Building Indoor Forts

We've all put up a fort at some point in our lives, (at least I hope so!) but sometimes it's nice to think about the finer details that could make your indoor fort even better. Brit shares with you the finer points of the forts she built, along with the crew, for our Spring/Summer catalog sets:

Where did you get the props from?
I grew up antiquing with my parents, I really hated it as a teen, but now I am in LOVE, and many of the items on set came from my collection, things I’ve picked thrifting, garage sale-ing, and antiquing as an adult. Some of the things were just from around the warehouse/office here at S-F North; we are lucky and have a pretty rad working environment. Just a few things from a craft store, I really had my heart set on those little pom-pom tassels for the kids fort and knew that I wanted to incorporate yarn for the romantic fort.

How did you build the forts?
That was a team effort really. When we were planning the theme for the catalog I instantly had visions popping in my brain and everyone had a shared vibe that we wanted to capture, so that certainly helped.  So the vision, props, textures, all the little things were a cinch, actually making a sturdy fort frame had to be drawn out and brainstormed with our super smart staff! :)We ended up building the frame out of pvc pipe and rope, and using a kind of “pulley” system from the ceiling to accommodate the different shapes and heights of the different forts. Ok, ok, ok and then…we decorated! I really enjoyed getting my co-workers help and thoughts, but indeed adored staying late in the empty warehouse and nit-picking the set, with no phone calls, emails, etc. to disturb me!

What do you think is a must for making a romantic fort?
Well, love of course! No, really, we wanted a very dreamy, soft, cloud 9 kind of feel. We pulled this off by using neutral colors, layers of tans, whites, golds and creams. The lights, big nests of Christmas lights made the set enchanting, these are a must: candles, Christmas lights, lamps, or any intimate lighting you can find will set the mood for sure!

More tapestries can be found here!

How about for kids?
Entertainment! Making the fort welcoming and interesting. The most important part is having things that are interactive. In our fort we featured a chalk board, record player and unique kid friendly musical instruments. I would recommend having a theme, ours was clearly music, and this made it simple to gather items for the tots to explore.

What’s your favorite part about building the sets for our photo shoots? 
OHHH, it’s a tie between brainstorming and gathering the funky bits for the forts or the process of putting all of it together with my awesome coworkers!

If you haven't checked it out already, you can request a print catalog or view it online here! :)