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People who live in fantasy worlds have lives like ours. They work, eat, sleep, and do other activities like shopping or hunting. There is one thing they need and that is a place to live. Fantasy homes are where they spend valuable time with their loved ones and raise their children.
Fantasy homes is quite a broad term since it applies to all socioeconomic levels so for the purposes of this article, we’ll simply focus on what comes to mind whenever you think of homes in the genre. That is, we’ll look at ones for the upper classes like the royalty and nobility and those for the middle class. Our next article will primarily revolve around the lower classes.
Much like our world, there’s a great variety of homes in fantasy. Some are grand palaces that take up a lot of space whereas others are small, single-floor dwellings found within cities. Though the majority of people live in cities and towns, a substantial minority live out in the countryside. This gives writers an opportunity to customize residential dwellings across the world.
All fantasy homes are built using different materials. Many dwellings use materials that are nearby like wood or stone and others bring in some from distant lands to highlight their uniqueness in the area they’re in. Not surprisingly, the latter costs more money and is more commonly associated with the royals and nobles since they can afford the additional expenses.
Among all buildings, homes are one of the most significant in the world. They are where people live, eat, sleep, and so on. Many of the greatest stories in fantasy use castles and manors as prominent settings to show how those with wealth and power live and how the decisions they make affect other people.
This is the eleventh article in the series examining the different kinds of fantasy buildings. More articles can be found on our blog page!
The fantasy genre boasts some of the best homes you’ll see. From castles steeped in history like Hyrule Castle in The Legend of Zelda to those under hills like Bag’s End in The Lord of the Rings, there is no shortage of homes that inspire wonder. Their amazing design and style makes you wish they were real so you could visit them yourselves — and perhaps live there!
How do you go about creating fantasy homes? Keep in mind that there are many different routes you can take. You can craft a castle that glimmers in the sunlight or a series of stone-houses alongside a busy thoroughfare. The sky’s the limit when it comes to making them and if you’re stuck, scour the internet for inspiration. It won’t take long before you come across one that does the trick though you want to come up with your own designs.
Castles are the first thing that people imagine whenever they think of fantasy homes. In both the story and the world, they serve as key settings as they typically represent the people in power. They are where they make decisions that not only affect themselves but the people living nearby and beyond. Castles range in size from small to sprawling ones with many towers and turrets. The royal family and the most powerful nobles reside in such places.
Besides castles, manors and palaces are where the nobility lives. While not as elegant as those for the royals, these buildings still command power and have a prestige to them. They’re not as large as castles with a few exceptions. They serve as the seat of power for the nobility though they serve at the pleasure of the king and can lose their home should they go against him.
Cottage homes are associated with small towns and the countryside. They have a quaintness to them that not many other kinds of homes have. Many people in the middle-class live in these fantasy homes since they’re affordable and their warmth and coziness enables them to raise families.
On the opposite side are stone-houses. Unlike their cottage brethren, stone-homes are found in major cities. They have an unstated elegance to them and they tend to be a tad more expensive than cottage homes. Essentially the urban version of cottage houses, they’re where the middle-class lives and are considerably smaller than them.
With all the different kinds of residential dwellings you come across as you explore a fantasy world, you’ll undoubtedly notice that different materials were used in the process of building them. Many fantasy worlds use local materials to build homes since it’s less expensive than hauling them in from far away.
When constructing a fantasy home, the first thing to do is decide what type of material you want to use. This is the most important step for what material you use will shape every decision going forward so it’s critical you get it right the first time. Different materials have different costs and not everyone can afford the best-quality ones.
The most common material that’s used to build fantasy homes is stone. This hardy material comes in a dazzling array of colors and shapes, each one more impressive than the one before. A popular stone of choice is marble and it has a deep range from white to black. As such, the finest and the most expensive stones are used in constructing palaces and castles whereas the cheaper and lower-quality stones are used for many middle-class homes.
Besides stone, bricks are commonly used to construct homes. The cement in-between each brick seals it, preventing wind or water from getting in. Brick houses are known for their coziness and stellar appearance. While some wealthy people have houses built with bricks, this type of house is mostly used for those in the middle-class.
The third kind of building material is wood. Even though this particular type is more common with communities that have forests close by, there are some that stand in the countryside all by their lonesome. Wood such as pine or oak help distinguish each one from each other. Even though wood houses are mostly for the middle-class, some nobles like their rustic appearance and will fork over large sums of money to build one for themselves.
While not as common as the other three, straw is used to build a house. It is the most affordable of the four due to it being easily accessible and is mostly used for houses for the middle-class. It is for this reason that the royal family and nobility eschew using this material when building their homes.
Fantasy homes play a significant role, far more than you see in both the story and the world. There’s a reason why many of the best stories in the genre feature them as central settings. They enable readers to see what people are really like behind closed doors, away from public scrutiny.
How a home is decorated tells a lot about the person or people living there. It reflects who they are at heart. People with warm hearts have decorations that make everyone feel right at home and their doors are always open for family and friends whereas people who care about status prefer to have fancy decorations scattered throughout to impress everyone who comes over. Keep this in mind when you’re showing a home to your readers for the first time!
Many fantasy homes are full of families. Parents are raising the next generation, the ones who will assume the mantle of leadership in many positions of society, as they work to make a better world for their children. How their children turns out will determine what happens down the road, for good or ill.
For people in positions of power like the royals or nobles, their homes mark the site where they make decisions that will affect other people’s lives. Those who command power don’t go to other people’s houses, other people come to theirs. They listen to what they have to say and then issue their decision and give the reason for said decision.
For fantasy homes central to the plot like castles, they portray the family dynamics and drama. Power struggles between family members who see the world differently are all too common and can lead to scheming and maneuvering to increase their position at the expense of their rival. In extreme cases, the clashes can cause an irreparable rupture in the family fabric, leading to one or more leaving and never returning again.
For large households, homes offers a glimpse into how people of different socioeconomic levels treat each other. Some people treat lower classes with respect whereas others ridicule them. On the flip side, those of the lower class see these houses as a goal to live in one day and they’re willing to put in the hard work necessary to make it happen or get it through more underhanded means.
Fantasy homes aren’t just a place for the citizens of a fictional world to live in. It’s a place where they spend time with their loved ones and work to make a better tomorrow for their children.
There is a deep rich diversity of homes within the genre. Though they mostly reflect our world, there are some breathtaking homes that only appear in fantasy. From castles and manors to cottages, there’s no shortage of fantastic homes that work for just about any setting in the story.
All homes are built with one or more materials. Stone is the most popular, appearing in many castles and homes, whereas wood is a more affordable option. Their exterior is people’s first glimpse into who they are so it’s important that they convey the impression you want your readers to have.
Out of all fantasy buildings, homes are the most important. They have a multitude of storytelling possibilities from exploring the family dynamics to making decisions that could potentially shape the world going forward. It’s precisely why they are a major setting in many stories.
If you haven’t devoted much thought to having fantasy homes play a key role in your story, it’s time to start thinking about it. Using them can help take your story to the next level!
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Sunfire
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