We can't remember seeing a tree house we haven't liked. Even the one our dad built us in the 80's, it could only hold two kids at a time but we thought it was the best. Now, having grown up, our tastes have matured but our interests in tree houses have only grown stronger.
Baumraum is a team of German based architects, landscape designers, tree experts and craftsmen who build individual houses based on the needs of each client. We love the simplistic design that makes us think that maybe we could construct one of these in our own backyard. Along with the reliability of a sturdy tree, many of these tree houses are held up by cables. However, if trees are not abundant in your yard, they can always be stabilized by a group of beams/stilts and secured to the ground.
(photos: Baumraum)
5 Online Services to Save Yourself a Trip to IKEA
Nikki’s Sweet and Cheery Print Studio
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Sprout Side Table
5 Things Paris Taught Me About Travel
Recipe: Ham, Cheddar & Chive Egg Bakes
I want a treehouse!
Oh man, add that to my dream home features list.
my childhood fantasy. But, I need to keep dreaming as I can' t afford something like this.
those crazy germans...they sure know how to build a treehouse!
#1 appears to be the answer to
"What do you get when you cross an Airstream with a Treehouse?"
I like.
I need a treehouse. If I had a treehouse, I would need nothing.
Honestly, I could say the same thing, Rosenatti. It's amazing how we adapt our lives to fit our stuff rather than the other way around. I really, truly believe I could live in a space this small if I had to. Of course, without a kitchen I'd have to forage for berries in the woods and then I would get scraped up and dirty and want a bathtub to clean up in.
AMAZING!!! this, is my dream home.
Perfect!
Those are pretty cool, interesting constructions, but they are NOT treehouses. They are little cabins on stilts. The idea, and the challenge of a true treehouse, in my humble opinion, is that they are, um, built in trees.
A true treehouse has to accomodate for movement. Trees grow, which is a long term problem that the treehouse will never face if you don't plan for the more short term problem that they move in the wind with tremendous force. Trees are like sails attached to long heavy levers--and to account for that is much more difficult than you might imagine. A tree in moderate wind can rip a 3/4 inch galvanized bolt in half if the treehouse isn't engineered properly.
The other challenge is building the environment piece by piece in a tree or trees. Any joker can build a clever liitle cabin in a woodshop and then hoist it up on stilts, but to build a real treehouse out in the woods involves a few cases of poison ivy, tons of tick bites, literally almost killing yourself a few times and most importantly the insane desire to build a TREEhouse. Not some yacht that doesn't float.
This would make a lovely and fun little backyard guest house!