Indoor date nights are perfect for rainy days, lazy days, and all reasons in between.
Whether you don’t have a sitter, or are saving on expenses, going OUT for date night may not always be an option.

If you have a few extra linens and a free evening, you’ve got yourself a date night.

For couples, it’s an intimate, cozy setting where you can relax, chat, or even watch a movie, all while wrapped in blankets and surrounded by soft lighting. For families, it becomes a playful bonding experience, where kids and adults alike can get creative, share stories, or enjoy a favorite game together.

Whether you’re looking for a quiet evening to reconnect as a couple or a fun way to spend time together as a family, building and relaxing in an indoor fort transforms an ordinary night into something special.

Let’s Chat

To start off, it’s important that you make the space feel different. Chose a large open area in your home as your base. For me, this ended up being a living room, which worked well since there was a TV in place.

Decluttering the date night space sets the tone for the evening. Try to remove as many items you can that are reminiscent of day to day living. Shoes tucked in corners, dog beds, kids toys, that pile of junk mail…all those things need to find a new home. Try lighting a new candle so the room smells different for you date. Simple things like surprising your sense of smell can help achieve a transformation for your room.

Dimming the lights also helps shape the narrative for a more romantic evening in.

You’ll want to get a few things together to prepare for your fort. Some are necessities and some are added perks* :

•  Pillows
•  Blankets – Better for padding and cushion on the floor of the fort
•  Sheets – Better for draping since they are lightweight
•  String – Since we are adults, we need a higher ceilings in the fort than what chairs provided when we were kids. I’d recommend using structure points such as existing walls or furniture and run a zip line type set up to drape your sheets on. If you are worried about pushpin holes in the walls, 3M command hooks can save the day and peel off easily without damaging paint.
•  String lights*
• Candles*
• Snack, Cards, Games, Movies, etc.*

 

Focus on How They Feel Loved

Obviously you wanted a date night to spend time with each other. So do just that! Keep quality time in focus while you are building your evening.

Pick things that you and your partner enjoy that allow you to spend this time together. If your partners love language is physical touch it may be more beneficial for you to plan massages in the fort rather than a couple who may enjoy taking turns asking conversational questions. If you or your partner are unaware of your love language this could be a great opportunity to take this quiz and learn how to love each other deeper.

 

Building Tips

For my fort, I used 2 lines. I used a total of 4 command hooks and hung 2 straight lines of string wall to wall.

I started by laying down my floor. I wanted this to be made of fluffy, thick blankets since we would be sitting on it. I hung my string lines right outside the width of my blanket. By doing this it allowed me to drape the sides and the top with minimal string placement.

After I had my 2 lines hung, I draped a sheet over each line for a side wall and used safety pins to keep it from sliding. For the top, I was able to just drape a sheet all the way across. No pinning required.

The back sheet gets a little tricky, if your sheet is long and wide enough you may want to try draping it from the front, over the sides, and letting to flow to the back. This may cut the need to add on a back sheet. Otherwise, grab safety pins and pin the top back corners of the tent to the top corners of your sheet.

Decorate your Fort

Now that the fort is set up start brining in things that make the night more romantic .

I hung string lights and lit a few candles. If you don’t plan on watching a movie a great idea would be to create a playlist for your evening.

Extra blankets are handy as well.

Create a Fun Night

Bring in your favorites and make the most of your night in. We had wings, ice cream, and binged a series after a long week and it was the perfect low maintenance intimacy recharge.

It doesn’t have to be anything too big or fancy. The time spent in the fort is the most important part.

As a bonus, If you are doing this as an at home date after the kids are asleep- You can leave the fort up and let them enjoy it the next day.