curate a list of things in Minecraft that many people don’t realize they can build. Because sure; everyone’s out here building skyscrapers and mansions, armories and vehicles. But how many times have you seen someone build a bamboo bridge in-game? Or a trampoline?
If boredom’s biting big-time or you just want to explore the building in Minecraft a little more, here are 13 popular Minecraft builds for you to recreate!
Want to learn a valuable skill while making your Minecraft builds? Enroll in CodaKid classes which use games like Minecraft to teach coding for kids!
Table of Contents
Outdoor/Camping Builds
1. Tent
Let’s start with something simple: a tent!
If you’re looking to lay down some permanent roots in Minecraft, a tent (especially something this small) may not be the best option. Thanks to the proverbial bells and whistles this Minecraft build has got, it’s also not the quickest option, either. But if you’ve got the resources to spare and you want something cool, unique, and functional?
YouTuber Eystreem has one of the best tutorials to follow.
So grab some white wool and carpet, a couple of tripwire hooks, some oak fences, a torch, and – of course – a bed. This one’s a fun, easy structure to kick things off.
P.S. And if you want to build something a little more permanent, check out our Ultimate Guide to Minecraft Houses!
2. Outdoor Cooker
Now that you’ve got a place to sleep outside, why not expand on the whole outdoor/camping vibe a little more with an outdoor cooker?
This one’s a little simpler than the tent in that you don’t really need a lot of decorative stuff, but it still requires a bit of finagling, angling, and block destroying to get right. But we definitely consider it a beginner-friendly Minecraft build since it doesn’t need a lot of materials, either. Just a cauldron, some cobblestone, flint and steel, coal blocks, and a potion (for purely aesthetic reasons). These are all items you can easily procure in survival.
To actually build the thing, follow the same tutorial from Eystreem!
3. Picnic Table
You’ve got a place to sleep and a place to cook. All you need now is a place to dine out – in style! Once again, Minecraft player and master builder Eystreem has a great tutorial for building a legit picnic table in Minecraft.
It’s even got a bright red umbrella!
You’re going to need seven campfires, a shovel, cobblestone (or any random block to use as scaffolding), a spruce trapdoor, spruce signs, three armor stands, oak fences, pistons and redstone activation devices (either the lever or the block) and four red beds (for the umbrella).
The campfires will act as the seats while the spruce trapdoors and signs will act as the rest of the table. The umbrella in the middle is made using armor stands, oak fences, pistons, and beds.
Don’t forget to put the campfires out using the shovel! This will leave you with, as Eystreem puts it, a “nice, rustic kind of log seat design that isn’t going to burn your butt.”
Functional Builds
4. Bamboo Bridge
This one is a pretty impressive piece of architecture. It uses a lot of resources, but the results are incredibly worth it. I mean, look at it:
This is an absolutely awesome build to have for any suburban-overgrown-jungle-type setting. It’s definitely a little more complicated than the outdoor camping builds, so. Prepare yourself. Just know that you’re going to need a lot of bamboo and bone meal, a couple of campfires, some rabbits and leads (yup!) spruce fences, some sandstone stairs, and a shovel (to put out the campfires).
As per usual, this tutorial by Estreem lists everything you need with appropriate quantities, so don’t skip the tutorial notes! They also mention that you can build the bridge to be as long or as short as you need it to be, but we recommend making it 9 blocks long to match their tutorial just to be on the safe side.
Feel free to modify the length and width once you get how the schematics work (and can therefore scale it appropriately).
The main trick is to plant bamboo where you want the bridge to be, and then use bone meal to skip the growth process. Technically you could wait for the bamboo to grow, but if time is of the essence, bone meal is a good hack. The amount of bone meal you’re going to use for each stalk is actually very specific and precise (i.e., three bone meal for the first stalk, four for the second, etc.) so pay close attention to the tutorial!
