In the woods behind my parents’ house stood a horse chestnut with a perfectly bowed bough. My older brothers pulled some wooden boards into the tree and lashed them together to build a treehouse. Being the most cowardly of children when it came to heights, I never made it up there. Instead the younger siblings made our little houses on the ground. The pillow fort was our forte. We used pillows, sheets, and blankets of course, but also couches, the dining room table, clothesline, mattresses, bunk beds, a roll top writing desk – furniture around the house was rigorously assessed and evaluated. Whatever we could lay our hands on was repurposed in pursuit of the perfect den.
Whether treehouse, pillow fort or playhouse, the child in all of us is drawn to miniaturized spaces. So here’s to the tiny house, in all its forms. Let’s take a look at some examples from around the web.
Treehouse
There are many inspiring and spectacular examples of treehouses around the web. For straightforward and comprehensive instructions on making your own wooden shack in the sky, look at these examples from DIY Network and Popular Mechanics.
My brothers never fell and cracked a limb, but each year there are 2,800 accident and emergency visits associated with treehouses in the US alone! Find guidelines on ensuring treehouse safety here.
Playhouse
Playhouses also come in many different shapes and sizes from the hip and modern to the sweet and traditional to the frankly jaw dropping.
Find step by step instructions to create your own playhouse here.
For something a little less involved, and a whole lot more portable, check out IKEA’s CIRKUSTÄLT, a brightly hued circular tent available in China for RMB 149.
Pillow Fort
Get inspired by this amazing pinterest board or this tongue-in-cheek post from buzzfeed. Then follow this how-to guides.
The New York Times even consulted architects for its piece on pillow forts which you can check out here.
Bonus: Tiny Houses
Some grown-ups take their love of tiny all the way, and move to a much reduced floor plan. The tiny house movement is about conservation and reduced consumption. But for such worthy goals the results can be beautiful. Find Lilliputian furnishings here.
Photos courtesy of flickr.com
