If you have children, like I do, then you know how much they enjoy having small spaces to call their own. Treehouses (whether you have trees or not) make the perfect hideaway for your little climbers looking for a place to stash their findings and entertain their friends. In a world of technology and video games, tree houses are the perfect creation for the imagination to abound.
My boys have been begging me for years to put one in, and exploring treehouse ideas has been a fun pastime we can enjoy together to put together all the specifications each child would like to see included. Depending on your budget, and the area you have available, and the tools at hand, you can customize your own design to create a lofty aerie either big or small. Read on for some pretty cool ideas you can incorporate into your own plans.
Tree House Ideas
Secret Passwords
You don’t need trees in order to have a ‘treehouse’. Anything built above the ground will be cherished by your children for play over years to come, and this fort like structure is just waiting for your little ones to create their own passwords.
Roundhouse Overlook
Kids will love being able to check out their ‘kingdom’ from lofty heights to survey who, or what, is approaching their fortress. The thatch rooftop adds fun interest and detail to the overall design, and gives the whole build a wild appeal.
Camouflage
Simple plans can create complicated dreams when your kids see what is hiding away in the woods- just waiting for their imagination. A trip to your local hardware store can have you started on this lifted aerie complete with lookout tower in no time.
Traveling Hideaway
If you like to travel, this easy to transport tree hideaway is the perfect place to tuck your kids away in no matter where you decide to set up camp. Able to hold up to 500 lbs, even you can join in the fun for afternoon book reading forays or even a place to take a quick catnap!
Lounging Deck
What treehouse is complete without a spacious deck? Decks can be used as a lookout, pirate ship deck, or anything else your kid’s imaginations can come up with! Decks don’t take much extra effort to add onto existing treehouse plans, and help provide a finished look to your design.
Second Home
This spacious treetop accommodation is the perfect place to host summertime sleepovers and campouts. Situated high above the trees you can catch the nighttime breezes and teach your kids about the constellations high above the ground.
Upwards and Onwards
Strong, deeply rooted poles can serve as the perfect support for a multi level living area your children will love to clamor about within. Spiraling staircases and various platforms to take a break upon take this treehouse to new heights.
Going Up!
This treetop house is easily accessible via a stairway built up and through the trees. From here you can check out the surrounding vista and watch for approaching friends and foe!
In the Trees
Although not too high, this treehouse meets a perfect compromise between a lofty elevation amongst the trees without a treetop view. Perfect for children, the simple staricase and fun platform with a tall, three rail deck makes it fun for all ages.
Window View
This homemade tree house is the perfect small hideaway for all children, big or small. Outfitted with a viewing window, adventures can abound in such a space, and are perfect to keep your little ones busy for hours at a time.
Hexagonal Housing
One good sturdy tree is all you really need to create a home above the ground. Well balanced supports that create a bracing system helps keep this 6-sided playroom sturdy and useful.
Treehouse Wonderland
If you are going to go big, you might as well go bigger. This awesome playground above the ground takes advantage of the twists and turns of a centuries old tree, and the strong bracing branches. Multiple stairways and additional supports helps keep it all balanced.
Castle Heights
If you already have a second story balcony or deck, you might as well take advantage of it and add in a super cool walkway to your lofty treehouse. This castle in the sky provides the perfect design to use with swaying rope bridges and other fun ropes course additions.
Stacked Stairs
Multiple stories adorn this house that takes advantage of multiple trees and their twisting, winding ways. Multiple stairways help the little legs of your children climb to the heights they choose to hideaway and watch for approaching mommies with milk and cookies.
Arrrr Matey!
These simple instructions can help you get started on a one room treehouse that will have your little ones clamoring with joy. Although you can decorate with any theme you choose, some cool decor picks and the Jolly Roger will have imaginations running wild.
Small Scale
Not all treehouses are for humans! Your garden fairies will thank you for the fun, creative way to hang out and watch over your flowers by day and night. Step by step guides will have your new addition installed in no time.
Platform Playground
Some treehouses don’t need much in the way of housing, but the lofty, above ground space is all your children want to spread out in an alternative ‘playroom’. These large platforms also provide you with ways to incorporate slides, rope ladders, swings, and other fun playground ideas into the design.
Double Duty
This cool camouflage tree house can serve double duty to your family members. Fun and exciting for your kids through the year, it also serves as an excellent tree stand come hunting season in those areas that allow hunting in such a manner.
Teardrop Tree Tents
I honestly cannot get enough of these tree tent designs and think they are one of the best inventions ever. Awesome for kids and adults alike, they are easy to hang from any sturdy support and pack away nicely when not in use.
Pallet Tree House Ideas
A trip to the lumberyard can sometimes get a little pricey, but good, treated wood can be had for little to no cost if you are willing to put in some extra work. Pallets are sometimes sold, or even simply thrown out, after their usefulness has passed. You can often get a load of them for next to nothing, and armed with a crowbar and some sandpaper can turn the wood into useful, quality pieces that can be utilized almost anywhere.
Perfect Placement
These trees look as if they were planted specifically for this purpose and provide the perfect placement for a high rise lookout that would be the envy of all your childhood guests.
