Alternate Block Designs
by eSonOfAnder
Alternate Block Designs supplies curated variants of vanilla blocks that Mojang did not ship, placed in the decoration category.
What it does
The mod collects block variants that vanilla Minecraft leaves out, such as polished, smooth and prismarine forms of stone, sandstone, basalt and nether bricks, plus slabs, fence gates and stripped wood blocks. Slabs follow the placement orientation correctly, and a double slab keeps the facing of the first slab placed, whichever direction the second one is set in, which the author treats as the intended behavior.
Installation requires Fabric. The server and every player need the mod installed. Files cover 1.21.5, 1.21.6, 1.21.7 and 1.21.8, with 1.2.2 for 1.21.8 as the latest build from 2025-08-06. It is released under the MIT License and the source code is open source, with a public issue tracker.
Key features
Curated block variants
Variants missing from vanilla, including Smooth Stone, Polished Granite, Polished Diorite and Polished Andesite, can be placed and crafted.
Nether and end blocks
Crying Obsidian, Smooth Basalt, End Stone, Red Nether Brick and Quartz Bricks are added alongside their vanilla counterparts.
Oriented slabs
Slabs respect the direction they are placed in, and double slabs keep the facing of the first slab placed.
Stripped wood and logs
Stripped logs and stripped wood blocks are included, with bark textures on all six sides of the wood blocks.
Prismarine and terracotta
Prismarine Brick, Dark Prismarine, Packed Mud and colored Glazed Terracotta slabs extend the decorative palette.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
How it compares
GvR's Stone Variants is a Fabric mod for client and server, released under All rights reserved and not open source, built for 1.21.8 only. Vanilla Leftovers is a Fabric mod for client and server, under the CC0 1.0 Universal license and open source, published for 1.21.10 – 1.21.11. Gimme Some Block Variants is also open source under the MIT License, for Fabric and client and server, with builds for 1.21.8 – 1.21.11, so it reaches newer versions than this mod.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternate Block Designs | Fabric | 1.21.5 – 1.21.8 | Client and server | 2025-08-06 |
| GvR's Stone Variants | Fabric | 1.21.8 | Client and server | 2025-12-16 |
| Vanilla Leftovers | Fabric | 1.21.10 – 1.21.11 | Client and server | 2026-01-13 |
| Gimme Some Block Variants | Fabric | 1.21.8 – 1.21.11 | Client and server | 2026-01-13 |
Questions
Does Alternate Block Designs need Fabric API?
Must the server install Alternate Block Designs?
Which game versions does Alternate Block Designs support?
In the catalog
Alternate Block Designs is one of 12,078 Decoration mods on ModsFinder, and one of 6,982 Decoration mods for Fabric. 17,695 mods support Minecraft 1.21.8.
Similar mods
What the author says
Slabs for all colors of Glazed Terracotta - Slabs respect placement orientation correctly - Double slabs will retain the facing orientation of the first slab placed in the world, regardless of direction the second slab is placed - this is the intended behavior - Stairs - Smooth Stone - Calcite - Deepslate - Dripstone…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/alternate-block-designs
- Owner
- eSonOfAnder
- Published
- 2025-05-22
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2025-08-06
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15