How to Make a Cozy Camp on the Water

When going swimming, a lot of people imagine what it’d be like to have their own private island so they could do whatever they wanted out on the water, like have a snack or read a book — or maybe even have their own water park. But making your own personal space out on the water may be a lot easier than you think.

We at 5-Minute Crafts want to share how to make your summer fantasies a real experience, so we’re sharing how to make your own floating home.

Build the base.

• For the base, you’ll need styrofoam billets, thin wooden boards, screws, a screwdriver, and insulation foam.

• Lay the pieces of styrofoam on the ground. Glue them together using the insulation foam. You can even make a few layers until you get the base as high, long, and wide as you need.

• For the bottom of the base, attach wooden boards around the perimeter of the base and secure them with screws. This way, the styrofoam pieces will be on tightly and safely. Turn the raft upside down to work with its top part.

Add the frame.

• For this, collect 8 bamboo sticks of the appropriate size that correspond to the length and width of the base, some string, and insulation foam.

• For your floating house’s frame, picture something similar to a canopy bed.

• Attach 4 standing bamboo sticks to the corners of the base using the insulation foam.

• Attach 4 more bamboo sticks perpendicular to the 4 standing ones, using some sturdy string that can mimic the flat perimeter of the base.

• Cover the entire upper perimeter with foam too, just to be safe.

Create the camp of your imagination.

• At this point, you can take creative liberties with how you want the floating house to look. As was mentioned, you’ll want it to look like a canopy bed, so add sheets to give you some shade and privacy.

• Remember, bright colors, especially white, help reflect light, so avoid dark colors for your sheets if you want to keep cool. Generally, pale pink and yellow tend to be cooler than dark red or blue.

• If you want a little more room, you can attach other floating devices to your floating house with rope, like an inflatable raft to hold drinks or even a floating lounge pool, similar to how people often attach such devices to boats. If you still want to have fun in the water, attach a portable water slide.

Bonus: Make a different kind of camp.

• There isn’t just one way to make a camp on the water. Another way to do it requires nothing more than a tent, an inflatable mattress, an air pump, and some rope.

• Blow up the mattress using the pump.

• Once secured and proven safe on the water, add the items you’d like to make your own camp. Add a small tent, for example, if you still want protection from the sun. Just make sure it’s secure by binding the tent to the mattress with sturdy string. And keep an eye on the mattress to make sure it doesn’t drift too far out.