I Love Being an Outdoor Family, but…
As much as I love being outdoors in the wintertime, there are times in which I find myself having to be clever in bringing the outdoors indoors. I remember as a kid begging my parents to set up the camping tents in our living room for me to use as an indoor playhouse.
Now as a parent myself, I see that putting up and taking down a tent in one afternoon can be a little time consuming. That’s where this Tablecloth Tent/Indoor Playhouse for Kids comes in. Easy set up, easy take down and hours of imaginative play for your kids!
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How to Make an Indoor Playhouse for Kids
These tents can be fully customizable to your own desire. I recommend sitting down with some paper and color pencils and play around with different colors. Maybe even duplicate it after your very own family camping tent! I took an image of a tent that I have recently been eyeing and mimicked the same colors and design. Let your kids help! Half the fun for them is being able to create with you! Here is the process of what I ended up using and doing below…
Can’t read now? Pin for later!
Materials Needed for a No-Sew Indoor Playhouse:
- 1 red tablecloth or bed sheet (I used a new twin flat sheet for $5 at Walmart)
- ½ yard of dark grey fabric for tent door and windows
- ½ yard of light grey fabric for tent background
- ¼ yard grey felt for tent trim
- Tape measure
- Fabric glue
- Hot glue gun and extra glue sticks
- Fabric scissors
You will essentially be draping the sheet or tablecloth over your table. Make sure the main fabric you use will hang over the edges of your table all the way to the ground.
Optional Materials:
- Red, orange, yellow, white, black and brown felt sheets for s’more campfire
- Small set of twinkle lights
- Command strips (for hanging lights under the table)
Indoor DIY Tent Tutorial
You’ll need a flat workspace such as a table or hard floor to assemble your materials. Whether you choose to do this part with kids around or late at night after they have gone to sleep is up to you.
Step 1:
Trim tablecloth or bed sheet to fit table.
*A twin sheet fit my table perfectly, without any trimming needed.
Step 2:
Take light grey fabric and cut out 2 rectangles for tent background design.
Step 3:
Take dark grey fabric and cut out 2 windows and 1 door shape.
Step 4:
Place the tablecloth on a flat workspace. Arrange window and door pieces on the tablecloth and fabric glue down the top and side edges of windows and door.
NOTE: Be sure to leave the bottom of windows and door unglued (You will be cutting a slit in the windows and doors in the next step).
Step 5:
From the bottom of windows and door, cut a middle slit upwards through all layers of fabric (this will open up the door and windows).
Step 6:
Fabric glue the edges of the newly cut window and door layers together.
Step 7:
Cut felt into ½ in. strips. This will be used as trim to hide the rough edges of fabric. Arrange around the edges of windows and door. This time use hot glue and glue felt into place.
Note: Hot glue works better on felt than fabric glue.
Step 8:
Let fabric glue dry at least 4 hours before draping the tablecloth over the table edges
Optional Steps:
– Place Command strips underneath table and hang twinkle lights!
– Cut and hot glue a felt campfire and s’more stick!
When your kids are finished playing (or you just need your table back), just remove the cloth and fold it up for another day. It’s also easy to take with you on a family vacation for playtime in the hotel.
Who wouldn’t LOVE this playhouse for kids? In just a few hours, you could create your very own playhouse and the kids will ask to go “camping” all winter long. Get crafting, grab a cup of hot chocolate, and have a fun indoor camping adventure with your kids.
More Indoor Play Ideas You Need to Try:
- Camping at Home – 30+ Backyard/ Indoor camping activities, games, recipes
- 45+ FREE Indoor Activities With Kids When You Just Can’t Get Outside
- Awesome Indoor Activities for High Energy Kids
What are the dimensions of the table that you made this tent for?
Such an awesome idea!!! My kids are always asking me to help them build a fort in my livingroom, using chairs & blankets. We’ve used safety pins, clothes pins & weights to keep blankets from slipping, but inevitably the blankets pull apart or the weights used aren’t heavy enough. This would solve all our falling apart fort problems, be quickly & easily set up AND all of my furniture can stay where it is & hubby won’t get grumpy trying to get around the livingroom without breaking his neck on all of the fort paraphernalia! Thank you so very much for posting this!!! I’m headed to Walmart right now?
This indoor playhouse idea is genius! I love how easy it is to set up. It brings back memories of my childhood tent requests. I’m curious, did you try adding other fun elements like fake grass for a campsite floor? And how did your kids react to the customizable aspect?