Product Description

Treehouses bring out the child in all of us. Serving as private retreats, guest houses, or play spaces for family and friends, these enchanting arboreal constructions lift our spirits, inspire our dreams, and offer the promise of freedom from adult worries. In this magical volume, Pete Nelson, a leading authority on treehouse design and the author of three previous books on the subject that have sold more than 200,000 copies, takes us on a fascinating around-the-world journey to discover how treehouses are designed, built, and enjoyed in a wide variety of cultures.

More than 35 treehouses are shown in 250 beautiful color images, from locations in China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Italy, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, France, and elsewhere, all photographed especially for this book. Nelson, whose frequent appearances on Oprah and Good Morning America and in newspaper and magazine features have helped to spur the soaring popularity of the treehouse, also describes in detail the process of creating-for "kids" both young and old-a fun, safe, and environmentally responsible sanctuary in a tree. AUTHOR BIO: Pete Nelson is the author of three previous books on treehouses. He is also principal of Treehouse Workshop, Inc., a treehouse design and construction business in Seattle, and the president of his own residential design and construction firm based in Fall City, Washington.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #149322 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
A principal of the Seattle-based construction company Treehouse Workshop and the author of three previous treehouse books, Nelson can safely be said to be solidly grounded in his knowledge of the subject; he presents everything from elevated basic wooden shelters to California-style ranches to turreted abodes resembling that of Pip's friend Wemmick in Great Expectations—fanciful and Victorian. The 250 full-color photos from Kurzaj (The Abrams Guide to American Houses) show great sympathy and felicity of composition, invitingly maximizing the natural settings. While the title promises diversity, about half of the houses are in the United States (with a West Coast majority built by Nelson), a quarter or so in Europe and most of the rest in Japan. And materials and location do dictate a certain uniformity—the houses are not as different on first and second look as one would expect. But Nelson's knowledgeability about modes of design and construction come through in colloquial, first-person text that includes short bios of the various houses' part-time inhabitants, and, if he did the building, Nelson's role in making them happen. The lovely photos and thoughtful layout complete the feel of climbing up to an alternative aerial domicile as one turns the pages.
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About the Author
Pete Nelson is the author of three previous books on treehouses. He is also principal of Treehouse Workshop, Inc., a treehouse design and construction business in Seattle, and the president of his own residential design and construction firm based in Fall City, Washington.

Customer Reviews

Gorgeous treehouses
A lovely book. Beautiful treehouses, beautifully photographed. A coffee table book, you should look to it for design ideas, rather than step-by-step howtos. Makes me eager to build me a treehouse of my own.

Your Private tour of the world's most interesting treehouses
The thing that stands out in my mind after an enjoyable rainy afternoon with this book is the wide variety of treehouses featured. We are treated to a tour of every kind of treehouse from lovely professionally decorated mini-homes, to home-made flights of fancy. Refreshingly inclusive; Peter Nelson knows that wonderful ideas and inspiration can come from the humble backyard, not just the professional drafting table. Peter Nelson shows us in his other books how to safely build a treehouse; this book shows us how far dreaming can go. Is that a Spanish Galleon in the trees??? A huge nest???

Treehouse fantasies
This is a remarkably beautiful book on treehouses of the world. The photography is exceptional and the engaging narrative is irrestible.
Rarely does one find a book that "glows" from beginning to end as does this one. I bought several for gifts to like-minded friends who like to get high legally.