The Mushroom Lounge is an art piece created for Youtopia, San Diego’s regional Burning Man event. If you want to see the Mushroom Lounge in real life or for an event get in touch. See below for how they are made.
Each mushroom cost approximately $150 and consists of the following materials: (1) 6′ beach umbrella, (2) 10′ pieces of 1/2″ PEX tubing, (3) PEX connectors, (1) speaker tripod, (1) 6′ banquet stretch tablecloth, (1) tripod scrim, (25) 3/4 binder clips, (1) USB strip light kit, (1) 40′ roll of 1/8 nylon cord, (1) cord lock.
Following are the assembly instructions (contact me if you get stuck). First remove the fabric from the umbrella and cut off or remove the plastic cap so it has no nipple. Cut each PEX tube to be 93″. Connect the two pieces to make a large hoop and drill 9 evenly spaced holes (approx 23″ apart) the exact thickness of the umbrella ribs so they fit snug (pic 4). Cut one of the leftover PEX pieces to be 33″. Curve it into a donut with a PEX connector then attach it with three 10″ strings to the umbrella ribbing. Place the tripod scrim over the umbrella and donut (pic 2). Place the umbrella and scrim on the tripod loose. Next place the table cloth over the umbrella top so it hangs fairly evenly.
Open the umbrella and stand up inside of it (pic 5) and feed in the two long PEX pieces conntected with one connector. It will make a hoop as you bring it in. Then connect them to make the hoop. Go around and place each umbrella rib in the holes you made (pic 4). Bunch up the edge of table cloth fabric and clip it with the binder clips (pic 3). Tie a string to one clip through the binder lock and thread it to just one of each binder handle all the way around (pic 6). Finally drape the lighting along the inside and secure it with bread ties (careful not to let the wire be exposed to rip the fabric). Draw the string gently tight above the donut and tuck the extra string above the donut out of sight. Stretch the scrim to cover the tripod feet. If you choose to make one share your photos or improvements. Enjoy!