Tree-house Chic: Climb into My Parlor

Tree houses were once just fun backyard play spaces for kids. But these days, it's grownups who are living out their Swiss Family Robinson fantasies. "People come to us wanting one for their kids. By the end, the tree house has a martini deck," says Anna Daeuble of Seattle's TreeHouse Workshop. Those who build long-awaited nooks are equipping them with windows, electricity and insulation. The annual World Treehouse Conference offers construction classes. David Pearson, author of Treehouses (Chelsea Green) says, "In this very stressful age, building a tree house connects people back to nature in a simple way." Bill Moloney of Maplewood, N.J., agrees. This summer the father of three will finish his three-year project, which was begun for the kids but now is two stories high and features a sleeping loft requested by his wife. "I've loved every minute of building it," he says. "There's just a whimsical and magical quality about being up in a tree."