Building Style Notes Episode 2 — Modern House, Concrete and Glass with Hidden Lighting

MCNOW ·2026.09.30 ·views 0 💬 0

This story was machine-translated from Korean.

하얀 콘크리트와 넓은 유리로 지은 비대칭 모던 하우스가 수영장 위로 2층을 내밀고 있는 저녁 풍경 — White mass, large glass, a second floor extending over water. The modern house becomes clearer the less you add.

While the medieval house from Episode 1 was about 'adding', the modern house is about 'subtracting'. It creates an impression using almost no decorative blocks, just planes, masses, glass, and shadows. So it looks easy, but when you actually build it, it's also the style that most easily leads you back to the box house from Episode 1. The difference between a white box with glass and a modern house is smaller than you might think.

Episode 2 of the 'Building Style Notes' covers a palette made of concrete, quartz, and glass, asymmetric masses and cantilevers that break out of the box, pools and landscaping, and the most challenging aspect of modern architecture: hiding lighting. Lighting will be solved using blocks that can be obtained in Survival, instead of light blocks that are exclusive to Creative.

Block names and functions are based on Java Edition. The block names are provided in English the first time they appear.

Palette — one white, two gray, one accent

The palette for the modern house is simpler than that of the medieval house. However, there is a rule that only smooth-textured blocks should be chosen. If even one rough block, like cobblestone, is mixed in, the modern impression is ruined.

Role	Main Material	Mixable Materials
Main Mass (White Wall)	White Concrete	Smooth Quartz Block, Calcite
Secondary Mass (Gray)	Light Gray Concrete	Smooth Stone, Polished Andesite
Dark Strip/Floor	Gray Concrete	Polished Deepslate, Deepslate Tiles
Windows	Glass	Glass Pane, Gray Stained Glass Pane
Warm Accent	Dark Oak Planks	Stripped Dark Oak Log, Spruce Trapdoor

흰색이 전체의 절반 이상, 회색이 그다음, 나무 포인트는 10% 안쪽으로 둔다. 나무는 현관 벽 한 면, 2층 테라스 바닥, 처마 밑면처럼 사람 손이 닿는 곳에만 쓰면 차가운 콘크리트 집에 온기가 돈다.

Let's also look at how to gather materials. Concrete is made by mixing 1 dye, 4 sand, and 4 gravel to create 8 concrete powder, which hardens when it touches water and must be mined with a pickaxe. Smooth Quartz Blocks are obtained by smelting Quartz Blocks (Block of Quartz) made from Nether Quartz in a furnace. You can also craft smooth quartz stairs and slabs separately, which are great for finishing edges. If you haven't been to the Nether yet, it's fine to build the white parts with just concrete.

하얀색 콘크리트, 매끄러운 석영, 회색 콘크리트, 윤나는 심층암, 짙은 참나무 판자, 유리 블록을 나란히 놓은 팔레트 견본 — Choose only smooth blocks, and use wood only as an accent. That's the entire modern palette.

Mass — multiple boxes instead of one box

The modern house is ultimately made of boxes. However, stack two or three boxes of different sizes in an offset manner. This is called 'asymmetric mass'.

Determine the first-floor mass. Start with a long, low box, for example, 15×9, about 5 blocks high.
The second-floor mass changes direction. It should be placed at a right angle to the first floor or offset to one side. If you place it directly above the center of the first floor with the same size, it becomes a box again.
Differentiate the masses by material. If you use light gray concrete for the first floor and white concrete for the second, even if they overlap, each will be distinguishable.
One mass should be hollowed out with glass. Make one large space, like a living room, with glass walls. The contrast between solid and hollow masses creates a striking effect.

Think of windows in contrast to the medieval house. Instead of evenly placing small windows, use long horizontal strip windows or floor-to-ceiling windows. Adding a line of gray concrete or polished deepslate above and below the windows will make the strip stand out more.

Cantilever — a second floor that floats in the air

A cantilever is a structure that extends outward, supported only on one side. Most blocks in Minecraft are not affected by gravity, so you can extend them as far as you want. To make it look like real architecture, just follow a few guidelines.

The extension length should be 3 to 6 blocks. If it's too short, it looks like an eave, and if it's too long, it becomes unrealistic.
Finish the underside. This is the side that will be seen from below. Cover it with dark oak planks or smooth quartz, and it's a good spot to place hidden lighting, which will be discussed in the next section.
Hide a thin pillar. Placing a thin block pillar, like iron bars or a fence, at the end gives a sense of weight. It's not necessary, but it makes it look more realistic.
Don't build with powder. Concrete powder will fall if the bottom is empty, like sand or gravel. The extended part must be built with solid concrete.

