The Hunt

On the Hunt (Pic from Time Magazine)

We've decided we want to build a treehouse and we know the energy we want, but we don't quite have a lot.... The hunt begins.  There's some criteria to our madness:

1. The property must have lots of tree's and 1-2 particularly strong tree's
2. We'd like the property to be close enough so that we can take weekend getaways

With this in mind, we began to look towards the mountains of San Bernardino area (Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead area)  My parents had owned a vacation home in Lake Arrowhead so I was pretty familiar with the area which made the search a bit easier.  While looking for lots in the area, I made sure to make various phone calls to the city to see what we could and couldn't build.  I found the following obstacles:

1. If this was going to be the only structure on the lot, it would be considered a Single Family Residence (a home) and we would need to follow the building guidlines of a home... (this could get pricey)

2. We were NOT to tie a structure to the tree's... (this meant we we're going to have to get creative... attaching bridges to the tree's (instead of the home itself), having the tree run through the home, etc)

The Energy

My husband and I have always shared the love of the outdoors and family - the smell of the tree's, the brightness of the stars, our bare feet on the earth...  we're a puzzle piece in this fantastic world; constantly finding pieces and putting the puzzle together.  Will the puzzle ever be complete?  I feel each piece brings a sense of completeness, but there are always puzzle pieces being found that continue to grow the puzzle.  Our love for the outdoors resulted in countless camping trips, which later resulted in an alternative lifestyle.  After my husband and I got married we took a 9 month honeymoon around the world. Our Honeymoon Pics    Soon after we got back, we decided to live on a boat. Our Boat Pics 

Us on our Honeymoon

Both of these experiences continued to open our eyes to the rest of the world (how others live, what's important, a minimalist view - especially when there wasn't much space on a boat;)   We decided that we wanted the treehouse to be as eco friendly as possible - using recyled items, using the materials on our lot, using space savers, etc.

The thought of having this space for our famiy brought so many of our childhood memories to the surface; we began to chat about all the fun we had growing up in nature and how we wanted to continue that with our own family.  As you can imagine, we had begun the thought of having a baby;)  We wanted to share this love with our nephews/nieces, our own kids.... a place of love, joy, freedom, gathering.  We found it so interesting that even the most cynical poeple found this idea a fun one and it brought up much conversation.  Now, you should also know that I  am a Real Estate Investor and hearing the amount of joy this property (that wasn't even built) was bringing, got me thinking... when we weren't enjoying the treehouse, it could be a vacation rental; an experience we could share with others - and the return wasn't looking too bad either ;)

Back-story: After we moved off our boat and bought a house, I began the vacation rental of our boat (it went very well)  I continue to find that our generation is drawn towards alternative lifestyles; whether it be for fun or a permanent situation.  We look forward to sharing this project with others!

The Idea

Inspiration Photo

Welcome to the Lover's Treehouse Blog, where you can follow us as we build our treehouse from the ground up.  For the first couple months, I'll be posting 2-3 posts a week to catch you up on the process.  Enjoy!

The Idea:
     My husband and I met in our innocent years of 16 and fell hard for each other... we fell in love.  We felt anything was possible when we were together.

     After high school, my husband went to one college and I went to another.  Through our unique experiences in college we became closer; even when distance was a bit hard... At 24, we got hitched & took a 9 month honeymoon; we were able to get a peek into our wondrous world.  Feeling the sun on our face, the earth beneath our toes, and our hands intertwined ....anything is possible when we're together.

     After the honeymoon, we came back to California, bought a boat and lived on it.  Coming home to my husband, dinner on the water while the sun was setting & the sound of rain on the boat at night felt magical!  Now, now, this boat was no yacht; we're talking 28' Sailboat.  So you could imagine that after 1.5 years of living on the boat, we needed just a little more space.    Last year we bought our first home together and enjoy calling Long Beach home ....anything is possible when we're together.

     My husband was recently on a business trip in San Diego and I went to visit for a couple of days.  We were at the gaslamp district enjoying people watching, when we saw a double decker bus pass us by.  My husband started raving about the double decker and how we should live on a bus.  No surprise that we were both on board & so our creative juices began to flow...  Through our relationship a love for travel, family and being one with nature has been constant and so our Lover's Treehouse was born...anything is possible when we're together.