Austin Tree Houses

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Arts and Crafts Tree House

In 1940, as a tribute to the Arts and Crafts era of the mid-19th century, a home was constructed on a magnificent tract along the Colorado river in Austin, TX. The current owners imagined a family treehouse matching the main house architecture they fell in love with. Using a wise old pecan tree as its focal point, we created a new treehouse structure with a century-old esthetic. Oh, and we managed some modern touches like a sky-high railed platform perch that sports a 120ft zipline.

We’ve all needed some support from our elders. In this case, a great-grandparent of a pecan tree helped give us some needed strength. We supported the Treehouse for Christmas surprise by constructing a 16ft enclosure to hide the gift from the kids.
We wanted to allow the treehouse structure to contour to the pecan tree and not the other way around making the joining of new and old seamless.
The Arts and Crafts era railing was done to exactly replicate the deck railing of the main house. As we began creating the railings, we soon discovered that the terms art and craft are quite literal. But the complex end product was a stunning addition.
The Arts and Crafts style also extends to the treehouse sides. The roofline is low pitched with wide enclosed eave overhangs. The windows set in multiple assemblies. We were asked to build an Arts and Crafts treehouse, and we did.
Once the treehouse exterior was nearly complete, we took some mature cedar trees from the property and made precise cuts to create natural support beams. These replaced the temporary supports adding the rustic look and feel we wanted.