Ask at a supermarket or big store to see if they have any old cardboard boxes that you could take. Make sure the boxes are dry and don’t have any funny smells in them. [1] X Research source See if your parents could bring some home from work. If either of your parents works in an office, there might be cardboard boxes that they could bring home for you. Visit home improvement stores or department stores that sell furniture or large appliances. They’ll be sure to have giant cardboard boxes you might be able to have Always get your parents to go with you when out looking for cardboard. They’ll make sure you get it from the best places and can help you carry it home.
If the biggest box you have is flattened, use some tape to put it back together. Unfold it so that it looks like a box again and then tape the flaps on the bottom together to keep it sturdy.
Get your parents to help with the cutting if you’re using sharp knives.
Make sure the two pieces of cardboard are the same size or else your roof will be crooked. This will make a slanted roof with a point in the middle, but there are lots of other ways to make a roof. See what else you can come up with. As long as it covers the top of your fort, it’s a roof! You might be able to use the cardboard flaps you cut off to make part of the roof. Tape two of the bigger ones together and cut another piece of cardboard the same size.
Use brightly colored tape to make your fort look even cooler. This part can be difficult if you’re doing it on your own. Get a sibling, friend or parent to help out if you need it. Having someone to share your fort with can make playing in it even more fun!
These pieces on the inside of the roof are called “gables” and help keep the whole fort stable. If you want to leave the holes in your roof open, you can skip this step. You could also cover them up with cellophane or paper later on to make cool stained-glass windows! You might need to cut off little bits and pieces of the cardboard to make it fit perfectly. If you can’t move the fort around, you can hold or tape the cardboard to the top of the fort and trace around it instead. This might be a little more difficult to do by yourself, so get someone else to help out.
Cover the hinge on your door with tape to make it sturdier when you’re opening and closing it. Tape a piece of cardboard or some string to each side of your door to make a door handle. This will make it easier to open and close. Make sure the door opens outwards so that you’ll have more room on the inside of your fort. [7] X Research source
Think about what sort of rooms you want to add to your fort and choose a box the right size. You might need a bigger box for a bedroom than you’ll need for a secret storage closet.
If the flaps are damaged, or you can’t tape them together easily, you can also just cut them off. Make sure you cut in a straight line to make connecting the rooms easier.
If you can line one edge of the new room up with an edge of the main room to make a flat surface, it’ll be much easier to tape the rooms together. Always be careful when using hot glue, as you can easily burn yourself. Don’t touch the glue or the end of the hot glue gun until it has completely cooled. Ask an adult for help for extra safety.
If you don’t want another door on the inside, cut around all four sides to make a passageway between rooms instead. Start with a small door and make it bigger as you go. It’s much easier to cut away cardboard than it is to add it back.
Make sure you don’t make your fort too big that it takes over the whole house. Ask your parents how big you can make your fort and make sure to add the most important rooms first.
Use leftover cardboard to make window frames in the windows. Make a cross out of thin strips of cardboard and tape it onto the inside of your window. Add some colored cellophane to make some funky colored windows. Cut a square the same size as your window and tape it in place from the inside.
Make sure to wait for the paint to fully dry before you start playing in your fort again.
Add some bushes on the front, some tiles to the roof and a door knocker on the front to make your fort look like a house. [12] X Research source Try drawing on some portholes, periscopes, and metal plating to turn your fort into a deep-sea submarine. Put a sign over the door and draw on some stands for fruit and vegetables to make your fort into a grocery store. What else could you sell from your fort?
If your lights need to be plugged in, cut a small hole somewhere in your fort to thread the cables through to the nearest socket. Be careful when working with fairy lights. The lights can be quite fragile and might break easily if you’re too rough with them.
