Minecraft block palettes: 7 combinations from real builds

• White Concrete×1,05723%
• Polished Diorite×1,06023%
• Birch Planks×73216%
• Smooth Stone×60613%
• Block of Quartz×44310%
• Glass Pane×65214%
• Dark Oak Planks×912%

White concrete and polished diorite are the two biggest blocks, in almost equal amounts, so the white never looks flat. Smooth stone and quartz add two more shades of near-white, birch adds the softest possible wood, and glass panes do the rest. Dark oak, used in small amounts for slats, is the only thing that is not pale, and that is what makes it stand out.

• White Concrete×60025%
• Spruce Planks×43718%
• Oak Planks×75932%
• Stripped Oak Log×26411%
• Smooth Stone×1727%
• Glass Pane×1496%

The same white concrete as the villa, but here it is a frame, not the walls. Spruce fills the walls, stripped oak logs make pillars, and oak planks cover the deck. The result is still modern, but it feels like a home rather than a gallery. If a white build looks cold, this is the fix: let one warm wood take over the walls.

• Stone Bricks×3,73662%
• Mossy Stone Bricks×64811%
• Cracked Stone Bricks×4888%
• Cobblestone×5579%
• Spruce Planks×5439%
• Red Wool×711%

The castle's walls are mostly stone bricks, broken up with mossy and cracked stone bricks and cobblestone so they look centuries old instead of freshly built. Spruce is the one wood, for the pyramid roofs and the timber work, and red wool for the banners is the only real colour. When you do this yourself, scatter the mossy and cracked bricks at random, a little more near the ground and around water, where moss would really grow.

• Stone Bricks×63625%
• Cobblestone×41916%
• Andesite×27811%
• Spruce Planks×50920%
• Dark Oak Planks×40316%
• Snow Block×33913%

Heavy stone at the bottom, timber above, snow on top: the classic mountain-house order. Stone bricks, cobblestone and andesite mix into a rough, natural base; spruce and dark oak give two tones of timber, the darker one for the steep roofs. Snow blocks tie the house to the landscape around it.

• White Concrete×37835%
• Red Concrete×33531%
• Stone Bricks×11611%
• Andesite×908%
• Spruce Planks×878%
• Brick Stairs×717%

Two strong colours in almost equal amounts, red and white concrete, make the lighthouse's stripes. Everything else steps back: stone bricks and andesite in quiet greys, a little spruce, and brick stairs for the cottage roof, which echoes the red without competing with it. When two colours are loud, keep the rest of the palette calm.

• Blackstone×1,64340%
• Polished Blackstone Bricks×70817%
• Deepslate Tiles×64416%
• Cobbled Deepslate×2987%
• Cut Sandstone×55513%
• Smooth Sandstone×3047%

Four dark blocks (blackstone, polished blackstone bricks, deepslate tiles and cobbled deepslate) make up most of the dragon, mixed so the scales have texture: dark blocks only look interesting when their textures change. Cut and smooth sandstone for horns, spikes and claws are the contrast: pale against dark, so the shape reads from far away.

• Red Concrete×1720%
• Black Concrete×1214%
• Cherry Log×45%
• Cherry Leaves×2226%
• Gravel×2731%
• Stone Bricks×45%

A torii gate needs only red and black: red concrete for the posts and beams, and a black lintel across the top. Cherry logs and cherry leaves bring the soft pink that says Japan at once, and gravel and stone bricks keep the path and lanterns neutral. The smallest palette here, and proof that three or four well-chosen blocks are enough.