EDIT: I've changed the title of the thread to be able to expand topics to additional Woodland Mansion design aspects.
I'm working on a Woodland Mansion in Creative gamemode. Though I love watching videos about major remodels and transformations, I'm mainly just tweaking the mansion to make it more navigable, well lit, and furnished. Things like moving stairwells, walls, and doorways. Removing duplicate rooms that generated in the mansion to make space to recreate rooms this mansion did not generate.
EDIT: Seeking general tips and suggestions for transforming/renovating structures in Creative and willing to share what I've learned.
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Recently, I worked on some Illager head pixelart. You probably have seen the originals that can generate in a room or a stairwell sometimes over a window.
I tried recreating some of these in wool and in wood and varying the faces a bit to suggest different Illagers.
Then, I tried some guardians for the mansion's indoor pool (it replaced the 'nature room'.)
I'm not sure if it makes more sense to choose blocks from one type (all wool, or all concrete, etc.) or to mix and match. I do think the wood ones are suited to the style of the mansion, but the pallette is rather warm and muted. I've seen an LP in which the wool Illager face was recreated in combination of concrete and concrete powders and that looked good with nice matches for their grey skin.
I think maybe some scale of sheep face for a wool room. Maybe a black cat somewhere (this mansion generated the chicken statue, but not the cat.)
(If relevant, this Mansion is from seed -4589128118707775879 and was generated in the 1.13 snapshots.)
The Woodland Masion seems large enough that one wouldn't need to add rooms. Part of me wanted to make it smaller in area by incorporating a courtyard. I didn't happen to do that with my current rennovation, however. I had some generated rooms I prefered to keep without moving, like the large prison and large storeroom that were near the central part of the first floor. So, in working around rooms I wanted to keep and recreating some rooms that hadn't generated in my mansion, I did end up adding onto the small third floor, and, I added about 15 or so 7x7 block rooms in a basement dug into the ground beneath the structure.
Now, I'm struggling to think how to fill the space with rooms that fit the theme of 'basement in a creepy mansion'.
Some ideas I have are:
wine (potion) cellar
brewery
poisons pantry
root cellar
abatoir
oubliette
furnace/coal room
gravel room (mostly because gravel fell from the ceiling naturally, though the wiki tutorials do list a gravel room in the shelter tutorials.)
One room I haven't yet recreated/reinterpreted (and which didn't generate) is that redstone room with the slab. It looks like some sort of Frankenstein/Rocky Horror room. So, that could be a thing for the basement, if not upstairs.
So, what goes in the basement' of a dark mansion?
Or, should I plan for fewer 1x2 rooms instead of more 1x1 rooms in order to fill space with ideas I have?
EDITED to add attached images to show facade of mansion and sample basement space.
Some tips I've learned (mostly from watching others):
-If the Mansion generates a high wall-o-cobblestone foundation, that space can be tunneled into as a feature that breaks-up the surface and expands useable space.
-The scale of the structure dwarfs regular doors, so faux doors or large fancy door-surrounds might look better. Otherwise, archways for interior passages work.
-That second floor is really tall and lends itself to use of a drop ceiling. This can hide the differing ceiling color that shows where third-floor rooms exist as birch and roof as dark oak, as well as create a secret Floor 2 1/2 hideyspace. Otherwise, lots of visible loft space is an option.
-The staircases that generate are all kinda horrible. It is just possible to get a (staying 3-wide) staircase from 1st to 2nd floor mostly within one 1x1 room, making it an L-shape and starting and ending about one block into the adjactent rooms. As the 2nd floor is so tall, it seems that a straight staircase can fit mostly in a 1x1 room, but starting one block into an adjacent 2nd floor room and ending about 2 or so blocks into the next third floor room (and the underside visible in the next room could be hidden by use of a drop ceiling).
-In terms of block choice, stone brick looks good with the dark oak to fancy up some of the exterior trim and break-up the cobble. And, I've tried the new stripped dark oak logs as an alternate window frame (as opposed to the end-facing logs) and for door surrounds. The stripped birch logs can make a nice accent if the interior floors/ceilings remain birch. I think I saw someone else use a cyan clay roof in place of the dark oak. The second floor has dark oak stair trim on dark oak walls and ceiling (in some rooms) which doesn't stand out, so another wood might be better there.
