How to Build an Ikea Fort for Your Kids (Yes, of Course We Have Illustrations)
Go prefab with this clubhouse made (almost) entirely of Ikea products.
Justin Fantl
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Constructing a sturdy kid-fort from scratch requires tools, design skills, and a fair amount of work. Go prefab with this clubhouse made (almost) entirely of Ikea products. (For extracool-parent points, pretend this idea just came to you while shopping for a Valje and a Hektar.) Start with a bed frame, then bolt on shelves for your walls and castle-y crenellations. Merge a nesting table with a junior desk chair for a 360-degree water balloon launcher. Paint to please, or accept the mess and let your tiny clients handle that themselves.
Justin Fantl01Fort
Use a [Kura bed](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80253814/) as your frame and solid pine [Ivar shelves](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10166575/) as your walls. (You’ll need 28 of them.) Cut seven of them down to 26 inches, and screw them all to the wooden bed frame, about an inch apart. Use more shelves or a sheet of plywood for the floor.
02Water Balloon Launcher
A. The top is an upside-down, partially assembled [Kragsta table](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20299829/). Reinforce legs with extra screws. B. Use bungee cords or latex surgical tubing for the sling. Screw the ends to the legs of the table. Cut out a piece of leather or vinyl for the center to support the water balloon. The cords are woven through the circle to hold it in place. C. This is the base of a [Jules](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49091249/) junior desk chair screwed to the Kragsta tabletop. Its 360-degree spinning capacity allows for maximum defense. D. Ditch the casters and screw the base directly into the floor of the fort.
03Supply Bucket
Use a 23-inch [Grundtal rail](//www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30202092/) mounted on top of two [Ekby Valter](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80167473/#/56696109) brackets for the [Socker](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00288445/) bucket hoist.
04Bomb Dropper
Clip a water balloon into an [Enudden](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50248452/) hooked over a [Grundtal toilet roll holder](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20047898/), which you have affixed above the door of the fort. If enemies approach too close to be slingshotted into submission, unclip hell. Kersplash!
