How To Build The Ultimate Indoor Fort
Build a Box Fort or Indoor Cardboard Playhouse for indoor play. Hours of entertainment if it is a rainy day, cold day, or too hot to go outside.
What could be better for cozy indoor play than building a fort with blankets, pillows, and chairs? Building the Ultimate Indoor Box Fort is even better.
Our Cardboard Box Fort is placed next to the dining table which has been covered with sheets to create that super fun indoor fort all children enjoy making.
We draped the sheets as shown above on the table and used two clothespins to create an opening for the children to crawl under the table.
Why Build A Box Fort?
It encourages pretend play!
A box playhouse generates indoor creative play on rainy days, cold winter days or blistering hot days.
Because it is fun! Expect the children to want you to crawl in there with them. By cushioning the floor with blankets and adding a couple of pillows for comfort, your children will want to stay in the personal space for hours!
Ways To Add Lights!
Get out a few strings of your white Christmas lights and put that Duck Tape to use under the dining table. The tape comes back off easily.
Flashlights.
Battery Operated Lanterns.
Small Lamp.
Once you add the lights, the kids will stay under there for hours!
What Goes Inside The Indoor Fort
Books, board games, baby dolls, action figures, coloring books and crayons, Etch-A-Sketch, puzzles, pillows, blankets, bean bag chair, flashlights, snacks, and most anything your child enjoys doing in their quiet time.
Printable Instructions Below
Follow our Kids and Parenting Board on Pinterest for more fun ideas
How To Build The Ultimate Indoor Fort
Create hours of indoor play time using a box, craft paper and some tape. Add pillows, blankets and books then hope the kiddos fall asleep while they are playing.
Materials
- One large box (we grabbed this at Home Depot, under $2)
- Blankets
- Sheets
- Pillows
- Duck Tape
- Colorful craft paper
- Decorative Thumb Tacks or Double sided tape
- Decorative Drawer pull set
- Decorative fabric
Tools
- Box cutter or sharp knife
- Straight edge such as a yard stick
- Pencil
Instructions
- Cut the box apart at one side seem so that you can open it out into one big piece.
- Turn the box inside out so the words on now on the inside.
- Cut off 2 of the box top flaps from the bottom of the box and set them aside. These will form the roof eve.
- Tape the remaining two flaps together. These will form the floor. We didn’t remove these also because they help maintain the integrity of the structure.
- Now tape that open side seam together.
- MAKING THE ROOF
- Use the flaps at the other end of the box to make the pitched roof. Using a straight edge like a yard stick, draw an angle as shown in Step 1. Cut along the lines to remove the excess.
- Now fold the side flaps up and use the Duck tape as shown to tape them to the pointed piece in the front and back.
- Those 2 flaps you cut from the bottom of the box are used now to close the top of the roof. Lay them out side by side and tape them together as shown in Step 3.
- Now add those 2 flaps you just taped together to the very top of the roof and tape them into place.
- MAKING THE DOORS
- Using a pencil and the straight edge, draw three lines to create a top, bottom and side which will become the door. Leave a couple inches at the bottom of the door uncut to create support for the structure.
- Now cut the door open along your lines using the box cutter.
- Cut a back door which will not be decorated. This is the access point for the children to get under the dining table after they enter the front door. If you will not be placing your Box Playhouse next to the table, do not cut a back door.
- TIME TO DECORATE
- Tape or pin whole sheets of pretty craft paper onto the roof. Overlap or layer to make them fit. You can trim where necessary as well.
- Our front door is covered with fabric which we happened to have on hand. It is attached with tape. You can use decorative craft paper or whatever you have on hand.
- We also had in our stash a decorative knob which was used to create a door handle.
- The sewing room is a wealth of supplies so we raided some Tulle and piping to add trim.
- All Done! Time to play!
Notes
Use what you have on hand for decorating the outside of your new Cardboard Box Playhouse.
More Kids Activities
- 31 Summer Boredom Buster Ideas
- 30 Summer Bucket List Ideas for Teens
- Paint Birdhouses
- Play the Ring & Hook Garage Game
- Play Board Games to win the Family Championship Belt
- Make Milk Jug Bird Houses
- Grandma Summer Camp
- 300 Summer Ideas for Kids
- Learn Mealtime Prayers
We all know what it’s like when summer turns into fall and winter isn’t far behind. Children confined to the indoors quickly become bored. For some reason, they never buy into the idea of helping us to clean house but they do always look to us to cure their boredom. Follow our easy tutorial and build them the Ultimate Indoor Box Fort!
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Our Trunk or Treat Candy Cottage was Featured on Country Living!