-The large interior gets very dark, especially if the first floor remains windowless and in those far interior rooms. Under-carpet lighting is one decent option. Torch sconces on columns. Chandeliers. More windows and then sleeping at night. Skylights, too. lamps activated by daylight sensors may work in some upper floor ceiling spaces.
-Courtyards and roof gardens can be a thing, as well as first floor porches, attached gardens, conservatories, or green houses. They also break-up the cube-like mass of the structure.
-If it generates partly over water, a dock area can work.
As indicated above, in some cases a room type did not generate in the mansion, but I had space after rearranging walls, so I tried to recreate rooms based on the wiki images or I reinterpreted the design of that room.
The default wool room is just piles of blue and cyan wool. (Weird, because they use so much red carpet, although blue dyes are more 'expensive' in the game making better treasure.) I tried to make the new wool room a place where it appeared one could spin string, sew, craft carpet and banners, and store woolen goods. As with many Minecraft furniture items, I worry that a spinning wheel or a sewing table isn't immediately recognizable until someone tells you that's what the blocks and items represent, and then you can see it.
Similarly, my mansion didn't have a cat statue. It had the chicken, but I didn't want that. I had a small 1x1 room under a staircase, so I decorated that with a sort of cat mural in high relief and a cat carpet and some beds, chests and funaces for cats to sit on.
You could add portal rooms with one room each for a Nether and End portal, if possible.
It's a good suggestion. I know some versions of the house have the "fake End portal" room. Mine didn't generate that.
I did just recently add a Nether Portal Room on the third floor. But, I'm unsure whether I should keep it. I mean, alternate locations could be in the basement or on the grounds of the estate outside the mansion itself. So, because I was unsure, I didn't dress it up too much except with the fancy 'corners'.
Some real or fake End portal could be done still. (The real End portal I know of in this world is on an ocean floor.)
Just keep in mind that there could be the potential of a blaze going through the nether portal when you're in the Nether (that happened to me once), so maybe put it in a room with non-flammable material.
I worked some more on basement rooms.The first row of rooms includes the stairwell to ground floor, then a 'wine' cellar, a brewery, a sort of poison or witch's pantry, and then a root cellar, and a gravel room at the back.
I'm not sure about the brewing station. The one I included is simple, compact, and only semi-automatic, which is what I wanted, but I don't have much experience with brewing, so IDK.
Also, I'm not sure if the basement should be dressed to be 'spookier'. Maybe a change in lighting, or color of wooden furnishings, or addition of more block variation to simulate wear. Could also add skulls and cobwebs and such.
I think you could add some sort of design on the wall (like a circleish pattern) of the brewing room. As well, if you really want to make the basement spooky, I'd recommend a few redstone tricks.
- add redstone lamps that turn on/off using a clock
- add sticky pistons on random blocks to simulate a ghost moving the block
- add a secret storage room
BTW, I enjoy the look of the furniture, really matches the theme of the woodland mansion. I've never seen anyone able to furnish every room!
I think you could add some sort of design on the wall (like a circleish pattern) of the brewing room. As well, if you really want to make the basement spooky, I'd recommend a few redstone tricks.
- add redstone lamps that turn on/off using a clock
- add sticky pistons on random blocks to simulate a ghost moving the block
- add a secret storage room
BTW, I enjoy the look of the furniture, really matches the theme of the woodland mansion. I've never seen anyone able to furnish every room!
Redtsone tricks is a good idea to make the house spookier. I think I saw a video (or a few) on Youtube about how to wire the Woodland Mansion with some redtsone, and also how to use it in 'haunted' houses
I'm not the most skilled with it, but I like how the tricks help create the spooky feel when others make it work.
EDIT: I've changed the title of the thread to be able to expand topics to additional Woodland Mansion design aspects.
