I always wanted a tree house as a kid and while I never got one of my own, there were some really cool wooded areas by my house with quite a few tree houses but most were run-down and abandoned. THESE, however, completely trump any of the ones I’ve ever laid eyes on. I WISH I had something like one of these to play in when I was younger! Hit the jump to see them all!

Marisa Mendez


Architect, artist, magician, Robert Harvey Oshatz is all of that and so much more. He is the organic architect responsible for this magnificent home up in the canopy; the coolest house in the trees that you will likely ever see. The unique Wilkinson Residence graces the wooded landscape outside of Portland, Oregon. This treehouse would turn even the Swiss Family Robinson green with envy. More than likely you too will have a more than a twinge of desire to live in it. (Link | Via)

We’re no strangers to Germany’s tree house makers extraordinaire Baumraum, so when we saw another brilliant arboreal home design from them, we knew we had to share it with you! The house resides at World of Living , a showspace/amusement park for sustainable housing company WeberHaus and greets visitors with its curvy body perched atop super skinny spider-like “legs”. The unusual shape and clean lines are Baumraum’s signature, and there are a lot of other cool features, so check them all out in our slide show. (Link | Via)

Japanese professor of architecture Terunobu Fujimori built his boyhood dream in his father’s garden in 2004. It’s a teahouse on stilt. (Link | Via)

The Naha Harbor Diner in Okinawa, Japan, lies at the very top of a huge Gajumaru tree about 20 feet above the ground. Sadly, that is not a real Gajumaru tree, it’s actually concrete. Customers actually have to get in an elevator inside the trunk to reach the restaurant. (Link)

The Yellow Tree House by Pacific Environment Architects is built around a redwood tree, which is over 40m high and has a 1.7m diameter at its base, located north of Auckland, New Zealand. The structure is made of plantation poplar slats and used extensive natural lighting throughout. The tree house restaurant was built as a marketing promotion for New Zealand Yellow Pages.

The concept of building a tree house on a redwood tree was quite challenging and required a range of consultants to get resources and building consent, and to get construction underway in the limited time of four months. The design is an organic oval form wrapped around the trunk and structurally tied up top and bottom, with a circular arrangement, split apart on the axis with a raised floor portion. The timber binding forms basis of the main structure. Glue-laminated plantation poplar pine has been used for the slats. It is around 10m wide and over 12m high with seating 10m off the ground. The kitchen and toilets are on the ground. It has the capacity to occupy 18 people with all the comforts such as bar, structural soundness, and unobstructed views into the valley. (Link | Via)

This treehouse by Japanese builder Kobayahsi Takashi was constructed with the express purpose of communicating with outer space. “A sparkling beacon among treetops, it is easy to imagine the dome succeeding at its mission to make contact with alien life,” writes Nelson. (Link)

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