Create a Cozy Escape (And Save on Heating) With a Grown-Up Blanket Fort

I've been thinking a lot about blanket forts lately (because regression) and then I came across a TreeHugger post by Kimberly about a particularly cold winter in South Korea a few years back and how people were using indoor tents to cut down on heating. Which led me to put two and two together to arrive at the idea that a blanket fort for grown-ups is a perfectly respectable activity to pursue presently. Right? There's a practical component to it – creating a warm enclave in an otherwise cold room. And better yet, after a day of hard work and the even harder work of reading the news, one can simply grab their book/sweetheart and some tea/wine and crawl into their cozy fairy-lights-lit rabbit hole and disappear for a while.

First, some inspiration

Now the truth is, most of us probably know how to build a blanket fort. Assemble furniture, gather sheets and blankets, pin 'em up, add pillows, and voila. But I was delighted to see very detailed instructions on WikiHow for some real engineering tips.

Supplies – any or all

• Blankets, sheets, pillows, towels, shawls, drapery, sleeping bags, yoga mats, boxes, baskets.

• Dining chairs, easy chairs, couch, ottoman, large sections of cardboard or appliance boxes to help strengthen the structure and create other rooms.

• Safety pins, clothespins, binder clips, hair ties, rope.

• Fairy lights, flashlights, reading lamps, etc.

Standard fort

Chairs and clothespins fort

Teepee fort

You can pretty much take it from there ... the more secluded you can make it, the better. Obviously be careful with candles (fire and asphyxia come to mind), but bring on the twinkle lights and for a few hours, forget the maddening world and be a kid again.