Restain gives old playhouse new life.
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Our HMS Ontario Shipwreck project will eventually land at a New York Thruway rest stop near the site of the actual wreck. At the moment, the Ontario has entered the construction phase, where we fabricate all the components in our shop in Northern California. Above, we see Barbara and the skeleton of the shipwreck structure.
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On this Mother’s Day week, we’d like to take a moment to recognize all the amazing moms out there. And though we don’t make tree houses for parents (and maybe we should?!), we think our work has something in it for moms, too. That snack time the little ones spent…
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It’s rare to see one of our playhouses with a rope and a “Do Not Climb” sign on it, but in this case it’s for a good cause! The Wizard’s Hideout, seen above, is actually on display prior to the 2007 Dreams Happen Gala,…
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This view from Barbara’s “tree house” office window shows the progress being made on this modern, abstract castle design
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The Cozy Cabin is our smallest playhouse: perfectly sized for kids ages 1 to 5 years old. It will fit in a corner, on a deck, inside a play room or in the middle of a garden! Young children love to go inside, close the door, open the shutters, slide the “peek-a-boo”, put mail in the mail slot, peek through the cut-outs and then invite you in. It is exactly right for their size.
Here’s a new design I’m hoping to build. I use the caveman program PAINT to draw my ideas right on the photo. I like the restrictions of the Paint program – not very many choices, can only undo about 7 steps, makes me feel like a kid!
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Every spring & summer, when there are “holes” in our build/install schedule, our crew goes out and refurbishes some older ones. It is amazing how resilient redwood is.
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We’ve done tons of ziplines and I never get tired of them! Each one presents a different challenge because the trees, the distance and the slope are always different. My ideal backyard zip line ride goes between two trees and involves jumping off of a tree perch to start the ride.
Good Morning! Barbara likes to start her day with a cup of coffee from Atlas, favorite cafe in the San Francisco Mission district.Followed by a hug with husband Jeff while discussing business…Married over 18 years, they still love to work, live & play together. Barbara’s nephew, Tym, gave her a…
The entire Play Set will be packed up Monday morning and transported to site for installation. The end of this past week was all about the details: Aubrey adds professional Rock Climbing Holds to the Princess Tower walls: Marco hangs doors and shutters & glues the long screws into the…
Barbara received the following email comments from our Long Island Treehouse client: A huge hit (Grand slam) my daughter Screamed and my son looked up in awe. Couldn’t get them out last night until dark then they got a little spooked and shut it down for the evening. At first…
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FINAL DAY on site!Marco & Will spend the morning adding the play accessories:pulley bucket, rock holds, drop leaf table & 2 drop benches, top secret wall safe, chalkboard, shelf & pegs set, and lots & lots of Long Island road signs! Then break for yoga exercises on the lawn! Meanwhile,…
FINAL DAY on site!Marco & Will spend the morning adding the play accessories:pulley bucket, rock holds, drop leaf table & 2 drop benches, top secret wall safe, chalkboard, shelf & pegs set, and lots & lots of Long Island road signs! Then break for yoga exercises on the lawn! Meanwhile,…
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The guys start out the day digging post holes. adding knee braces… breaking for watermelon (Jeff was hoping to keep it for himself) Laying the deck boards and lifting the walls into place! At dusk, head back in Will’s “Fit” to the very cute little house rented for the week…
The crew continues to work on the Castle Play Structure:Building the frame for the 2nd Towerand carving the trims Lunch on the dock!Ember, another sister & artist/master staining, has come down from Sebastopol to help stain for a couple of days! This is a huge structure and we need everyone’s…
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INSTALLATION: Day 1 The first day on site for a treehouse installation is all about positioning the girder box followed by the deck frame up in the tree. Placing of the girder box dictates the fit of the treehouse and how well the rest of the installation will go! The…
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New Castle Play Structure design: Barbara’s latest design started with traipsing through the woods to find the perfect spot for the play structure. Her goal is to find a spot close enough to the house to keep an eye on young kids (from the kitchen window or a porch) but…
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In February, Barbara started the design process for this Long Island treehouse: Her first step was to visit the site, meet with her client, brainstorm ideas and help select the tree. Then take lots of photos. Back at the shop, Barbara “painted” the treehouse design directly onto the digital image.…
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Look what was just installed last week in Pasadena, CA: beautiful, luscious colors on Barbara’s popular Robin Hood’s Fort play structure (this one has a 9′ long bridge over 2 swings and a Pyramid roof with stars):
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