Couch Forts Are My Forte

These past several months I found myself in the same situation as many – at home, balancing the demands of work with those of my young children. During this time, I discovered an unexpected skill that brought me closer to my kids, and my inner child: the art of the couch fort. 

With its endless design possibilities, the couch fort has become a daily fixture in our home. Although my daughter has her very own princess castle tent, complete with mesh windows, pink canopy roof and glow-in-the-dark stars, the manufactured structure is no match for a homemade fort. With simple household building blocks and a little imagination, the living room is quickly transformed into a secret hideaway; a cozy refuge for reading, learning, playing, and pretending.

As with the built environment, a couch fort requires two basic construction elements: a structural frame and a roof. Prop up the large, firm cushions to create walls, wedged along the base of the couch or stabilized against a side chair or coffee table. Drape a sheet across the top for a tent-like ceiling or balance seat cushions for a flat tunnel roof. Decorative pillows become easily moveable doors and wire storage baskets pose as screened windows. When a cushion wall or blanket roof inevitably collapses due to the force of wrestling siblings or a dog’s wagging tail, the rebuilding effort is almost as fun as the structure itself! Each iteration offers an opportunity to improve upon the previous design, adjust the size, try a different material, or test out a new building technique. 

While I started off as the primary fort-builder in my family, my kids have since learned, through observation and experimentation, everything needed to create their own. Even once our society returns to our offices, schools, and community spaces, I have a feeling that it might be quite some time before my couch ever returns to being a place used just for sitting.