Also, did you know you could stop bamboo from growing just by placing a piece of string on top? Weird, but absolutely useful for this Minecraft build!
5. Working Trampoline
Here’s another Minecraft build that’s not as complicated as the bamboo bridge, but definitely just as fun (and functional). It’s an honest-to-goodness working trampoline, as designed and built by another extremely talented Minecraft player, WiederDude.
As you can see in their tutorial, the trampoline is suspended one block high. Make sure you follow the frame template they set so that the trampoline looks as good as it works!
The secret to this functional trampoline? Slime blocks covered in black carpet. Who’d have thought, right?
6. Racecar Bed
Always wanted a cool racecar bed? Make that dream a reality in Minecraft with a couple of quartz slabs, quartz stairs, red carpet, stone buttons, and – of course – a red bed. Eystreem’s got another helpful tutorial on how to make your Minecraft bed look like a high-powered, built-for-speed red racecar without compromising the usability of the actual bed.
This is one of those easier Minecraft builds that you can probably memorize and recreate after one try.
7. Working Elevator
Okay; this one’s a bit of a doozy. We’d put it right next to the bamboo bridge in terms of difficulty, if only because there are command blocks and commands involved. But you’ll be glad to know that the functional aspect is optional.
If you just want a non-working elevator to furnish your corporate build, you can still follow WiederDude’s tutorial for the materials and schematics – just ignore the bit with the command blocks.
You’ll start off with a 4×4 white concrete frame built into the ground and oak wood planks as the base. The rest of the elevator is made of white concrete columns, four-high, one solid white concrete wall, and glass panes for the left and right walls of the elevator.
At the front of the elevator (or what’s essentially going to be the door), just place one line of glass panes against the right side of the frame. This will leave a gap for your avatar to go in and out.
The elevator works thanks to an item frame on the inside of the elevator with a spectral arrow (pointing up) and button on the front and a command block on the back. You’ll need to enter this command:
/tp @p ~ ~4~
Build an exact replica of the elevator on top of the existing elevator. The only difference will be the spectral arrow (pointing down this time) and the command. For the second elevator, you’ll enter this command:
/tp @p ~ ~-4~
Don’t worry; the tutorial is a lot more detailed than this!
8. Working Tank
This working tank is one of Eystreem’s favorite Minecraft builds, and it’s not very hard to see why! You can actually sit in this tank and shoot damaging fire from it. Do note that we wouldn’t really classify this as a beginner’s build, either. Just because there are a lot of resources to gather and a lot of strategic placing and rotating. It’s not as complicated as the elevator because you won’t need to code anything, but it’s definitely a little more time-consuming.
For this Minecraft build, you’re going to need:
- x2 smokers
- x2 spruce wood stairs
- x9 spruce trapdoors
- x3 grindstones
- x64 cobblestones (or any random block to use as scaffolding)
- x1 cauldron
- x1 water bucket
- x1 black dye
- x2 gray dye
- x10 leather caps
- x10 armor stands
- x2 oak fences
- x2 pistons
- x1 redstone activation device (redstone block or redstone lever)
- x6 podzol (or any ground block)
- x2 tripwire hooks
- x1 rail
- x1 minecart
- x1 dispenser
- x64 fire charge (or any explosives, like TNT or arrows)
- x1 stone button
Did you get all that?
Then best of luck!
The secret ingredients to this build – i.e., the things that are going to make this an actual working tank – are the minecart, the dispenser, the fire charges, and stone buttons. The pistons, oak fences, rail, tripwire hooks, armor stands, leather caps, and dye are more decorative, but they still need to be placed properly if you want the tank to look good!
Be sure to check out Eystreem’s tutorial for the full step-by-step process.
9. Working Garage Door
This one is another Minecraft build from WiederDude, and it will again require command blocks and coding. But if you compare this working garage door to the working elevator, this one’s definitely a lot more manageable for a first-time builder and coder.
