Third time's the charm

[Aldriona]

I'm still pretty new to the game and have abandoned my first two saves in favour of one with a couple of mods, namely better ruins and qp's chisel tools. I decided to do a minor cheat and spawn in a ruin when I started the map, to have something to move into and work on restoring. It's been slow going, but I'm starting to really enjoy some of my progress and figured it might be fun to share some of it!

First up; a snowy overview of the current layout. Initially there were several small buildings in the middle, which I removed for a chance to make a garden later on.

Edited May 12, 2025 by Aldriona
Accidentally posted before finished typing.

[Aldriona]

While stuck inside on long winter nights I've been working on some detailing. First up was making a shelf in my tiny and cramped smithy to free up some storage space!

When not in the smithy, I'm huddled by the fire in the kitchen to not freeze to death. Big drafty castle rooms are cold. I saw a few screenshots of people making similar builds for their kitchens and felt inspired! Still gotta add some matching backing to really sell the effect. Only downside I can't figure out a way around is that I can't both enclose shelves/peat piles and have a workbench on top that will allow me to put down bowls and crocks on it.

With how cold and drafty everything is I quickly realised I would have to enclose rooms into smaller spaces instead of just open stairways connecting everything from the cellar to the roof. I didn't want to lose too much room space and decided that stairs at 1,5 blocks wide are perfectly fine, and am working on adding thin walls all that way up the tower.

[Grummsh]

3 hours ago, Aldriona said:

While stuck inside on long winter nights I've been working on some detailing. First up was making a shelf in my tiny and cramped smithy to free up some storage space!

When not in the smithy, I'm huddled by the fire in the kitchen to not freeze to death. Big drafty castle rooms are cold. I saw a few screenshots of people making similar builds for their kitchens and felt inspired! Still gotta add some matching backing to really sell the effect. Only downside I can't figure out a way around is that I can't both enclose shelves/peat piles and have a workbench on top that will allow me to put down bowls and crocks on it.

With how cold and drafty everything is I quickly realised I would have to enclose rooms into smaller spaces instead of just open stairways connecting everything from the cellar to the roof. I didn't want to lose too much room space and decided that stairs at 1,5 blocks wide are perfectly fine, and am working on adding thin walls all that way up the tower.

I love the shelf details and the chiseled stove area! Great job!

[FreezePlay]

This Stove is Unbelivable just sad that u are not able to put anything on the flat surface infront of it because of the chisseled block

[Aldriona]

3 hours ago, Grummsh said:

I love the shelf details and the chiseled stove area! Great job!

Thanks! I'm really pleased with the shelves, so I'll be reusing the design in some other spots. My leathercraft room ended up sort of high and narrow, so I'm planning on lining the walls with barrels on shelves.

1 hour ago, FreezePlay said:

This Stove is Unbelivable just sad that u are not able to put anything on the flat surface infront of it because of the chisseled block

I'm considering ditching some of the peat storage in order to have workable space. Sadly, that will mean a slight height difference between different sections, so I'm not entirely sure it'll be worth it. I'll try it some day and see how it looks. And keep fiddling with the general design! The dark bricks give it a bit of an ominous look, so I might include more of the sandstone in various spots to brighten it up.

[Aldriona]

I started on shelves for my barrels. I'm having some peculiar indoor weather. Maybe it's time for a decorative inner roof...

[Aldriona]

I've started an experiment for my connecting walls. Looking around at pictures of gothic castles and old monasteries many seem to have more of a covered walkway thing going on rather than solid walls and I really like the style it brings. I might eventually fill them in with windows or lattice to make them safer at night, but right now I'm mostly fiddling around with the look. I think the sandstone cobblestone might be a texture that's too busy and it drowns the chiseling details, perhaps I should go for two shades of smooth stone? I've got plenty of granite, that warm-ish grey colour might look nice beside the ochre of the sandstone. I'll keep either sandstone or the aged ashlar for the top trim and pillars, to not have it too smooth and uniform. What do you think?

[Aldriona]

I decided to make the change to the benches after all. I honestly don't need that many shelves up in the kitchen, so both spare peat and extra shelves have moved into the cellar. I'm not a super fan of the height difference, but I do enjoy being able to put things down! I don't know what to make of the little middle part above, it was mostly made to break up the large dark space. I might reshape it into something that matches the ornamentation below instead.