Hey all,
Okay, this is going to sound a little weird… maybe… but I found this. Giant Birds’ Nest.
The most popular one is $4548.17 in a euros to dollars conversion, and that’s not even counting shipping. :eek:
There MUST be a way to make this!! It even kind of looks like it shouldn’t be that hard. Don’t you think? Maybe a bunch of beanbag chairs in some kind of frame… something along those lines…
Ideas from all the smart people here would be very welcome. 
A white fuzzy mini beanbag chair is $40 at Walmart.
A 5’ diameter round plastic wading pool that should hold about 3 of the mini beanbag chairs is around $30 at a hardware store. You can probably find bigger wading pools for not much more.
Twigs and branches that you can weave together with some cheap gardener’s training wire to create a much more realistic “nest” around the sides of your plastic pool than that stanky-ass scrap-lumber kluge job advertised in your link should be available for free from your own property or some other woodsy area.
Have fun!
I can’t make one, and I don’t know that it would go with my house, but…that’s kinda awesome, and I want one.
I really like the wading pool idea! 
I’m not exactly sure how it would all end up… probably as what my sister in law, a Nashville native, would proudly call “the redneck solution.” 
And it could go with any kind of house! I didn’t like any of the settings their photos showed it in… I’m picturing a cozy country cottage with the nest surrounded by flowers. And bird cages. Definitely bird cages.
We keep talking about bean bag chairs for a “thinking” area at the office. I’m in a high tech start-up. If only they would let me spend the money…
Maybe instead of the wood around the outside thing, you could use thick craft foam? It looks like that’s actually what they used, too. All I can imagine is barking my shins on the wood every time I tried to get in. I’d be pretty mad at my nest after a dozen time of that happening, even if it was technically my fault.
I’d also want to put some foam or tubing over the top lip of the kiddie pool too to create that soft look they have (and also to get rid of any sharp edges in my way when trying to get in), then drape fleece fabric over top the whole thing (or sew it into shape with a zipper on the bottom if you are adventurous - but I’d also make it removable for washing in case something icky happens to your nest). I’m thinking for that you could specifically use the foam insulation they sell for pipes at home depot for that top lip. They come with a seam down the side and everything, just pop that sucker on top of the lip.
ETA: They really did use wood for the outside! Well uh. I’d still go with craft foam. Or the real deal with trimmed branches. Except bugs may be a problem if you go that route.
The foam I’m thinking of is EVA Foam, which you can find in sheets or in rolls. Cosplayers use it a lot. You can get it in a nice smooth finish and even paint it a specific color if you want. Not too expensive, can be cut to any shape, won’t hurt you if you run into it. I think even Home Depot type stores carry it too. Sounds perfect to me. You could creatively cut it into “branches” and weave those together instead of the chunky look, but it would take a lot more time. But you may be able to do that with less glue than the other way, so hey…
The trick is taking part of it and making it so the nest looks like it’s round. Kiddie pools bend the wrong way to look like a nest on the outside. Maybe create an arch or oval of foam that runs around the outside of the kiddie pool and then attach all your foam piece to that. Then you’ll get the rounded outside look of a nest. (I’d put a break somewhere (maybe use a hinge attachment to keep closed?) so that you could “open” the loop somehow to get to the kiddie pool inside easily in case of disaster. Like your 8 year old nephew barfing in it or something.
First, get your hands on a giant bird…
The issue I’d see with using real branches is that they’d probably break and shed bark as you climbed in and out leaving you with cleaning up bits of nature from your floor on a regular basis and slowly making your nest look less and less nest-like. I’m not in love with the solution shown in the link but at least I assume it’s solid.
I guess you could use cut limbs rather than “branches” but you’d have a harder time acquiring them (and making sure that they’re bug/fungus free).
How about pexfor the outside? You could get a couple of different sizes and weave it together into a round shape. Perhaps watch some basket weaving videos on youtube. Then paint the whole thing, if you don’t like red, white, or blue.
Birds makes nests and so can you. Just be like a bird and don’t use your hands. Just pick up sticks with your mouth and push it in to shape.
This idea sounds practical. Real sticks may not be worth it, but just cardboard or foam sticks will do the job. Even with real sticks people might catch on that it wasn’t built by an actual giant bird.
If you are building it for a specific location, building it into a corner might help to cut down the amount of giant stick weaving (real or foam) that you would have to do.
I’m thinking pool noodles for the outside.
I thought of that, too. You could combine them with pipe insulation for variety.