Treetop living is not just for children. These architect designed, nest like dwellings now found in forests across the world have become the ultimate sky high retreats from urban life. The allure is ancient. In his encyclopaedia Natural History (c. AD 77), Pliny the Elder recounts a tree so worthy to be deemed a marvel that the Roman statesman Licinius Mucianus once held a banquet in its branches. He even slept there, Pliny writes, receiving more delight from the agreeable sound of rain dropping through the foliage than gleaming marble, painted decorations or gilded panelling could have afforded. Since then, life among the leaves has repeatedly captured the imagination. Johann David Wyss’s The Swiss Family Robinson (1812) famously saw its shipwrecked family build a tree house on a desert island, while the Guingettes de Robinson arboreal dining experiences inspired by the novel emerged in 1848, drawing styl econscious Parisians up into thatched cabins high in the Trees.
1. Tree Tent by Tree Tents International Dalarna, Sweden (2016)
That tree tent at Tsetse Marcuse sounds absolutely magical! It’s fascinating how it blends into the natural environment, making it more of a "floating" experience rather than a traditional tree house. The choice of an aluminium and plywood frame wrapped in waterproof canvas gives it a modern yet organic aesthetic, allowing it to coexist with the trees without overpowering them. I love the idea behind it that it’s a customization space, letting people shape their own connection with nature, while being suspended amidst the trees for that immersive experience. Will em Terseness's quote really captures the essence of what makes being in nature feel transformation. It’s almost like you enter a different world when you're surrounded by trees, and the small shift of perspective can make everything feel fresher, quieter, and more alive. Being among trees is a reminder of the peace that nature brings, and that time slowing down feeling is something I think a lot of us yearn for in our modern, fast paced world.
That tree tent at Tsetse Marcuse sounds absolutely magical! It’s fascinating how it blends into the natural environment, making it more of a "floating" experience rather than a traditional tree house. The choice of an aluminium and plywood frame wrapped in waterproof canvas gives it a modern yet organic aesthetic, allowing it to coexist with the trees without overpowering them. I love the idea behind it that it’s a customization space, letting people shape their own connection with nature, while being suspended amidst the trees for that immersive experience. Will em Terseness's quote really captures the essence of what makes being in nature feel transformation. It’s almost like you enter a different world when you're surrounded by trees, and the small shift of perspective can make everything feel fresher, quieter, and more alive. Being among trees is a reminder of the peace that nature brings, and that time slowing down feeling is something I think a lot of us yearn for in our modern, fast paced world.
2. Loma Mar Tree House by Jay Nelson Studio California, USA (2020)
Jay Nelson’s redwood tree house sounds like the purest expression of that idea handcrafted furniture, portholes, a periscope all the details of a child’s imagination made real. It’s telling that it quickly became the envy of adults. What begins as a children’s refuge so often turns into a shared space where grown-ups rediscover play, wonder, and a slower rhythm of life. The addition of a second room for the parents feels almost inevitable a quiet admission that the freedom children feel up there is something adults miss. The observation about “provisional independence” is especially insightful. Tree houses offer children a first taste of autonomy close enough to safety, yet removed from the ground rules of everyday life. That’s why they fit so naturally with the Scout movement they encourage self-reliance, imagination, and a respectful relationship with nature. And for adults, as the book suggests, a tree house becomes an echo of formative freedom. It’s a return to a time when space felt limitless, time felt elastic, and adventure was just a ladder climb away. Whether it’s a rope hammock swaying high above the forest floor or a simple wooden platform between branches, tree houses reconnect us with that original sense of possibility the feeling that the world is bigger, kinder, and full of quiet places where we can simply be.
3. Bjarke Ingels Group, BIG Harads, Sweden (2022)
The Biosphere at Tree hotel is striking not just because it appears to float in the forest canopy, but because it deliberately blurs the boundary between human shelter and wildlife habitat. By embedding 350 birdhouses into its glassy facade, the structure becomes part architecture, part ecosystem a living response to habitat loss rather than a passive observation of nature. The involvement of an ornithologist underscores that this isn’t symbolic green design, but something carefully considered and functional. What’s especially compelling is the contrast: while birds, bats and bees are actively invited in, human guests are hardly roughing it. A sauna and walk able rooftop ensure that comfort and playfulness remain central, reinforcing the idea that sustainability doesn’t require austerity. Instead, it suggests a future where design can be generous to people and to wildlife.
4. Tree house at Bambu Indah by Ibuku Bali, Indonesia (2021)
In the rain forest of Bali's U bud District, surrounded by rice paddies, is a tree house shaped like a cluster of toadstools. The open air structure, including its walls and floors, is woven almost entirely from bamboo, the planet's fastest growing plant. Skewered by the banyan trees in which it is held, the basket like structure merges almost seamlessly into the jungle. The sharp angles of modern architecture have vanished, replaced by nature's gentle curves. The floors curl upward into sweeping walls, while the roof floats above the canopy, writes Seebeck, who describes it as a nest like space with no defined edges.
5. Tree house at Bambu Indah by Ibuku Bali, Indonesia (2021)
Hidden in the rain forest of Bali’s U bud District and encircled by emerald rice paddies, a tree house rises in the form of a cluster of toadstools. The open air structure its walls and floors woven almost entirely from bamboo, the fastest growing plant on Earth appears less built than grown. Skewered through the banyan trees that support it, the basket like form dissolves into the surrounding jungle. The sharp angles of modern architecture give way to nature’s soft curves. The floors curl upward into sweeping walls, while the roof floats above the canopy, writes Seebeck, describing the space as nest like, with no defined edges.
6. Woodnest by Helen & Hard Odda, Norway (2020 to 2023)
For some designers and daydreamers, the tree house is all about romance. Kjartan Arno wanted to propose to his girlfriend Sally, and resolved to build a tree house in which to do so. The simple 10 m high structure, accessed by a hair raising climb through its branches, became a vessel of happy memories, leading the couple to team up with architects Helen & Hard to create a more ambitious retreat: Wood nest. Hugging the narrow trunk of a pine tree so that it appears to stand on one leg and accessible this time by a bridge Wood nest sleeps four, and features a bath with breathtaking views of the Hard anger fjord.
7. The Trillium by Awakening Experiencias Yucatán, Mexico (2024)
Treetop living, however, need not forgo the occasional indulgence. The Trillium, for instance, comes complete with its own pool and Jacuzzi. Inspired by the three petaled flower from which it takes both name and form a traditional symbol of nature’s harmony the structure embodies balance as much as beauty. As Seebeck observes, it appears to have grown naturally from the landscape rather than being constructed. Handcrafted using traditional techniques, the Trillium incorporates local materials such as volcanic stone and chukum, a natural plaster made from Maya tree resin. Nature does not necessarily mean it’s untouched by humanity, says Awakening co founder Martin Woefuller in a video introducing the concept. It can be complemented by humanity, and we can integrate with nature in the best way possible.