How To Build The Perfect Sofa Fort: A Basic Guide

Sure, you could sit on your sofa, maybe even take a nap or watch TV. But the ultimate sofa experience is… building a perfect sofa fort!

Construct a castle, dive into a nautical adventure, blast off into space, and stretch the limits of your imagination right in your living room. Plenty of fun for the whole family, a sofa and blanket fort is easy to make and comes with endless opportunities.

The raw materials are already in your home — no bricklaying or dealing with unregulated contractors is necessary! Build a sofa fort the right way, and you may find yourself sneaking into its cavernous wonders more often than your children!

Just follow these easy steps, and you’ll be well on your way to combining furniture, blankets, sheets, and more into a perfect sofa fort.

1. Choose Your Materials

What you create your castle out of depends on the weather. On damp, cold, and dreary days, strong walls and thick blankets can insulate you and keep you in warm air all day. But if you are making your blanket fort during that one week of the year when it breaks 28 degrees, pick some linen sheets and light fabrics for an airy cabana feel.

For the perfect sofa fort, pick a spot near a heater or the window depending on your needs, but don’t let your structure block any vents. A blanket might get sucked into a vent and stop airflow.

The sofa is just one part of your perfect sofa fort. Embrace your other furniture as essential load-bearing supports. Chairs and tables are perfect for draping blankets over and adding an extension to your fort. Renovations are a reality when it comes to homes reinforced with blankets and sheets, so be ready to expand with extra cushions and bolsters.

2. Ensure Everything Is Clean

Before your little ones grab cushions off your sofa, clean the underside of the sofa and hoover up any crumbs and grime you don’t want to enter your cushy shelter.

Your perfect sofa fort should start clean, especially if snacks are going to enter once it is complete! Blankets are magnets for crumbs and dust, so beware of bringing crumbly biscuits inside.

It might be smart to toss some old blankets or sheets in the wash if you haven’t used them in a few months. The smell of mothballs ruins the charm of a whimsical blanket fort.

3. Construct Your Perfect Sofa Fort

There is no one right or wrong way to go about building your perfect sofa fort. Go wild! But, having a solid framework will allow you to experiment without the risk of total collapse.

Take the cushions and place them up against the armrest to create walls. Then, drape a light blanket or sheet over the top as a roof and tuck it into the sofa, so it will stay in place throughout hours of playtime. If you are using pillows for walls, keep stacking until you reach an acceptable roof height (that won’t tumble down on top of you).

Adjust the width and height of your blanket kingdom depending on how much time adults are going to spend inside it. A low ceiling will cease being fun when your back gives out. You want to have enough stamina to keep up with the imaginations of your children!

If you are lucky enough to have two sofas in one room, your potential sofa fort capacity has just doubled. Move the two sofas close enough that a blanket, duvet cover, or sheet can stretch from one to the other. Now you have a makeshift tunnel to act as either a conduit to more areas of the fort or a comfortable zone to take a rest.

4. Add Ventilation

As anyone with small children will tell you, they create some rather unpleasant aromas. A blanket-formed chimney or a few strategically placed openings will allow a nice cross breeze to keep the blanket fort from being stuffy.

The heat from several bodies will quickly begin to steam up even a large construction. Try a zigzagged roof with sheets and blankets leaving openings on the way to the ceiling. That way you can let the heat rise without sacrificing the closed-in cosy feeling.

5. Make A Door

Perhaps “door” is too strong of a word… but at least make an established entrance and exit. A toddler may wander to a load-bearing pillow and bring blankets and pillows tumbling down if there is not a clear way out.

A blanket flap will do the job and even a gap in the front works. Plus, this will also provide some extra ventilation.

6. Turn A Blanket Fort Into A Blanket Home

Now that construction has ended, it is time to decorate the interior of your perfect sofa fort! Make a sign and hang it in front to officially christen the fort. If your fort is big enough, bring your television inside and movie night will take on a true theatre experience.

Pick blankets of all different textures and colours to create an eye-catching castle. Make sure there are a few blankets inside for rainy day naps and cuddles. Maybe even toss in a blanket just for the cat so everyone feels included!

String up some fun fairy lights or torches to make it bright and fun inside. Let your kids take control of decorating so they can feel responsible for making the decor choices.

Get Imaginative With Your Sofa

Your perfect sofa fort is not complete without the perfect sofa. Here at Chill Sofas, we have everything you need to create the perfect playful environment for fun and maximum comfort.

Perfect sofa forts are best made with fabric or velvet sofas, but the risk-takers out there can create a luxe leather castle. Whatever fabric you choose, you’ll make a wonderful fort that will house memories lasting far longer than your mini-kingdom. Shop today and discover your new favourite sofa at Chill Sofas!