Treehouse or Deck?

I guess this is technically a deck, because A), it is not an enclosed structure, and B) it is not supported by the tree in any way. In fact, there is no attachment by way of any screw or nail penetrating the tree. The spool table for instance, is attached to the trunk via a large adjustable clamp made from 2x4's and all-thread bolts. But back to my original point...We're still calling this The Tree House.

Some have asked why the flat panels in the front and back? Since this treehouse is all about view, I wanted a railing that would be open and compliment the horizon, but every treehouse/fort needs a parapet to avoid the possible onslaught from Super-Soakers and water balloons.

This thing's crazy strong. About 10 feet up at the lowest corner, but no wiggle when you're up there. I painted the posts and the bracing underneath a darker color so that they blend in with the surrounding foliage. From down the street it looks like the Mothership hovering in the trees.

Did I mention we built this from 99% re-used lumber? Even a lot of the paint and hardware is leftover from other projects. The final colors, the white and light gray of the deck match the house below.

We terraced the slope with old railroad ties. It also helps create paths and adds dimension to the play area underneath.

For what it's worth, here's the original, unfinished design...

And in my real life...

Here's a novel way to make the most of bathroom storage. This client wanted a place to put their scale when not in use.

I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this, but I haven't seen it done before.

The drawer is discretely hidden in the toe-kick, and uses a special drawer slide that opens when you push it, so that you don't need to reach under the toe kick, or attach a visible pull.

This seems like as good a time as any to mention the fact that for several months I've been secretly inserting links to songs via Youtube in my text. Sometimes the links are more obvious than others. Just scroll over the text and you're bound to find something (like right here).

I try to find songs that have some connection to my blog, and usually it's just some kind of bad pun. As many of you know, I have thousands of records, which I actually listen to, and have done a pretty good job of subconsciously cataloging. One of the side effects of this is that at any given moment, whatever kind of input the world is giving me, my brain is pulling up a lyric or song title. I have to resist turning every word into a different link.

Anyhow, good look on your search...