The Lotus Tent (NZ)

The Lotus Tent was one of my very first dives into small space design. After running out of money on my tiny house project, and neeting a place to live, I wanted to explore the concept of super simple, super affordable alternative architecture. Online, I had seen images of these beautiful Lotus Belle glamping tents and I really saw it as a viable option for long term living, providing that I could build a really good platform for the tent and add some additional infrastructure such as an outdoor toilet and shower.

One of the first things that we build was the deck / platform, a decagon shaped structure which we could anchor the belle tent to, which would raise it up from the ground, and extend the living area to the outdoors. We also created a treehouse-style platform which would later become the base for an outdoor bathroom / shower, which was predominantly constructed from bamboo (cut down from a neighbours property) and a canvas umbrella. This was joined to the platform via a rope bridge.

Live in the Lotus was a really interesting experience. I learnt a tremendous amount during the build project and I think that this is where my love of using salvaged materials and up-cycling was born. To find out more details of this project, you can check out the full post here.

Living in the Lotus taught me a lot about downsizing as well as simple living, going off the grid and going back to nature. Below is a video that I made which sums up my experience with tent living. While this was a really fun experiment for me, a tent is certainly not something which I would consider a viable option for long term living. With zero insulation, temperature extremes were no fun and especially in a climate with a lot of humidity and moisture, tent living is not ideal. These tents are designed for short term camping experiences, and for that they are perfect. This was a fun time of my life, and I’m glad that I got to experience it.