Treehouses: The Art and Craft of Living Out on a Limb

This book is 90% inspiration and 10% technical information. I don't think that there is enough information for someone wanting to build their own treehouse, but if you already have one of those books, then this one is a good companion for inspirational purposes.

In "Treehouses : The Art and Craft of Living Out on a Limb" Peter Nelson has come about as close as is possible to capturing the sheer joy of a treehouse in print. Through the use of beautiful photographs and ebullient prose he reveals the little kid in all of us that is just itching to climb a tree. He discusses the different forms that a treehouse can take: from a ramshackle affair built by children, to veritable mansions among the leaves. He also strives to capture what it is that makes a great treehouse; he seems to believe (and I agree) that a great treehouse isn't reflected so much in outer beauty, but in how it mirrors the essence of the tree itself.Which brings me to a final point: many of the other reviewers have expressed concern about the fate of the trees. Let me reassure them that Nelson, both in his sample designs, and in his own constructions, encourages (and even lauds) limiting the use of nails driven into the tree to the bare minimum. In fact, he goes so far as to posit a treehouse constructed with no nails driven into living wood as an ideal.This is a wonderful, engaging book. Anyone who has ever enjoyed climbing trees, or had a treehouse, or who wants to build a treehouse would do well to buy a copy. It is both an intriguing look at the architecture of these fanciful abodes, and a celebration of their spirit of freedom and escape.Enjoy!

As soon as we acquired our virgin woodland property, we dreamed of building a treehouse. After extensive searching (pre-internet days) we found this wonderful guide. Even tho we were novices, we could see the endless possibilities and proceeded with our own treehouse. It's now completed, and we are delighted with our success thanks to this guide! treesnakes

This book is a wonderful pictoral account of (primarily) adult tree houses. It is enchaning to read. It brings back memories and fuels dreams for the future. A must for any kid at heart who has ever dreamed of the Swiss Family treehouse. The sky is the limit.

This book is full of high quality photographs and drawings of many types of treehouses; whimsical, built-for-kids, a house in a tree, and even above-ground gazeebo types. This is an attractive book, suited for parusing and dreaming.