Tutorials/Adding beauty to constructions

This tutorial is to give aesthetic advice for your home or building.

Basic things
Note: You can install a Furniture Mod and thus have furniture that looks even more realistic! Carpenter Blocks doesn't hurt either, as it's a fantastic mod.

Floor
Under certain circumstances, a glass floor can look excellent (for example, as a see-through bridge over a ravine), but in most other builds, glass is not the material to use. It's recommended that the floor should not be made out of grass blocks, as it is better suited to outdoor landscaping, and avoid dirt floors for similar reasons. It is better to use a wood planks (flammable), sandstone, or stone floor. Smooth stone slabs look good as tiles. Wool is decorative, but again, keep it away from fire hazards. Carpet was a much better alternative to wool, as it was not flammable, but as of snapshot 13w41b, they are flammable. To add a touch of oldness to your floor, for example if it is made out of stone bricks, use some regular stone bricks (the more, the less abandoned it looks), some cracked stone bricks, and some cobblestone/gravel as very cracked stone bricks. You can also use the mossy variant of stone bricks/cobblestone. To make the floor look worn down/heavily trampled use stone and/or light gray wool.

Windows
If you are in the beginning of your survival, it's a matter of preference as to whether or not you want to go focus on aesthetics or material conservation. If you choose the latter, then it's recommended not to use glass blocks, as you can use glass panes to conserve materials. If you either chose the former or are more advanced in your world, you should use glass blocks if it looks better.

If windows are at one to two blocks above the ground, it is easy to see out of them. Make large windows that take up a section of wall for a more open feel. If you make 1x2 windows, you can add wood blocks at the ends for shutters.

If you want your glass blocks to have a cloudier look, grab eight of them and one bonemeal, go to a crafting table and place the bonemeal in the center while surrounding it with the eight glass. The resulting blocks, if used correctly, can look amazing.

Ceiling
If your ceiling is 2 blocks high, people can't jump. Adjust it so that it measures 3 to 4 blocks high, so your home will have a more spacious feel. Remember that Endermen are three blocks tall, so keep your house well lit to prevent them from spawning; note that this will not prevent Endermen that have spawned elsewhere from teleporting into your home. Or you could just make a 2.5 tall room by having a slab ceiling. A slab floor will prevent any mobs from spawning.

Stairs
If you have staircases that use full blocks instead of stair blocks, it is a good idea to switch them out. It makes it much easier to walk. If you want long stairs, use slabs. For completely vertical transport use a spiral staircase or a minecart elevator. If you want to use up horizontal space, use slabs and blocks. You could also use a slab/stair/block recurring pattern for slightly longers stairs

Hall
Make a hallway if you have multiple rooms. They should be three or four blocks wide for a large house, and two blocks wide for smaller ones. Use carpets for this part to add some color, though wool works as well. It is recommended to also leave a space for a window if you have the space, so it will look brighter.

Exterior
Include a garden of shrubs, flowers, a few trees, and some potted plants. Put one or two leaf blocks on top of wood to make hedges. If your garden is large enough, why not add a Tree-house or a pool? Maybe even a beautiful fountain to be the center of attention.

Others
Keep lots of open spaces and do not use too many doors, so your house will look more than "Designer". Light rooms up with redstone lamps or glowstone instead of torches to improve lighting, or add chandeliers for a classier look. Also you can put pictures on the walls that look empty. You can "hang up" a torch by placing a torch on a block, then an item frame on the same block, before finishing it up by placing a stone button, stone half slab, or an anvil inside the item frame.

Kitchen
Include tables. These can be made either by making an extended piston upwards, or by placing a carpet/pressure plate on a fence/wall.

Don't forget a sink. A filled cauldron or a hopper directed at the wall, with a down lever or tripwire hook at the top to simulate your taps.

For a cooker you could use a furnace topped by iron pressure plates, and put some stairs a few blocks above to simulate the light/ventilation thing.

Add a crafting table as a worktop, and droppers with item frames containing rotated snow layers as cabinets that hold bowls and food.

You could also add an island in the middle of the room, iron bars to simulate an area to hang pans, and a table that contains normal cake and chocolate cake.

Living Room
Include chairs and couches, and something decorative or something to do. You can also add a fireplace, but beware of fire! You can make fireplaces out of any material, but it is recommended to use stone or brick. Add a few Chests and slap some trapdoors on their faces and bam you have a cabinet.

Bedroom(s)
Include a bed, paintings, a jukebox, and a dresser made by stacking chests. Optionally, you may wish to include an enderchest to keep safe any valuables and easily transport materials in bulk. However, it may not be recommended due to the cost of the components used in construction.

Bathroom
Use Dark prismarine for the floor, as it resembles small bathroom tiles. For bigger tiles, quartz does no harm. Note that prismarine is only avaiable in version 1.8.

Add fences/ladders as a towel rack. Iron bars could also do good as a small radiator.

Put two upside down quartz stairs that are facing away from each other. On one side put a normal quartz block with a lever on top, and put a trapdoor on it so it lies on top of the other upside down stair. Congratulations, you just built a toilet.

Furniture
Chair Note that you can make a couch by adding more stairs.

Table

A village-style table can be made from a pressure plate atop a fence post. As of 1.6, carpets can be used the same way, and often look better. Connecting more than one table when using carpets will look better also. Often times, a simple slab floating at waist-height can suffice, sometimes fitting in with 'alternative style homes'.

Appliances
Sink

Large Building Decorations
Fountain

Side View

Top View