The Loomis Bell Tent

Because we were renting the land I wanted to leave no mark. I decided on a pallet deck on log rounds that could be easily taken apart when needed. The deck was 17’x20’ and the tent 16’ round. The deck took one day to build using a tree that had fallen the previous Winter, free pallets from a lumber yard and a couple hundred dollars worth of pressure treated boards.

The tent came weather treated and took about 30minutes to assemble with 3 people.

I wanted to keep all furniture low so as to utilize as much space as possible. I added a queen bed, plenty of floor cushions, a tea table and antique chests for storage. I fastened basket hooks to the center pole with zip ties to hold some Edison bulbs. I fed an extension cord through the main zipper grouping for other power needs.

The wood stove was made for canvas tents specifically and while it was aesthetically pleasing it created a very putrid smell and the flue pipe did not draw smoke out properly. I only used it a couple of times to dry the tent walls.

I researched canvas tent care and living hard and in the end found that while totally doable, it is an ideal lifestyle for someone excited about the maintenance or for a dry climate. We kept the tent up all Winter and while rain never came through mold did find its way between the pages of my books. We took the tent down in the Spring to pressure wash and retreat the canvas, which was really easy and the people who eventually purchased the land purchased the tent from me.

I am so grateful for the project and how it added the magic that was Loomis. I had so much fun finding creative ways to decorate the space. Many memories were made with our friends and loved ones and I would absolutely do it again.

What I didn’t realize was just how much the bell tent would ignite a passion for tiny-living design and how much confidence it would give me in facing challenges and in my own potential of manifesting precisely what I want, no matter how unconventional it may seem to the masses.

Before leaving Loomis I sold all of the decor, belongings and plants on facebook marketplace. It was gone in a day. I felt sad but light, unaware that that wad of cash would soon be a deposit on my, unexpected tiny home adventure…