I'm not the best builder, but I know the basics, decoration, layout, good from bad, the simple stuff, and I'm going to be sharing my knowledge with you guys!

Firstly, don't build a square house, if trying to impress others, example:

Image #1

That's not very h-hum, impressive?
Use a range of different materials, wood, stone, cobble, you catch my drift? But not to much, I'd recommend around 3-4 materials. (when I say 3-4 materials, I mean for the base and walls, doesn't include decoration and roofing material, stairs, slabs, ect...)

Walls: Don't build your walls too high! It looks unprofessional, I'd say keep it below 5, otherwise it will be hard to add 'nice' decoration, also, keep a minimum of the amount of floors you add, add around 1-2 floors, and feel free to add a underground floor, they're always handy for stocking up your chests, furnaces and brewing stands!



Roofing: Roofing is important to get spot-on! If you've got no roof, then add one! It makes it more homely, trust me! If you've got a flat roof, fix it! Add stairs, slabs, do whatever you can to make it look good!



Style: There's various styles that you can implement into your house, or what theme it's based on. Modern, Roman-Styled, Nordic, there's hundreds to choose from, and that's your job to choose which one! Each style has different decoration, (sometimes) different roofs, wall heights, it all depends of the time and era.



Flooring: Obviously, the number one thing every Minecrafter's home needs is a floor, wooden, wool, what ever decorative materials you've got. Wool gives the illusion of a carpet, and wooden gives a laminate feel and touch to it. Don't use dirt for flooring, that's really 'dirty'.



Decoration: The last step to this blog, and the last step (usually) that's implemented to a home, decoration in Minecraft can be hard to make perfect, but if you know what you're doing, it should be simple! I'll list a few item's that can be used as decoration.

Trapdoor: Usually used for decoration at the sides of windows, or in kitchens for cupboards, there's various ways to use a trapdoor.
Paintings: Paintings, limit the use of paintings, use them in bedrooms, living-rooms, places where they'd usually go.



There's a lot more that you can use, but I need to go, writing this blog has been really time consuming! I hope you like this blog. Thanks for reading. -Stud.