4. The Hillside Earth-Sheltered Cottage
What This Idea Means
Perfect for terrain with dramatic elevation changes, this house is partially dug into a grassy hill or cliffside. It feels integrated into the environment, offering an organic, centuries-old look.
How to Make It
Find a gentle hillside and hollow out a space roughly $6 \times 8$ blocks deep. Frame the exposed front façade with mossy cobblestone arches and raw logs. The roof is simply the natural grass of the hill above, decorated with wildflowers, moss blocks, and coarse dirt. Use a round front door entry framed by oak stairs.
Tips and Variations
- Place a chimney sticking out of the grassy hilltop using brick stairs and a campfire hidden beneath a trapdoor.
- Integrate winding leaf block vines around the entrance to blend the structure into the surrounding turf.
- Variation: Turn the underground rear rooms into a deep storage cellar or wine vault.
Materials Needed
Mossy cobblestone, oak logs, moss blocks, spruce trapdoors, bricks, campfires, leaf blocks, and wild flowers.