Welcome contributor Tiffany Todd! Tiffany is a graduate of Georgia College & State University with a B.S. in Psychology. She and her husband Andy live outside of Atlanta and are the proud parents of two cats. Tiffany’s hobbies include bird watching, camping, and hiking. She is a talented DIYer, photographer, cook, and home decorator.
Updated 11/06/2021
I would have loved this as a kid! Heck, I want one now 😉 Thanks for sharing with us at Funtastic Friday!
Oh this is so cute! I am going to have to snag this and make it with the little ones that I watch during the week.
They would love it if we created their very own fort.
Too much fun!
What a great idea. My kids would love a fort like this in the house! Especially my boys who try to make them all the time out of short blankets and they fall apart so quick!
What a super cute and easy to make indoor fort! My kids love to make forts inside and this one looks awesome. The kids can also get involved and help which is awesome.
Looks like you found the perfect detergent for your family! I really think this is a fun craft that the kids will absolutely love. I should do this for my daughter, I’m sure she’ll go crazy over it!
Indoor forts are so much fun!!! These are great tips for building indoor forts, my kids love them!
My kids would absolutely love an indoor fort like this. We have to get a big box and set this up next weekend. I think they’d have a blast with this project.
Yes, children just absolutely love indoor forts, don’t they! This one is easy and should last quite a while.
What a fantastic idea, I am totally going to have to share this with some friends, fantastic way to reuse those household musts! x
Oh, it was so fun to make. It’s so self satisfying to know the children are enjoying it too and it was almost free.
I should have saved my moving boxes and done something like this. It’s funny how the boxes and bubble wrap are often more of a hit than the actual gift during holidays and birthdays.
Yes, children can be so creative with boxes, can’t they. I’ve seen bubble wrapped taped to the floor for indoor rainy day fun too.
I know your kids must have a great time playing in that fort. By the way, I love All. Smells great and makes your clothes so fresh. Even the one for sensitive skin that is unscented.
all free clear has been our detergent for so many year. It’s great for our sensitive skin and smells nice too.
Thanks so much for visiting!!
What a cute play time idea!! I remember using a folding card table with a sheet over it that I made ( a Fort) for my son’s when they were young…..
Hugs,
Debbie
Debbie, I love visiting your house. A card table would work great for this fort too or some chairs. As long as there are lots of blankets!
Wow! This is a pretty great fort! I bet the boys would love something like this…that is before they decide the fort should be moved or otherwise destroyed! Being a mom of boys sometimes is hard because doing neat things like this end up being something else lol
Oh I understand. We have 5 grandchildren, four of them are boys. They love indoor forts. This one is mobile, it can easily be moved to sit in front of the table, a card table, some chairs or whatever. Just be sure to check out the all free clear detergent for nice clean fort blankets!
What a fun DIY! Great for kids of all ages 🙂
Yes it was a fun DIY! Please be sure to check out all free clear detergent for your family.
Forts are seriously the best! I love that you didn’t spend a fortune on something but used creativity on this. I’m sure kids will have an awesome time in that fort. I made one when my kids were little that was a spaceship. They loved it!
You can’t beat $2 for fun which will last through the winter months and lots of rainy days. It can be moved easily also. I bet the spaceship still brings fond memories!
This is so great and I love houw you created a fun project for the kids.
Thanks for stopping by. It was indeed a fun project!
Having a fort is one of the most fun parts of being a kid. My little guy would love to play in there!
Hi Carlee. Yes, your little guy needs a fort for indoor play! I’m sure he would love it. I’d like to see how you personalize yours for him too.
You are always so creative when it comes to building stuff. I know my kids would love something like this – what kids doesn’t? They are always taking all our blankets and creating forts but you took it a step farther. Love! And yes, All Free and Clear is one of our top buys for our kids sake!!
Yes, Zan I’m sure your three little one’s would love an ultimate indoor fort, especially once the snow starts to fall and outdoor play is less. I’d love to see your creation too! all free clear has been our detergent for many years now, love it.
Wow! That fort looks like every kids “dream fort.” Amazing job!
How cute, I think kids can have more fun in a box than they can with a toy. My son waited patiently for a stove box one time to make a fort from. How fun!
Yes they do! We made a Trunk or Treat Candy Cottage with a stove box years ago. It turned out awesome! Just takes a little imagination.
This sure is the ultimate indoor fort! My grandkids would have hours of fun hanging out in this cool fort. Cardboard boxes are the stuff when it comes to entertaining kids. What a fun project to work on with the kids!
Yes, I’m sure your grandsons would love an ultimate indoor fort too. I’d be great for winter and rainy days and it’s fun to build too.