When I was a kid, one of the things I really wanted was a tree house. I seem to recall my dad insisting that the tree in the back-yard wasn’t big enough yet—I’ll remember that excuse for when I have my own kids—but now I that I have a real house, one in a tree doesn’t seem to have the same draw it used to, at least that was until I saw the beautiful tree spheres created by Canadian craftsman Tom Chudleigh.
Tom’s “Free Spirit Spheres” evolved when his original plan to build a boat didn’t pan out, and instead he put what was effectively the cabin up in a tree in his native British Columbia. Since completing the first prototype called Eve, which was made out of yellow cedar wood, Tom has perfected his techniques. Now, he also constructs the spheres out of fiberglass, fitting them with plumbing, wiring and the all-important windows. Folks with more money than I can buy their own, prices start at around US$45,000.
See freespiritspheres.com for more photos and information.