Reused Perfection
The recycled wood used to create this perfectly tucked away room within the woods cost very little, and provides the perfect rustic touch. A green shingled roof helps it to blend into the surroundings, as if it grew from the forest floor itself.
Inspired
A tall tree trunk with a stairway built into it inspired this lifted deck like, tree deck canopy. Perfect for entertaining, or lounging about, the unique design was an idea too good to pass up.
Small Treehouse Idea
Any DIY idea is a good idea. This child’s playhouse is no exception and works well when built into your existing trees, or as a stand alone within your yard. The materials for the playground equipment is easily found online too, so you can customize the experience for the ages of your children.
Wooden Walls
This open air design is another that is simple, and can utilize an existing tree, or serve as a standalone if you are lacking in the proper stable structure growing in your yard.
Treetop Hideaway
This complicated architectural wonder isn’t overly large, but definitely makes a pretty big impact. Stained, wooden siding creates a natural look within the tree canopy, with a cozy interior perfect for year round comfort.
Cottage in the Sky
This cool little design is a great one to include within your tree line as a great escape for everyone from the young to the old. Just big enough for a place to lounge about and a few shelves or bookcases for belongings, the long windows provide you plenty of light, and a deck to take advantage of to boot.
Eclectic Appeal
You don’t need to get too fancy, or complicated with your designs to build a functional, sturdy, and fun treehouse your kid will go crazy over. This durable build opens up endless possibilities for hours of fun.
Modern Tree House Ideas
Tree houses have recently become a popular way to expand your square footage to include guest housing, play rooms, or a simple spare bedroom or studio. Because of this, many designs have become more modern in nature to include electric amenities, as well a plumbing and even wifi in some cases! No matter how detailed the architecture, they all have a whimsical decor to match the property, and other buildings, that may be present upon it.
Topsy Turvy
Can’t bring a baseball court into your space? No worries at all. With this nifty batting cages setup, you don’t have to worry about where you can swing your bat around. This is a great idea for high school aged kids who are either actively involved in baseball or just enjoy the sport in general. And hey, mom and dad can get in here, too! It’s a great stress reliever.
Mini-Me
If you are going to build, make it look like a mini extension of what you already have. Your kids can play house for years with a design like this, and if you live in a close neighborhood, nobody is going to complain about seeing this outside their windows.
Room With a View
This cool office space is exactly what anyone who works from home needs to get in the groove to work without distractions. It’s amazing how productive you can be when you aren’t considering what billion things also need to get done around the house.
Pod Life
Design our own home away from home with a tree pod that can provide you with plenty of room to hideaway in deep within your own forested enclave. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to your own personal room- after all it not everyday you see a suspended sphere in the woods.
Monkey Business
The meandering pathway through the trees provides plenty of opportunity to run and jump- and otherwise play for hours utilizing multiple trees for multiple adventures. If you have enough close set trees to create a similar situation, your kids will thank you!
Hobbit House
If I could move this into my backyard now I would and happily give the house over to the children so I could turn it into a studio. Pint sized and perfect, this is just a front to a longer playground like structure where fun will abound!
EcoPod
Any building you put up might as well serve double duty such as this ecopod that includes a greenhouse like effect for a warm interior come the colder months. The gardener I am also sees vegetative possibilities!
Nest Rest
Be one with nature and take a page from the birds who build their nests a teardrops under the branches of the trees they live within. These woven baskets are sturdy, and large enough to hold 2 adults comfortably within.
To the Trees!
Little airy lofts are exactly what all little boys (and girls) need in their lives. Just because you can get all decorative and creative doesn't mean the homemade designs you come up with have to be that elaborate. Sturdy, safe, and simple is all your child needs to have some fun above ground.
Tree House Ideas for Adults
Although many of the above ideas could easily be incorporated into an adult’s perfect backyard escape, some designs have been perfected for just that purpose. Afterall, why should kids get all the fun? As mentioned earlier, tree houses are popular for guest houses, offices, studios, or anything else you can dream of. I know I would look forward to entertaining with a wine bar in any of these designs.
Perfection
This little treehouse is move in ready, and am I a bad person for thinking it would be a perfect place for a mom-in-law to live? I know I want to move in!
Lake Overlook
What is a better way to watch the sun come up over the lake than being actually, over the lake? This cabin in the trees provides an amazing vista, and a deck to boot for year round entertainment!
Gardener’s Delight
If you are going to plant wisteria you know you have to provide a sturdy, and durable support as they can get quite heavy over time. If you already plan on creating a strong foundation for it to grow upon, why not turn it into a private outdoor room to take advantage of full beauty of the plant at any level?
Modern Marvel
Why make a separate tree house when you can make your house a part of the tree. This modern marvel includes their trees into their housing architecture to avoid having to cut them down for room to build.
Ready to Move In?
I don't know about you, but the list of ideas my boys and I have gleaned from these examples are practically endless. If they had their way we would have a forest full of treehouses, platforms, and suspension bridges to while awhile away the time. You don’t have to have a huge budget to create a treetop hideaway, nor do you need to make a architectural wonder in the clouds. Simple designs are often good enough for a child’s imagination, although #38 has me wanting to find a property overlooking a lake!
Which ideas were your favorite and where is your ideal tree house location? We’d love to hear your comments and questions below, and, as always, please share!