Here are some latest favorites you'll find when you visit. Come browse and shop during the next Open Studios on June 6-7 and June 20-21 from 11am -4pm
At Blanket Fort, we believe that the spaces we live and work in should be as inspired and joy-filled as the wondrous worlds we built and imagined as children. Filled with our favorite treasures and reflecting exactly who we are, not who we’re told to be.
After helping create spaces for Herman Miller around the globe, Matthew Buccilla founded Cowboys and Astronauts, one of Chicago's most loved independent lifestyle shops. Then he followed his instincts and his muse, Smokey Bear, to the Indiana Dunes National Park and started something new — a design studio and occasional shop an hour southeast of the city, built around the idea that the spaces we inhabit are the canvas of a joyful life. Welcome to Blanket Fort.
THE DESIGN WORK is for people who want their spaces to actually feel like theirs. Matthew works with individuals, families, businesses, realtors, architects, and designers — sourcing the right pieces, then helping figure out how they live in a room through styling and staging. For how we use and enjoy a space, not just how it photographs.
THE STUDIO opens its doors for shopping and browsing the first and third weekends of the month and offers a collection of Matthew's discovered furniture, art, antiques, objects, and curious finds — the kind of things that bring their own stories to your room. The mix shifts constantly. Come say hi and explore, or make an appointment if you know what you're after.
Studio Sneak Peek
Work with Matthew
Whether you're someone wanting to give your home a lift, a designer looking for a trusted sourcing partner, a realtor staging a property for quick sale, or a business ready to make your space feel like it has a point of view — Matthew can help you find the right pieces and bring it all together.
Come Say Hi
Our doors are open the 1st and 3rd weekends each month, and by appointment. Swing by for a visit and explore an ever-changing collection of antiques, vintage furniture, art, curious objects, and inspired finds. While you're at it, enjoy the beauty of the Indiana Dunes National Park region.
Next Open Studio: June 6-7, 11am - 4pm
Great Day for It
Blanket Fort is in Beverly Shores — an hour from Chicago along the Highway 12/Red Arrow Highway corridor — good independent shops, serious food, and more to discover from Beverly Shores to New Buffalo to Three Oaks. Worth the whole day.
Hike locals-favorite Cowles Bog Trail or swim at the pristine Kemil Beach. Drive slowly past the Century of Progress Homes, a cluster of experimental houses built for the 1933 World's Fair that somehow ended up here. Swing by the NPS visitor center or Indiana Dunes State Park to understand why this is one of the most biologically diverse landscapes in the country.
The historic South Shore Line also stops a block from the shop and all throughout the parks, so you can leave the car at home and bring your walking shoes or your bike if you prefer.