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Following WiederDude’s tutorial, you’ll start with a frame that’s six blocks across and four blocks high. Then you’ll use iron blocks to fill in the middle, essentially creating a 3×4 iron block wall. This is the garage door.
As with the elevator, you can opt not to push through with the command blocks and coding section if you just want a decorative build. But if you want the door to go up and down like an actual garage door, you’ll need specific coordinates and commands. The specific commands are:
/fill [coordinates] air
/fill [coordinates] iron_block
It’s a little difficult to explain which coordinates you’ll need and how to modify them accordingly to emulate a garage door, so pay very close attention to the tutorial! If you don’t get the coordinates right and you don’t code it as instructed, the build definitely won’t work.
Decorative Minecraft Builds
10. Ceiling Fan
Did you know that cobblestone, an end rod, some string, wood planks, white carpet, and an iron trapdoor could make a beautiful ceiling fan? Apparently, WiederDude did, and they show you how in this tutorial. This Minecraft build is another beginner-friendly option that’s pretty straightforward (in terms of block placement) and doesn’t need a lot of resources.
The creator recommends using white carpet to make it look very contemporary and modern. Place it in a light oak room for a classy, modern minimalist feel!
11. Hanging Plants
And speaking of modern minimalist, here’s a Minecraft build by Eystreem that would pair beautifully with the ceiling fan: hanging plants!
According to their tutorial here, you’ll need 12 spruce trapdoors, 2 polished andesite, 3 stone brick walls, 2 grass blocks, 2 sweet berries, 2 bone meal, and 2 chains – just to name a few. It may seem like a lot for just hanging plants, but we promise the build is worth it. There’s some clever finagling going on with the trapdoors – more bone-meal-grown plants – but nothing too difficult for new builders.
12. Japanese Box Kite
Turn your outdoor space into a beautiful lantern festival with Eystreem’s Japanese Box Kite! The trick to making it look like an actual floating kite is – if you’ll believe it – a spawned rabbit and some lead. Sounds crazy, but it really works!
Chuck a soul lantern on the very top and experiment with colors and patterns for the banners to create some breathtaking nighttime decorations. The creator recommends blue, yellow, and red, but there are definitely other color combinations you can experiment with.
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13. Japanese Katana
If you really liked the Japanese Box Kite, we’ll end this list with another Japanese-themed décor item: a Japanese Katana. Whether your Minecraft avatar is a weapons collector or a renowned sword master, this in-game katana (plus sword stand!) is definitely a must-try among Minecraft builds!
You’ll need a couple of acacia wood slabs, armor stands, some stripped acacia wood blocks, pistons and redstone, a loom, two red banners, four red dye, six yellow dye, a field masoned banner pattern, a bordure indented banner pattern, 2 chains, and one end rod.
Follow the tutorial closely to see how Eystreem uses his “double-piston system” to get the armor stands to look like a sword stand! And make sure you start building where you want to place the sword.
Unlike an actual decorative katana, this one’s pretty difficult to move around.
As you can probably guess, the banner patterns and dyes are purely for aesthetic reasons so you could change the colors and patterns as you desire. But I will say that the patterns and colors the creator suggests do make the banners look very oriental, so maybe stick to their recommendations for now.
Conclusion
And there you have it: 13 Minecraft builds for you to recreate – and/or modify – when you feel like it.
13 Popular Minecraft Builds:
- Outdoor/Camping Builds
- Tent
- Outdoor Cooker
- Picnic Table
- Functional Builds
- Bamboo Bridge
- Working Trampoline
- Racecar Bed
- Working Elevator
- Working Tank
- Working Garage Door
- Decorative Builds
- Ceiling Fan
- Hanging Plants
- Japanese Box Kite
- Japanese Katana
- Conclusion
There are definitely a lot more out there, but we thought this mix of functional and decorative builds – plus coding! – would be a good starting point for you to discover your own.
Which Minecraft builds are your favorites?
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