28 Awesome Treehouse Ideas for Kids

DIY Treehouses for Tons of Backyard Fun

If you have children and are thinking of making a treehouse, you can do it yourself right in your backyard.

Whether you want to share your experience of having a one-of-a-kind playhouse in the sky with your kids or are keen to build them the treehouse or raised platform in the trees you always wish you had, you'll find plenty of inspiration among these do-it-yourself design options.

There are plenty of fun elements you can add to your treehouse such as slides, swings, ziplines, rope bridges, rock-climbing walls, cargo-net climbing ropes, and pulley-lift systems. This can make your treehouse one-of-a-kind and even more fun.

You can build a treehouse on a budget by reclaiming wood for railing and banisters or using pre-fabricated picket panels that also cut your build time. The best trees for support are deciduous, strong trees with dense wood, including oak, maple, fir, apple, beech, hemlock, or cedar.

Take a look at these treehouse ideas from simple and budget-friendly to complex.

Create Layers of Fun

This two-story treehouse from Living Edge Treehouses & Edible Landscapes featured on Houzz connects a simple tree platform to a raised shelter via a cargo net passage. It provides plenty of spots to sit and play. And it’s an ideal setting to hang out and catch the breeze on a warm summer day.

Build a Toddler-Friendly Treehouse

Although it may sit a little lower to the ground than your average treehouse, this pint-size tree-stump palace spotted on Made With Happy will leave your little one on cloud nine. With a cheery yellow interior, clean blue-and-white striped curtains, and roughly a 3-foot drop to the grass below, it’s the perfect starter home for an adventurous toddler.

Design Rustic Simplicity

This rustic treehouse featured on Houzz by Whitney Lyons incorporates organic materials and scrap lumber into a simple design that blends nicely into its garden surroundings. The best part is the bucket on a pulley. It's perfect for passing secret messages and other goodies to friends above.

Customize a Tree Fort

Spotted on Houzz, this custom tree fort from Stout Design-Build is a childhood dream come true. The multi-deck treehouse features swings, a slide, and a rock-climbing wall. The hand-painted signs add a personalized touch; you could even turn them into an art project with your kids.

Construct a Pallet Wood Treehouse

Add cushions, pillows, blankets, and a string or two of fairy lights, and you’ll have a comfortable hideaway that will entertain your kiddos all summer. Plus, the pallets can be painted to customize your design further.

Make a Simple Slat House With Modern Appeal

This contemporary reinvention of the classic treehouse from Austin Outdoor Design and featured on Houzz boasts rich tigerwood slats and floating stairs with a railing. The look comes together with its elegant, modern steel frame. It's fun for the kids and a beautiful art piece for your yard.

Add a Hammock Hangout

This four-post platform treehouse, spotted on @ideiasdiferentes on Instagram, leaves plenty of room for a pair of comfy hammocks suspended below the main deck. You can have fun playing up top, and then curl up in a hammock below with a good summer read.

Go With a Modern Look

With its clean lines, steel foundation, and corrugated plastic walls, this modern playhouse by Studio 30 Architects is almost sculptural in its beauty. It offers fun for the kids and aesthetic appeal for the backyard. Plus, its plastic walls protect the interior from the elements.

Double the Fun

This beautiful woodland treehouse from Barbara Butler doubles the amount of aerial play space thanks to its use of two neighboring trees. One tree holds a treehouse, while the other has an open platform for variety. A cargo net bridge connects the trees and offers multiple ways to climb and play.

Consider a Cube-Shaped Treehouse

Few treehouses, modern or otherwise, are as eye-catching as this wood-slat cube created by Na?o Architectures and featured by Duende. You don't need a huge budget or expert building skills to develop this treehouse. The design is easy to replicate with straight cuts on the wood pieces.

Try a Simple Chevron Treehouse

With its rustic chevron walls in multi-toned woods, this simple treehouse by blogger Carrie Bloomston transforms reclaimed wood into an artful and visually exciting play space. Because the tree involved was too small to hold up a treehouse, the family built a freestanding platform around it. The interior features a comfy spot to read and enjoy the nice weather.

