Actionable Insights: One Designer’s 5 Steps to Stress-Building a Backyard Fort
Dave Benton has built a backyard fort of dreams at his Southern California house. Image c/o Dave Benton.
During the pandemic, Metajive founder Dave Benton was stressed. Understandably so, as metajive’s biggest client was a movie theater chain and you can guess how that business was doing. To help him through the tough time, Benton stress built a fort in his Southern California backyard for his daughter.
Below are the five steps Benton took to do it. We say “steps” because he mostly just winged it, and yet the final result does look stunning. (And, worth adding, Benton’s business is booming these days.)
1. Look to the Greats to Find Inspiration
First, Benton looked at boards on Pinterest, made a mood board, then scribbled some “measurements” and “plans” on a napkin. Good start.
2. Scour the Earth for the Best Materials
He then went to the local Home Depot and bought the lumber and cement anchors. The total time from inspiration to leaving for Home Depot was maybe half an hour.
3. Source the Right Tools
He started building the same day without any proper plan and when he found myself in need of certain tools throughout the day, he walked over to his neighbors and ask to borrow them. This just underscores the importance of having a strong network.
4. Go Big (but not too big)
The fort is four-feet off the ground and 12-feet wide with a cantilevered roof on the front. Benton always wanted an architecturally significant house and this is better in his opinion.
5. Monetize (?)
Benton has thought about putting it on Airbnb, but if someone is over four feet tall, they would have a hard time sleeping in it. So while it’s not there yet, we have got to say this is one of the better-looking backyard forts we have seen.
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