Homesteads,Up, Up and Away

Shara and Scott Di Valerio wanted to build a deck for their hot tub, a place to relax in the woods on their five acres east of Seattle. But at some point, as they found themselves up in a stand of fir trees with a majestic view of Mount Rainier, their perspective shifted. What began as a 12-by-12-foot platform grew into a virtual treehouse complex: hot tub, living room (with phone, cable, Internet), writing alcove, observation platforms. Despite its inviting suspension bridge and 100-foot zipline, this is no kids’ tree fort. A typical evening among the gently swaying firs involves several grown-ups, a dip in the hot tub, Champagne and a few rounds of canasta. ‘‘It’s a way to be in nature,’’ Shara Di Valerio said. She let out a deflating laugh and quickly added: ‘‘Although it’s a luxurious kind of nature. It isn’t camping.’’The luxury treehouse is a relatively recent phenomenon. Twenty years ago, there was no such thing as a ‘‘master treehouse builder.’’ There is now. Thanks to a confluence of eco-conscious clients looking for sustainable hideaways and recent technological advances that allow elaborate structures to be hung higher and more safely than ever, this may be the golden age of the treehouse. There are now more than 10 dedicated builders of adult tree dwellings in the United States. But if any single person is responsible for the treehouse renaissance, it is Peter Nelson. In 1997, he and a partner founded TreeHouse Workshop, a Seattle firm that built a dozen treehouses last year (including the Di Valerios’). ‘‘I started more as a builder,’’ Nelson said, ‘‘but I’ve come to understand that what I’m really after is a place in nature. To be among the trees is pretty powerful stuff.’’

Nelson’s team can put just about anything into a tree. He has built everything from monkish yurts to multistory retreats, complete with every convenience, even plumbing. Some clients paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for their treehouses; most were around $70,000; many cost far less. The most extravagant projects demanded sites with multiple trees — ‘‘You want to be in the trees, not on top of them,’’ Nelson said. But even the most bare-bones of them were hand-built, timber-framed structures, assembled by a small crew of craftsmen dangling in harnesses from tree branches.

One caveat for anyone considering life among the boughs: Treehouses move. A lot. Charley Greenwood, an engineer who supplies specialty parts for treehouses, lives full time in 700 square feet 14 feet up in an Oregon evergreen grove. He likens it to living on ‘‘a moored houseboat.’’ ‘‘You have to be comfortable with a certain amount of horizontal travel’’ is how he puts it. Which is just fine with Shara Di Valerio; not so much with her 12-year-old son. ‘‘When the wind picks up,’’ she says, ‘‘he’s the first to head down.’’