It’s summer break and the children are likely looking for things to do since school’s out. Of course, you don’t want them to spend all their time playing with gadgets. You need to keep them interested with stuff that doesn’t require watching and swiping on screens. One summer project you can do for your kids is to build something on your backyard that they will truly enjoy. There are tons of cool treehouse ideas you can choose from or base your own design on. Below are a few of them.
Do the necessary preparations before starting on your treehouse ideas. First, choose a spot where you’ll build your treehouse. Before taking out your hammers and saws, make sure the tree you’ve chosen is strong enough to carry a small house.
Complicated Treehouse Ideas
Some parents want to impress their children with expensive toys such as huge dolls or a whole set of action figures. Others prefer something more magnificent such as a giant treehouse.
These kinds of treehouse ideas are more complicated to build as they come with unique and unconventional designs. In the case of the first of five treehouse ideas we have here, is designed to look like a box.
Box Treehouse

Since the box treehouse is shaped like a box, it is actually less complicated than you expect. In fact, you can ask your children to join in on the fun. The design of the box treehouse, courtesy of Dornob, requires beams of standard size, plyboards, sheets, and a little concrete.

The box treehouse looks so unconventional that one ma easily mistake it a s a difficult design to make. In reality, though, you just need a few basic carpentry skills to get the job done.

The Best Treehouse Ever
Perhaps one of the most amazing treehouse ideas ever put to fruition, the Best Treehouse Ever is indeed just that. The family behind the magnificent project happened to own a spacious area with a few large trees. This gave them the idea to build an actual liveable house that integrates the trees.

The Best Treehouse Ever has since been a favorite place for parties and other gatherings. Kids love the place because of the many things you can do here. There’s a playground where you can swing, slide, zipline, and do a bit of wall and rope climbing. There’s also a hanging bridge made of wood and rope. In case it rains, there are still tons to do inside.

Simple Treehouse Ideas
Unlike the previous two treehouse ideas, the next ones are simpler and easier to build. These are perfect for those who have little space in their yard or doesn’t have a huge enough tree to build a treehouse on.
Not all treehouse ideas involve being on top of a tree. If you prefer not to have your kids playing up high, you can build a tree house on or near the ground. You can argue that a treehouse that’s not built on top of a tree is just a playhouse but both serve a common purpose and that is to provide the young ones with a place to play in.
Happy Treehouse

If you prefer simpler yet more fun treehouse ideas, look no further than this one from Made With Happy. The Happy Treehouse, or the Backyard Happy Place as they call it, is a freestanding one, which is perfect if you have little children that you don’t want to be climbing too high.

Choose a spot on your yard that’s near a tree so the treehouse feel is still there. Make sure the portion of land is clear of any debris before starting on the base and frame followed by the floor, roof and finally, the walls and window.
Made With Happy suggests drawing your treehouse ideas with dimensions based on pre-cut pieces of wood that are readily available. This way, you save time and energy from having the need to saw the wood into particular sizes. Of course, there’ll still be some cutting to do so be ready with your hand or power saws.

As the name implies, the Happy Treehouse is painted and decorated with vibrant colors. What makes the Happy Treehouse even better is that little space for the adults to chill while the kiddos are prancing around.
Deluxe Treehouse

For bigger kids, you need treehouse ideas that are slightly bigger and higher than the Happy Treehouse. That’s exactly what the Deluxe Treehouse courtesy of The Classic Archives is. Such treehouse ideas are perfect if you want to build one outside your backyard. In fact, the one pictured here is located somewhere in the woods.

The designer of the Deluxe Treehouse stresses the importance of taking care of the tree. In the old days, treehouses damaged the trees. This one considers the health of the tree along with stability and safety which is why it is freestanding.

Simple Treehouse

If you don’t have the luxury of time and the budget for those magnificent treehouse ideas, you can opt for something a lot more affordable and easy to build.

The simple treehouse featured here is the perfect embodiment of such DIY project. It was featured in Mokkasin, a Swedish blog which unfortunately hasn’t posted anything new since 2016.

The design is a cross between a tent and a treehouse. You start off by making a platform with two beams erected from the ground and the floor connecting to the trunk of the tree. Use a large piece of cloth as the roof and wall of your simple treehouse.

Some of the treehouse ideas shown here were also featured on The Spruce Crafts and Homesteading. Check these websites out for more treehouse ideas you could consider for your backyard. For more amazing and fun DIY projects like these, please visit The Gentleman Pirate. There are also lots of DIY playhouse plans you can make for the kiddos over at HPlans.

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