In Minecraft, it’s not always just about practicality — it’s also about making your home look great. The game offers a wide range of decorative blocks to help you dress up your very own abode. Some of these items don’t just look good; they’re also useful, making them doubly appealing — and often overlooked. If you mainly focus on building, we hope to give you a few extra decorative elements to try. We’ll also look at clever ways to farm some of them.
Minecraft light sources: Prevent monster spawns and set the mood
You should always bring light into your base — it not only prevents monsters from spawning, it also lets you combine different light sources for ambience. We’ve already covered the full rundown if you want to learn about every lamp and light (Effective Light Sources for Decorative Building Projects in Minecraft) . Today we’re focusing on the ones we consider especially important.
Lanterns: There are now three lantern variants you can craft: the standard one, a soul-fire version, and a copper version. You can gather iron and copper nuggets via suitable farms; the torches use coal, copper and either soul sand or soul soil in their recipes. All lanterns have a subtle animation, which looks wonderfully atmospheric.
Candles: Superb for decoration, and you can place up to four on a single block. There are 17 colours to choose from, so it helps to collect every dye . You’ll need string from spiders and honeycomb from bees.
End rods: Perfect for modern, minimalist builds thanks to their clean look. Craft them with blaze rods (Build an Automatic Blaze Farm: Endless Blaze Rods and Experience Points) and popped chorus fruit. You can’t farm end rods directly, but you can grow chorus fruit in the End and smelt it into popped chorus fruit.
Firefly Bush: A fairly new, understated light source that looks fantastic at night. You’ll need to collect it in your world (primarily along riverbanks) and plant it on dirt or grass.
Minecraft wall decoration: Useful ideas for beautiful walls
There’s plenty of wall decor you can use — and much of it is practical too, so it’s well worth considering. Without windows or other elements, bare walls can make a base look drab. Try these items.
Paintings: Choose from over 40 different motifs. Use wool (from sheep) and eight sticks to craft one. Some artworks even hide little Easter eggs — learn more here .
Item frames: Great not only for labelling chests, but also as standalone decor. You can even make them glow. You’ll need sticks, leather (from cows) and possibly glow ink sacs (from glow squids). You can place any item inside and rotate it.
Banners: Often forgotten, but incredibly deep. Banners are superb decorative pieces thanks to their customisation potential. Our guide breaks it all down (Minecraft Banner: Creation, Dyeing and Usage) .
Chains: You can now craft chains not only from iron but also from copper. Copper even oxidises, giving you four distinct looks. In both cases, an iron or copper farm is worthwhile.
Shelves: A newcomer to the decor lineup, able to display up to three items, similar to item frames. You can also swap a hotbar with them, which is very handy. Shelves require stripped logs, which you create manually with an axe.
Placeable decorations: Items for your Minecraft base
You’ll likely want to spruce up other parts of your base too, so here are a few more decorative pieces you can place or set down. They add another layer of character — and some can be customised.
Flower pot: One of the best ways to bring life into your base. You can place any flower and all saplings inside to bring nature indoors. Use a clay farm for plenty of bricks (Automatic Clay Farm in Minecraft: Guide for Clay, Bricks, and Pottery) .
Decorated pot: You can also use bricks for larger pots, or replace them with pottery sherds. These are found only in structures and are fairly rare. Pots can’t display flowers, but they can conceal a few items.
Armour stand: If you’d like to showcase a fine set of armour — perhaps with trims — use armour stands. You only need sticks and smooth stone slabs. They’re a lovely addition to a workshop or for sets you no longer wear. With the latest smithing templates, they look even better.
Bookshelves: One of Minecraft’s oldest decorative blocks. Craft books from leather (cow farm) and paper (sugar cane farm), then combine them with wood. Using wooden slabs instead of books lets you craft chiseled bookshelves, which you can fill yourself.
Carpets: Finally, lay down carpets to make your flooring look even better. The easiest route is a wool farm with sheep that are dyed directly, so you can craft carpets in all 16 colours.
Conclusion: Decorate Minecraft with essential decorative items
Building purely for efficiency isn’t always the best approach in Minecraft. Sometimes you just want a cosy, cohesive base where you can unwind. Don’t underestimate the wealth of decorative items now in the game. And with new updates, fresh elements keep arriving — recently shelves, as well as new lantern and chain variants.
Keep your base stylish with the newest items by renting one of our Minecraft servers and playing together with your friends. Use a few farms to your advantage so you can always craft what you need.
