Treehouses for Kids and Adults

This "egg in a tree" hidden on crown land in the woods of Whistler, Canada is called The HemLoft. Built by Joel Allen and his fiancée Heidi using mostly free materials (including $10,000 worth of scraps scored from Craigslist), The HemLoft was secret until it was revealed to the world in Dwell Magazine. In 2013, Allen announced that he'd be posting the HemLoft's materials as a "disassembled DIY package" for someone else to use in Whistler's free section of Craigslist, making the project come full circle.

This crooked Shanty Treehouse from North London's High Life Treehouses Ltd. has a playful, storybook look (not unlike the Berenstain Bears treehouse). While the firm also makes "hobbit holes," wooden play structures and treehouses for adults, this two-level treehouse is the perfect escape for kids.

Architect Charles Greenwood of Greenwood Engineering built his 700-square-foot treehouse home in 2006. With years of know-how from building treehouses for others under his belt, he added thoughtful and structurally-sound details like support poles and flexible joints to compensate for the natural motion of the trees in the wind.

This Oakland, Calif. treehouse by Nelson Chan of 2Chan Design is the turf of a 6-year-old named Loula, but its wraparound deck, built-in bench and skylights make it a favorite spot for adults to hang out, too.