Minecraft wiki entry for Walls_and_buttresses, associated text: In addition to the wall elements described above, which all have a historical basis, there are many other ways to liven up a dull building. A plain wall of any material is boring. This is fine if you have detail in other parts of your construction, or if you want a modern or utilitarian feel, such as for a warehouse or a factory. Plain walls have the virtue that they won't distract from whatever else you have built, whereas a 'busy' wall might. However, if there are large areas in the building where you can see nothing of interest but the wall, even some simple decoration will help a lot.