Tree Talk Blog

These lovely photos of our clients’ treehouses are inspiring. How do you move from inspiration into the practical process of building your own tree-based sanctuary? First, consider where might be the right spot for your treehouse.

Adam Laufer, World Treehouses of Asheville, NC’s owner and lead builder, recommends that you walk your land and consider a few things. “Get a sense of your property. If this treehouse will be an addition to existing buildings or part of a larger building project, consider how close you want your treehouse to be to your main house or structures. More important than that, if you’re going to spend the time, energy and effort to build a treehouse, find that most magical place on your property that will help you reconnect to nature and inner peace in a way that you’ve always dreamed of. Are there medium or large hardwood trees there? That might just be the perfect spot.”

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In our recently completed treehouse project, a Japanese-inspired structure that we call Shinrin-Yoku, the vertical support of the lovingly handmade staircase is a maple that grew leaning up against one of the chestnut oaks that support the structure. Since the maple tree had to be cut away, the World Treehouses team honored this beautiful tree by meticulously debarking it and then installing it as the strong column supporting the ladder to the upstairs bedroom. It is a centerpiece for the treehouse’s main floor.

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“The trees give me so much inspiration. When I’m up in the trees, being in their canopy is so amazing. I just want to share that with people. Being in the trees, in a sense, is approaching the unknown. They are alive and present. They are wise in ways that we are not. It’s so helpful and healing to return again and again, settle into their branches, and experience them in this way.” —Adam Laufer, owner and lead builder

Majestically perched in the forest sits Shinrin-Yoku, an entirely hand-crafted timber frame treehouse. This retreat is enjoyed through all the seasons by a local family who hired us to create their dream in the trees. The World Treehouses team works directly with the landowners to design and build a custom one-of-a-kind sanctuary amidst the treetops.

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“The forest is not a resource for us, it is life itself. It is the only place for us to live.” An indigenous man said that, and it’s also how we feel. Don’t you?

If you’re longing to live closer to the vitality and serenity of the forest, come inside for a retreat that’s also an adventure! The living room of Shinrin-yoku treehouse is filled with light from windows everywhere that connect you with the magical beauty of the surrounding natural world. Both inside and out, the forest is the masterpiece showcased here.

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Where will you go to rest and reflect, as time moves us forward into the great stillness of winter? A forest retreat calls you to live the simple life while immersing yourself in the song of the trees.

That feeling of immersion in nature is the inspiration for the many windows on all sides of Shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing”), the custom treehouse sanctuary that our tree house team decked out in siding made from western red cedar stained with linseed oil and multiple baths of iron oxide. The old-style craftsman joinery of this rustic-luxe timber-framed tree house was painstakingly created to honor the inner beauty of the trees and the profound serenity of the forest. Two strong chestnut oak trees provide its foundation: a true tree house is entirely suspended in the trees themselves.

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Stepping into our Shinrin-yoku tree house near Asheville, NC, you touch the beauty of nature and walk in the footsteps of those who came before us.

This gorgeous, weathered floor has already been crossed by many feet. These boards are reclaimed antique pine flooring from a grain mill that was owned by Susan B Anthony’s uncle. This is just one example of the carefully planned details of this nourishing treehouse retreat hidden away in the Asheville forest.

The doors and the wall paneling are all made from beautiful, variegated tulip poplar wood. Tall tulip poplars, along with oaks, maples and other hardwoods, fill the Appalachian forests surrounding this entirely tree-suspended tree house.

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“To be in the canopy of the trees is such an amazing experience. I just want to share that with people.” —Adam Laufer

Adam Laufer owns Asheville, North Carolina-based World Treehouses. Here, he and his wife and partner, Erin, show off one of their team’s latest creations: Shinrin-yoku, a timber-framed, fully tree-suspended treehouse.

This time of year, you'll want to snuggle up in your very own treehouse that will keep you cozy as silky snowflakes fall outside in the winter forest. Are you ready for your own sanctuary on your wooded property? World Treehouses team builds custom, rustic/luxe treehouses, tree platforms, rope and suspension bridges, and other tree-centered projects in and around Asheville, North Carolina.

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Paradise (n.): walled garden, orchard, place of bliss

Just imagine… The week has been discouraging or overly busy, and you’re craving your own time, your own space, and the quiet remedy that only Nature can bring. You walk out of your office, out of your house, down the hill into your forest and onto a secret trail that meanders onto a wooden bridge. As you cross the bridge into the trees and feel their gentle sway, hear their serene voices, your troubles melt away. Whether you spend an evening or the whole weekend, you can count on the best kind of escape into the embrace of the forest in your very own tree house paradise…

The cozy living room of Shinrin-Yoku, our latest completed timber frame treehouse is a just such a getaway. When you and your loved ones escape into the natural world, it changes you, and you bring that change back out into your dealings in the world of other human beings.

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Imagine yourself on this bench! As the world with all of its complexity goes by, you can live the simple life, immersed in your very own forest retreat, watching the seasons unfold from your treehouse deck.

Enjoy your treehouse dreaming as you view this brand new photo of Shinrin-yoku, a custom treehouse sanctuary clothed in siding made from western red cedar that is stained with linseed oil and iron oxide.

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Who needs to travel when you can enjoy a four-season vacation retreat like this on your own land...either on your forested acreage or just outside your door? This small woodstove provides heat and comfort for the cooler autumn and winter nights in Shinrin-yoku, our recently completed custom timber frame treehouse. The steel log burner in the living area of this rustic-luxe treehouse keeps this small, entirely tree-suspended retreat warm when the temperature drops.

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Do forest fairies live here? Or forest spirits, the Naiads, or mountain nymphs, the Oreads from Greek mythology? Nestled in between two trees in the forest sits Shinrin-yoku, our latest completed tree house project hidden somewhere in the forest surrounding Asheville, NC.

Suspended entirely in two healthy oak trees, this is one of the very few true tree houses in the Asheville, NC area. A true treehouse is entirely suspended in the trees themselves, and the feeling of being in one of these airborne structures is like nothing else!

This retreat for a local family is an excellent example of the work of World Treehouses of Asheville, NC, since we are known for our fine custom craftsmanship and our extra care and engineering to ensure that the trees are healthy and happy with the new home suspended in their branches.

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Walking into our recently completed Shinrin-yoku tree house near Asheville, NC, you are touching the beauty of nature and walking in the footsteps of those who came before us.

This gorgeous, weathered floor has already been crossed by many feet. These boards are reclaimed pine flooring from an old grain mill owned by Susan B Anthony’s uncle.

The two doors and the wall paneling are all made from beautiful, variegated tulip poplar wood. Tall tulip poplars, along with oaks, maples and other hardwoods, fill the Appalachian forests surrounding this entirely tree-suspended tree house.

Read More