Houzz Call: Show Us Your Well-Designed Treehouse or Tree Fort!
Got a great treehouse or tree fort? We want to see it! Post yours in the Comments and we’ll feature the best in a future article
Mitchell Parker
March 23, 2015
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative... More
We want to see your well-designed treehouse or fort!
Homeowners: Post a photo of your treehouse or fort in the Comments and tell us about it: who uses it, what materials were used and how its design keeps in mind the safety of the tree.
Professionals: Show us a photo of a treehouse you recently designed and what makes it unique. What was challenging about the design or materials used, and what method was implemented to ensure the tree’s health?
Homeowners: Post a photo of your treehouse or fort in the Comments and tell us about it: who uses it, what materials were used and how its design keeps in mind the safety of the tree.
Professionals: Show us a photo of a treehouse you recently designed and what makes it unique. What was challenging about the design or materials used, and what method was implemented to ensure the tree’s health?
My first childhood experience with a treehouse failed miserably. Or, I should say, my father’s attempt to build my siblings and me a treehouse was an embarrassing failure. (Sorry, Dad. I know you tried). His intentions were sound: Use a hexagonal-shaped wooden hot-tub cover as a base to put on top of our old swing-set posts and build up from that with walls of leftover fence boards, then fashion a roof and voilà, we would have our very own fort in the trees.
He got the wooden hot-tub cover pieces fastened together and somehow got that on top of the swing-set beams. We had a floor! But our majestic dreams quickly vanished as my dad got pulled into other projects. All we had in the backyard was a wooden platform with no walls 10 feet off the ground. Not exactly the Swiss Family Robinson experience I had in mind.
But because of this, or despite of it, I’ve always been fascinated by exotic, well-built treehouses. I’m amazed at what contemporary architects are doing with the concept: building fully functional houses with modern materials right up in the trees, oftentimes without harming the trees at all. With that in mind, here are a few treehouses and forts that keep the childlike wonderment alive.
Architect Missy Brown designed the stunning treehouse seen here for a couple who owns several hundred acres of land in Vail, Colorado. Inside is a desk, a sofa and even a portable cooktop.
See more of this treehouse
He got the wooden hot-tub cover pieces fastened together and somehow got that on top of the swing-set beams. We had a floor! But our majestic dreams quickly vanished as my dad got pulled into other projects. All we had in the backyard was a wooden platform with no walls 10 feet off the ground. Not exactly the Swiss Family Robinson experience I had in mind.
But because of this, or despite of it, I’ve always been fascinated by exotic, well-built treehouses. I’m amazed at what contemporary architects are doing with the concept: building fully functional houses with modern materials right up in the trees, oftentimes without harming the trees at all. With that in mind, here are a few treehouses and forts that keep the childlike wonderment alive.
Architect Missy Brown designed the stunning treehouse seen here for a couple who owns several hundred acres of land in Vail, Colorado. Inside is a desk, a sofa and even a portable cooktop.
See more of this treehouse
This structure sits along the Crystal River south of Carbondale, Colorado, on property owned by a local philanthropist with two children. The owner, along with the design team, imagined the structure as a playhouse not for just kids but for adults too.
See more of this treehouse
See more of this treehouse
Using leftover wood from a deck project, a couple built the two very popular forts seen here. In fact, the backyard area has been such a success that word got around in the neighborhood, and all the local kids show up to play there now.
See more of these forts
Your turn:
Homeowners: Share your treehouse or fort and the story behind it in the Comments!
Professionals: Show and tell us about a treehouse or fort you’ve designed recently.
More: The Most Incredible Kids’ Tree House You’ll Ever See?
See more of these forts
Your turn:
Homeowners: Share your treehouse or fort and the story behind it in the Comments!
Professionals: Show and tell us about a treehouse or fort you’ve designed recently.
More: The Most Incredible Kids’ Tree House You’ll Ever See?
We believe everyone deserves a space that will make them feel comfortable. Our goal is to help you create and... Read More
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I built a treehouse when I was a kid with some friends, suspending it between two trees on 2X4's top and bottom, with a trap door on the roof to get in. It was a really cool treehouse until some other kids found it and chopped one of the trees down one night...
That is sad that someone chopped down one of the trees!
Using leftover wood from a deck project, a couple built the two very popular forts seen here. In fact, the backyard area has been such a success that word got around in the neighborhood, and all the local kids show up to play there now.