When I was a kid, in the late eighties, I decided to sleep outside for the whole summer. My dad and I had built a tree fort in the magnolia tree in the back yard and it was perfect. I had a little rechargeable light with a clamp on it and I would read until it got too dim and then go to sleep. It was so nice, I lived in that fort for closer to six months.

When my kid started getting to that age, I wanted to do something similar for them. That feeling of being up in the tree was so safe and secure but we didn’t have any suitable trees on our property. So, with the help of good friends, I built this fort on 4x6” redwood posts. Like many of my projects, it’s about 90% finished.

It features windows from a place called Urban Ore that sells (among other things) used construction materials. Once I had those, I designed the rest around them. I had never done this type of framing work before but it was easier than I thought it would be. The door is double hinged so you can open one leaf, or both. The whole thing is clad in cedar siding and has a clear roof. Sitting above the house, it has a great view of the neighborhood below.