Interiors are where a build becomes a believable place rather than just an exterior shell. Good interiors are planned before the walls go up. They're part of the layout stage, not an afterthought.
Room Planning
Partition your interior into distinct spaces with specific purposes. Think about how a real medieval household would use the building: a ground floor for work or storage, an upper floor for sleeping, a kitchen near a hearth. Give each room a reason to exist and a function that makes sense for the building's class and profession.
Avoid large open spaces with furniture scattered across them. A single undivided room rarely reads as a real living space, so add walls, partitions, or level changes to break it up. Rooms that are too small are equally problematic; 2-block-tall ceilings feel cramped and unnatural.
Furnishings
Every block should serve a purpose. If a block is only there to fill space, it's not earning its place. Replace it with something that adds to the room. A pile of crates occupies space but adds little; a barrel with a mug on top suggests someone lives and works here.
Professions. Most medieval homeowners used part of their home for work. A carpenter has a workshop downstairs, a blacksmith has tools near the hearth, a weaver has a loom. The exception is the common farmworker, whose home may be simpler, but even then details like an animal pen, vegetable garden, or wood-chopping area add character.
Yards. Houses in towns and hamlets typically have a yard: a square space out back for growing vegetables, doing washing, keeping animals, or storage. Include one where the plot allows.
Custom Block Rules
WesterosCraft's custom blocks add a lot of interior detail, but some have specific rules:
- Cabinets, drawers, and bookshelves have the same texture on multiple sides. Since it makes no sense to open drawers from every direction, cover all but one accessible side using walls, half doors, wattle fences, or other blocks. The open side should face into the room.
- Cross beams. When adding a second floor, don't use flat plank slabs for the ceiling; use rows of stairs to create the effect of floor rafter cross beams. Beams should span the shortest width of the room, not the length, which is more structurally plausible.
Things to Avoid
- Torch blocks: restricted to castle braziers. Use fireplaces, candles, or lanterns instead.
- Full log blocks: avoid in structures. They look clunky and offer little variation; use plank types instead.
- Trapdoors and signs: outdated detailing blocks. Use half doors and shutters instead.
- Mixed stone palettes: pick a stone type and stick with it. Don't mix yellow sandstone bricks with dark cobblestone in the same build.