Habitat TV

Kid’s love somewhere to hide and seek. This day tent is a perfect fort for indoors or a place to retreat from the sun when playing outside. Here are the easy steps.

You will need:

• 4x 1.5m battens (drilled holes in each, one top and one bottom, to insert dowels)
• 3x 1.2m dowels
• Resene testpots in your choice of colours.  We used Resene Goldmine, Resene Frozen and Resene Smiles
• ?Resene roller and tray
• 2x potatoes
• Knife
• Calico (1.5m length; 1m width)
• Sewing kit

Step one. Paint the battens and dowels using Resene Goldmine. Leave to dry.

Step two. Use the knife to cut the potatoes in half and fashion a star shape from each. We used a felt tip pen to sketch out the shape before cutting.

Step three. Lay out the calico, with cardboard or something sturdy underneath (that you don’t mind getting paint on).

Step four. Dip the potatoes into Resene paint and print the stars onto the fabric. It doesn’t need to look perfect, and yes it will get messy.

Step five. While that dries, make an A frame with the dowels and pine boards. Get it to the width and height you’d like it.

Step six. Place the (dried) calico on top of the tent, and make each side taut. Sew the bottom of the tent to secure. Ask someone to hold the frame while you do it.

Step seven. If you made bunting, lace through each side of the frame and use it to secure in place. Use sturdy rope as an alternative. We painted our bunting in Resene Frozen and Resene Smiles.

Step eight. Fill with fun cushions and a rug and leave the kids to enjoy their new hiding spot.

Top tip: Apply white paint stars and once dry apply two prints of Resene FX Nightlight glow in the dark over the top.  This will give soft glowing stars that will slowly wane in brightness once the lights go out.  Make sure you get a good amount of the white basecoat and the Resene FX Nightlight on the surface for the best glow effect.

Styling by Leigh Stockton. 

Photography by Melanie Jenkins.