Hiding Lights — Without Light Blocks

모던 하우스에서 횃불은 금물이다. 벽에 횃불이 붙는 순간 깔끔한 면이 깨진다. 크리에이티브에서는 투명한 빛 (Light) 블록으로 해결하지만, 이 블록은 캐서 얻을 수 없고 조합법도 없다. 크리에이티브 인벤토리(운영자 유틸리티 탭)나 명령어로만 얻을 수 있다. 서바이벌에서는 빛을 내는 블록을 보이지 않는 자리에 넣는 방법을 쓴다.

Block	Brightness	Survival Acquisition	Good Hiding Spots
Sea Lantern	15	Crafted with prismarine shards and crystals, found in ocean monuments	Under carpets, pool bottoms
Glowstone	15	Harvested from the Nether	Ceiling recesses, under carpets
Shroomlight	15	Near the tops of giant mushrooms in the Nether	Inside hedges, in flower beds
Froglight	15	Dropped when frogs eat small magma cubes	Wall strip lighting, stair landings
Lantern	15	Crafted with a torch and 8 iron nuggets	Under eaves, hanging from chains
Glow Berries	14 (vines with berries)	Lush caves, chests in abandoned mineshafts and ancient cities	Ceiling gaps, under cantilevers

There are four common methods used in practice.

Lighting under carpets. Carpets (Carpet) don't reduce light passing through. If you place a few sea lanterns or glowstone blocks on the floor and cover them with carpets, the entire floor will glow softly. This is a basic lighting technique for rooms.
Glow berries in ceiling recesses. Glow berries can be planted under most blocks and will grow down one block until they touch another block. If you create a one-block recess in the ceiling and plant them, the vines will stay in the recess and look like indirect lighting. You can use bone meal on vines without berries to make them fruit.
Shroomlight inside hedges. When stacking leaf blocks for a garden hedge, change a few blocks to shroomlight. Don't worry, the leaves placed by players won't disappear. At night, light will shine through the gaps in the hedge.
Wall strip lighting. Replace a row of wall blocks with froglight or sea lanterns and cover the front with glass panes or trapdoors. The soft color of the pearlescent froglight pairs well with white concrete. The color of froglight depends on the type of frog (warm frogs give pearlescent, temperate frogs give ochre, and cold frogs give verdant).

하얀 거실 바닥의 양탄자 밑과 천장 홈에서 은은한 빛이 새어 나오는 모던 하우스 실내 — The light source is hidden, and only the light is visible. The areas under carpets and in ceiling recesses are the basics for hiding lighting.

Pools and Landscaping

The yard of a modern house is part of the home. A straight-edged house pairs well with a straight pool and soft greenery.

The pool is parallel to the house. Create a long rectangle in front of the living room's large window or under the cantilever. A depth of around 2 blocks is sufficient.
Sea lanterns on the pool floor. Changing a few blocks on the pool floor to sea lanterns will make the water glow at night. Finish the edges with smooth quartz slabs or smooth stone slabs.
Deck made of wood. Placing a dark oak slab deck on one side of the pool connects to the wood points in the palette.
Less wood, more bushes. Use one or two large trees and low greenery with azaleas, moss blocks, and moss carpets. Use large pots, spaced out.
Paths like slabs. Placing smooth stone slabs one block apart on the grass creates a stepping stone path.

밤에 바닥 조명으로 빛나는 직사각형 수영장과 짙은 나무 데크, 진달래와 생울타리 사이로 새어 나오는 빛 — The sea lanterns on the pool floor and the shroomlight inside the hedges. At night, the hidden lighting shines.

Five common mistakes.

Mistakes	Why it looks awkward	How to fix it
A white box with a few windows	It's no different from the box house in episode 1	Overlap 2-3 masses of different sizes
A symmetrical front	Looks like a government building or a warehouse	Shift the entrance and large windows to one side
Mix in rough blocks	Smooth surfaces get broken up	Use concrete and smooth stone instead of cobblestone and bricks
Torches on the walls	Spots appear on clean surfaces	Hide light sources under carpets, in ceiling grooves, and inside walls
Leave flat roofs as they are	From above, it looks like a box	Rooftop terrace, one block parapet, roof garden

Episode 2 summary

The palette should be only smooth blocks. More than half white, with wood as an accent
Instead of one box, use multiple overlapping masses
Cantilevers should be 3-6 blocks, and don't forget the bottom finish
Light blocks can't be obtained in Survival. Hide light sources under carpets, in ceiling grooves, in fences, and inside walls
Pools and landscaping should follow the lines of the house

Medieval houses and modern houses look completely different, but the principles are the same. Divide materials by function, create depth and shadows, and don't leave flat surfaces untouched. If you build a modern house yourself, please post it on the MINECAP building forum. It would be great if you have your own method for hiding lights.

References

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