🧑‍🌾 Stardew World Workshop • Episode 6 of 12 • See All Episodes
🌳 Episode 6 · Improver · Design

Make It a Place
Episode 6: Build & Decorate

Ground, layers and rules are your tools. Now you use them: place a building, plant trees, lay paths and add the little details that turn an empty plot into somewhere you want to be.

👶 Ages 10+ ⏱️ ~1 Hour 🌱 Stardew Valley ✓ Free workshop
✏️ Plan first 🏠 Place a building 🌲 Trees & objects 🧱 Paths 🌸 Details 👣 Walk test
🌳 Let's Build! Start Step 1 ← All Episodes 🖨️ Print Guide
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Level 1
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Ember says: build like a painter, not a stamp machine. Block in the big shapes, connect them with paths, then add small details. The details are what make people say wow.
🛠️
Try it in the browser: lay out and decorate a map in the Stardew Mod Studio map editor.
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✏️
Plan Before You Paint
Sketch the space first
Active
🎯
Goal for this step

Decide what goes where before placing tiles.

  • 1Pick one clear area to work on, not the whole farm.
  • 2Decide its purpose: a farm plot, a garden, a market square, a little campsite.
  • 3Sketch the big shapes on paper or in the Map Generator: where the building sits, where the paths run, where the trees go.
  • 4A plan stops you scattering things and having to erase half of it later.
🧠
Knowledge Check
+15 XP
Why plan the space before painting tiles?
ATiled requires a sketch
BIt stops you scattering objects and erasing work later
CIt changes the map size
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Place a Building
Objects on the Buildings layer
Locked
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Goal for this step

Place a building or object on the correct layer.

  • 1Select the Buildings layer.
  • 2Pick a building or object tile (house, shed, sign, bench) from the Tileset panel.
  • 3Click on the map to place it. Multi-tile buildings are placed with the stamp, lining up the pieces.
  • 4Objects here draw over the ground but behind the player, so you can walk in front of them.
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Fill in the Blanks
+15 XP
Buildings and objects go on the layer.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
A house should sit on which layer?
ABuildings
BAlwaysFront
CPaths
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Trees and Objects
Two pieces: the base and the top
Locked
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Goal for this step

Place a tree across two layers like a pro.

  • 1A tree is split in two: the trunk and base on Buildings, the leafy top on Front.
  • 2Place the base first on Buildings so you can walk behind the tree later.
  • 3Then switch to Front and place the top over the same spot.
  • 4Result: you walk behind the tree and the leaves hide you. That is the two-layer trick.
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Fill in the Blanks
+15 XP
A tree's leafy top goes on the layer so it draws over the player.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
Why split a tree across Buildings and Front?
ATo use more tiles
BSo the player can walk behind the trunk but the leaves still cover them
CBecause Tiled cannot draw one big tree
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Lay the Paths
Connect the spaces you build
Locked
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Goal for this step

Connect your building to the rest of the map.

  • 1Select the Paths layer and pick a path or floor tile.
  • 2Draw a route from your building to the main part of the farm, the road or the exit.
  • 3Paths make a space feel connected instead of dropped in the middle of nowhere.
  • 4Keep it simple: one clear route is better than a maze.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
Which layer holds walkable paths?
APaths
BBack
CAlwaysFront
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Add the Details
Flowers, fences and little touches
Locked
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Goal for this step

Make the space feel lived in.

  • 1Add flowers, bushes, fences or lamp posts around the edges.
  • 2Group things in odd numbers, it looks more natural than even rows.
  • 3Leave gaps so the player can actually walk through the space.
  • 4Step back and look. If a detail hides the path, move it.
✏️
Fill in the Blanks
+15 XP
Group decorations in numbers for a natural look. Always leave so players can walk through.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
A decoration blocks the only path. What should you do?
ALeave it, it looks nice
BMove it aside so players can still walk through
CMake the whole tile water
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Walk It and Check
Test the space on foot
Locked
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Goal for this step

Confirm your space is walkable and looks right in-game.

  • 1Save the map, then load your save through SMAPI.
  • 2Walk the full path. Check you are never stuck and never clipping through a building.
  • 3Stand in front of and behind each tree to confirm the layer split works.
  • 4Fix anything odd by checking the layer and the Passable rule, then reload.
🧠
Knowledge Check
+15 XP
You are stuck on a tile you meant to be walkable. Two things to check?
AThe tile colour and the map size
BThe tile's Passable property, and whether something on a higher layer is in the way
CYour keyboard settings
🎉🌳🏠✨🎉
You Built a Place!
A planned space with a building, trees, paths and details, all walkable. Episode 7 connects places with warps, so your world stops being one map and starts being a journey.
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Accuracy
🚪 Episode 7: Warps & Doors →
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🧩
Building a Place
+20 XP
Drag the decorating steps into a sensible order.
Lay paths to connect the space
Plan the layout before painting
Add small details and test on foot
Place the building on the Buildings layer
Add trees (base on Buildings, top on Front)