Below are some of my favorite treehouse photos. I love treehouses. As a kid, I had one that my father built that was simple, yet splendid, and wedged between two ample trees. It had two windows and a door and a handmade wooden ladder. I can still remember the woody, earthy smell of it. (I regret that I don’t have any photographs of it to share, but I did pull a few images from Google.)
Today, I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains in a house that has an amazing back porch overlooking the forest that many guests say reminds them of an elaborate treehouse. So this post, instead of being about writing and creativity, is in honor of houses in trees and treehouse photos.
Did you have a treehouse as a kid? Which is your favorite of these images? As always, I’d love to hear from you.
P.S. I am an ex-shrink who writes novels. Check out my books here.
No, I never had one, but I’ve always been fascinated by them. I have several books of them, and I dream of having/building one. At the moment, we live in rowhome in a city, which doesn’t lend itself to treehouses, but maybe one day…
Thanks for commenting, Scout. I hope you have that treehouse someday, too. Or maybe your kids or grandkids will share some day. 🙂
And from my lovely facebook friends:
Carolyn wrote: “I always wanted a tree house, but the apple tree in our garden was old and not really suitable. I did have a swing on it though. I can remember the tree quite clearly – another character from my childhood, though one who did not speak or reprimand, and only taught me lessons I needed to learn (bark scraped knees, blossom, fruit, falling out of…)”
Ulla wrote: “No, I didn’t but wish I had. We built snowhouses instead!”
And from one of my fabulous email subscribers:
“The tree houses shown seem more like tree mansions compared to mine. There was one large tree in our backyard, and I nailed some planks on the trunk to use as a ladder to my tree house. It was really just a platform. I rigged a rope to haul up my books. There was enough foilage that it felt private. It got a lot of use in my grade school days back in the fifties. Thanks for the memories you evoked.
By the way, I just reread “Seeking Sara Summers.” It really is a lovely book. The story would have touched me no matter where it was set but you described the beauty of Florence and Tuscany just as I remember it.
Thank you,
Barbara”
Hi Barbara,
I think we could have been friends when we were girls. I love the image of you hauling your books up to read and loving the privacy. I’m also happy to hear that you reread SSS. I’ve heard that from several people. It is a supreme compliment to a writer and I greatly appreciate it.
Thank you for being in touch!
All the best,
Susan
Another fabulous email subscriber writes:
“WOW, I love them all ! I did have a tree house as a little girl. My Grandfather built it. I also built forts and castles out of heavy cardboard boxes, and later on, out of blankets and tent tarpaulin. Those were the good old days. Thanks for reminding me of them.
All the Best, T.”
Yet another amazing email subscriber writes:
“Hi Susan,
Love your tree house blog…it’s wonderful….#7 is definitely my favorite….do you know there is a tree house bed and breakfast down in the Waipio Valley on Hawaii…I didn’t see it when I was down there, but the valley is increibly beautiful, with a black sand beach on the waterside….in fact, it’s where the closing scenes of the movie Waterworld were filmed. — Diana”
I love hearing from everyone. It seems this whole treehouse thing struck a chord. I am sitting at my desk now, overlooking hundreds of trees and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background (that’s part of the southern Appalachians in the US, if anyone’s interested). Thanks again for responding!