I'm working on a Woodland Mansion in Creative gamemode. Though I love watching videos about major remodels and transformations, I'm mainly just tweaking the mansion to make it more navigable, well lit, and furnished. Things like moving stairwells, walls, and doorways. Removing duplicate rooms that generated in the mansion to make space to recreate rooms this mansion did not generate.
EDIT: Seeking general tips and suggestions for transforming/renovating structures in Creative and willing to share what I've learned.
---
Recently, I worked on some Illager head pixelart. You probably have seen the originals that can generate in a room or a stairwell sometimes over a window.
I tried recreating some of these in wool and in wood and varying the faces a bit to suggest different Illagers.
Then, I tried some guardians for the mansion's indoor pool (it replaced the 'nature room'.)
I'm not sure if it makes more sense to choose blocks from one type (all wool, or all concrete, etc.) or to mix and match. I do think the wood ones are suited to the style of the mansion, but the pallette is rather warm and muted. I've seen an LP in which the wool Illager face was recreated in combination of concrete and concrete powders and that looked good with nice matches for their grey skin.
I think maybe some scale of sheep face for a wool room. Maybe a black cat somewhere (this mansion generated the chicken statue, but not the cat.)
(If relevant, this Mansion is from seed -4589128118707775879 and was generated in the 1.13 snapshots.)
Stronghold Transformation
Dungeons to Monster Shelters
Discuss Woodland Mansion Transformations
The Woodland Masion seems large enough that one wouldn't need to add rooms. Part of me wanted to make it smaller in area by incorporating a courtyard. I didn't happen to do that with my current rennovation, however. I had some generated rooms I prefered to keep without moving, like the large prison and large storeroom that were near the central part of the first floor. So, in working around rooms I wanted to keep and recreating some rooms that hadn't generated in my mansion, I did end up adding onto the small third floor, and, I added about 15 or so 7x7 block rooms in a basement dug into the ground beneath the structure.
Now, I'm struggling to think how to fill the space with rooms that fit the theme of 'basement in a creepy mansion'.
Some ideas I have are:
wine (potion) cellar
brewery
poisons pantry
root cellar
abatoir
oubliette
furnace/coal room
gravel room (mostly because gravel fell from the ceiling naturally, though the wiki tutorials do list a gravel room in the shelter tutorials.)
One room I haven't yet recreated/reinterpreted (and which didn't generate) is that redstone room with the slab. It looks like some sort of Frankenstein/Rocky Horror room. So, that could be a thing for the basement, if not upstairs.
So, what goes in the basement' of a dark mansion?
Or, should I plan for fewer 1x2 rooms instead of more 1x1 rooms in order to fill space with ideas I have?
EDITED to add attached images to show facade of mansion and sample basement space.
Stronghold Transformation
Dungeons to Monster Shelters
Discuss Woodland Mansion Transformations
Portions of this comment appeared in general discussion thread: https://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-java-edition/discussion/2895292-woodland-mansion-renovation-tips
Some tips I've learned (mostly from watching others):
-If the Mansion generates a high wall-o-cobblestone foundation, that space can be tunneled into as a feature that breaks-up the surface and expands useable space.
-The scale of the structure dwarfs regular doors, so faux doors or large fancy door-surrounds might look better. Otherwise, archways for interior passages work.
-That second floor is really tall and lends itself to use of a drop ceiling. This can hide the differing ceiling color that shows where third-floor rooms exist as birch and roof as dark oak, as well as create a secret Floor 2 1/2 hideyspace. Otherwise, lots of visible loft space is an option.
-The staircases that generate are all kinda horrible. It is just possible to get a (staying 3-wide) staircase from 1st to 2nd floor mostly within one 1x1 room, making it an L-shape and starting and ending about one block into the adjactent rooms. As the 2nd floor is so tall, it seems that a straight staircase can fit mostly in a 1x1 room, but starting one block into an adjacent 2nd floor room and ending about 2 or so blocks into the next third floor room (and the underside visible in the next room could be hidden by use of a drop ceiling).
