It is every kid's dream when they are young to have an amazing tree house in their backyard. Somewhere where they can have secret meetings with friends, battle imaginary villains or have a No Boys Allowed Club. Maybe you were lucky enough to have a tree house when you were young and maybe you didn't. Regardless, architects have come up with some incredible tree house designs that will make everyone - even adults - want to fulfill that dream and live in the trees. From invisible tree houses to space age eco-friendly designs to homes on stilts, imagination is the only limitation when it comes to these unique dwellings.
Some of the coolest tree houses out there are called Free Spirit Spheres. These little houses were designed to blend in and harmonize with the forest around them. The spheres are eco-friendly, all wooden and constructed much like a canoe. They are suspended from the tree tops like a sail from the mast on a boat. Each sphere is accessible by a spiral staircase that comes down around the tree and a small suspension bridge. There is a surprising amount of amenities within each sphere. Each one contains a double bed, 2 small windows, a settee with table and a galley kitchen with cupboards, sink, microwave and refrigerator.
Another sustainable yet amazing tree house design comes from Japan and is called the 4Treehouse. This house is designed to fit right in to a natural environment and is built around 4 trees, using them like stilts. It looks like a giant paper lantern and rises 3 stories in to the forest. The walls all have varying levels of transparency letting light in and out making it quite a sight in the darkness. Even though the house is 3 stories, it is only 420 square feet. In order to enter and exit the house, there is a staircase on casters that sways with the house and trees, allowing movement regardless of how much the house is swaying. The bottom floor of the home is almost completely protected from the outside elements and opens up the higher you go. The top floor is an enclosed patio with only the sky for a ceiling.
It may seem an impossibility to build an invisible house but that is exactly what architects did in Sweden. They created a "Treehotel" made out of a type of mirrored material that makes the walls disappear into the surroundings. The tree house is a 4 meter glass cube that is virtually undetectable to the eye without close scrutiny. Everything in the forest reflects off the walls of the tree house - the clouds, the sun, birds and trees. Many critics were concerned about birds crashing in to the house while flying through the forest but the architects have taken care of this as well. They applied a film to the glass that is visible to birds to help avoid crashes. The cubes are made of sustainable wood, have heated floors and even an incineration toilet.
Today, through the marvels of modern technology and the deep imaginations of some daring architects, tree houses aren't just for kids anymore. They really are catching on in popularity and there are even tree house resorts popping up around the globe. You can have a truly unique, eco-friendly vacation in nature by visiting one of these tree houses. It is guaranteed to be unlike anything you have experienced before.
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