-In terms of block choice, stone brick looks good with the dark oak to fancy up some of the exterior trim and break-up the cobble. And, I've tried the new stripped dark oak logs as an alternate window frame (as opposed to the end-facing logs) and for door surrounds. The stripped birch logs can make a nice accent if the interior floors/ceilings remain birch. I think I saw someone else use a cyan clay roof in place of the dark oak. The second floor has dark oak stair trim on dark oak walls and ceiling (in some rooms) which doesn't stand out, so another wood might be better there.
-The large interior gets very dark, especially if the first floor remains windowless and in those far interior rooms. Under-carpet lighting is one decent option. Torch sconces on columns. Chandeliers. More windows and then sleeping at night. Skylights, too. lamps activated by daylight sensors may work in some upper floor ceiling spaces.
-Courtyards and roof gardens can be a thing, as well as first floor porches, attached gardens, conservatories, or green houses. They also break-up the cube-like mass of the structure.
-If it generates partly over water, a dock area can work.
Stronghold Transformation
Dungeons to Monster Shelters
Discuss Woodland Mansion Transformations
The Wool room and the Cat room.
As indicated above, in some cases a room type did not generate in the mansion, but I had space after rearranging walls, so I tried to recreate rooms based on the wiki images or I reinterpreted the design of that room.
The default wool room is just piles of blue and cyan wool. (Weird, because they use so much red carpet, although blue dyes are more 'expensive' in the game making better treasure.) I tried to make the new wool room a place where it appeared one could spin string, sew, craft carpet and banners, and store woolen goods. As with many Minecraft furniture items, I worry that a spinning wheel or a sewing table isn't immediately recognizable until someone tells you that's what the blocks and items represent, and then you can see it.
Similarly, my mansion didn't have a cat statue. It had the chicken, but I didn't want that. I had a small 1x1 room under a staircase, so I decorated that with a sort of cat mural in high relief and a cat carpet and some beds, chests and funaces for cats to sit on.
Stronghold Transformation
Dungeons to Monster Shelters
Discuss Woodland Mansion Transformations
You could add portal rooms with one room each for a Nether and End portal, if possible.
It's a good suggestion. I know some versions of the house have the "fake End portal" room. Mine didn't generate that.
I did just recently add a Nether Portal Room on the third floor. But, I'm unsure whether I should keep it. I mean, alternate locations could be in the basement or on the grounds of the estate outside the mansion itself. So, because I was unsure, I didn't dress it up too much except with the fancy 'corners'.
Some real or fake End portal could be done still. (The real End portal I know of in this world is on an ocean floor.)
Stronghold Transformation
Dungeons to Monster Shelters
Discuss Woodland Mansion Transformations
Just keep in mind that there could be the potential of a blaze going through the nether portal when you're in the Nether (that happened to me once), so maybe put it in a room with non-flammable material.
I worked some more on basement rooms.The first row of rooms includes the stairwell to ground floor, then a 'wine' cellar, a brewery, a sort of poison or witch's pantry, and then a root cellar, and a gravel room at the back.
I'm not sure about the brewing station. The one I included is simple, compact, and only semi-automatic, which is what I wanted, but I don't have much experience with brewing, so IDK.
Also, I'm not sure if the basement should be dressed to be 'spookier'. Maybe a change in lighting, or color of wooden furnishings, or addition of more block variation to simulate wear. Could also add skulls and cobwebs and such.
Stronghold Transformation
Dungeons to Monster Shelters
Discuss Woodland Mansion Transformations
I think you could add some sort of design on the wall (like a circleish pattern) of the brewing room. As well, if you really want to make the basement spooky, I'd recommend a few redstone tricks.
- add redstone lamps that turn on/off using a clock
- add sticky pistons on random blocks to simulate a ghost moving the block
- add a secret storage room
BTW, I enjoy the look of the furniture, really matches the theme of the woodland mansion. I've never seen anyone able to furnish every room!
Redtsone tricks is a good idea to make the house spookier. I think I saw a video (or a few) on Youtube about how to wire the Woodland Mansion with some redtsone, and also how to use it in 'haunted' houses
I'm not the most skilled with it, but I like how the tricks help create the spooky feel when others make it work.
Stronghold Transformation
Dungeons to Monster Shelters
Discuss Woodland Mansion Transformations