Hide Away in a Hobbit Hole Treehouse

It may be tucked snugly against the ground, but this hobbit-inspired hideout from @ghettocottage on Instructables is a form of a treehouse. Built around the base of a tree and covered with a grassy roof, this charming little house creates a beautiful place space for kids. Plus, it fits right in with its natural surroundings.

Design a Texture-Rich Treehouse

Cedar shake shingles and a corrugated metal roof add rich textural dimension to this simple plywood playhouse by Shannon of Dirt Digging Sisters. With no treehouse-worthy tree in sight, the family had to improvise. They incorporated a sapling tree into their design that will hopefully grow into its new digs.

Assemble a Pirate Hideout

This pirate treehouse designed by johnkry19 on Autodesk Instructables is any child's ultimate dream. It took the original builder 100 hours and about $1,800 to construct this 8-foot by 8-foot house, using decking boards for the flooring. The roof is built of OSB board. It features a front porch using a premade railing. And to make their intent clear that this place is for seadogs and scallywags, this pirate hangout proudly displays its own Jolly Roger flag.

Incorporate Knee Braces

This treehouse plan from Village Custom Furniture features multiple pages of information on how to get started, from building a simple platform to installing a ladder and surrounding gate.

The treehouse's platform was built in a red oak tree with a 5 to 6 feet trunk circumference. It features 8-foot beams for the platform. To give the wobbly foundation stability, this house was built with knee braces that were custom-cut to account for the irregularities in the tree trunk.

Add a Trapdoor Tree Deck

Kristen Duke, her husband, and four children built this open-air tree deck in two months next to their home. It is made hugging a tree but is fully supported by posts set in concrete in the ground. It features three hinged trapdoors, corner seats for each of the children, and a fully functional staircase.

Pull Together the Ultimate Treehouse

This treehouse from hotrodz0321 featured on Autodesk Instructables has two slides, a soft mulched base at the bottom of the tree, and a boat filled with sand as a sandbox.

It's built on posts and doesn't get its support from a tree, although it's made amongst the trees. It has electricity running to it, giving it the "ultimate" in its name.

Stick With an A-Frame Treehouse

An A-frame treehouse is a classic architectural design and an excellent place to start. David and Jeanie Stiles share their plans for an A-frame construction with OutdoorLife. They used two 10-foot support posts and the tree as the third support point. The flooring is made of plywood and framed using 8-foot long 2-inch by 8-inch fir boards. For the deck flooring, they used 8-foot cedar planks. The roofing is made of asphalt shingles to keep out the elements.

Embrace Corners

This 8-foot tree fort was built by a single mom who used as many premade building materials to make this project go faster, requiring less cutting and measuring than many other projects. The treehouse foundation is built on three posts rooted in poured cement. The flooring is 2-inch by 6-inch boards.

Make a Redwood Tree Deck

When builder shawnconna bought his land with a redwood tree stump that had steps carved in its remains, he used it to make a tree deck. This six-month project involves a spiderweb support system for the floor platform, making it up to code and strong enough to support a two-level house if desired.

To enclose the deck, reclaimed wood made up the railings. An old copper pipe was upcycled for use as a fireman's pole, and a cargo net was added as a fun climbing structure and an alternate way to climb into the tree deck.

Add a Platform in the Trees

This design didn't require digging post holes or pouring concrete. This 8-foot square tree-encircled platform was made from pressure-treated lumber and was built in a week for $500. The biggest expense was $400 for the lumber. A hammock, tent, and slackline turned this simple platform into the perfect kids' playground.

Tuck a Treehouse Between Two Oaks

Two oak trees support this treehouse. This builder decided to construct the house in his garage, fabricating each of the sections in place. This way, his building wouldn't be done uncomfortably up in a tree, where it could get less precise.

Raising the roof was no small task, but his pulley system in the trees got the job done. It features fully finished walls, a door, windows, a roof, and a hidden trapdoor for a quick escape hatch.

Team Up With Your Neighbors

This DIY project from Ron Hazelton includes photos with step-by-step instructions and a video tutorial. This treehouse was built next to a property wall that straddles two property lines, giving access to both families with children.

It uses a tree as one support point. The other support points are three 4-inch by 4-inch posts set into the ground with poured concrete. At ground level, the house walls were framed. Pickets were added once the frames were added to the house foundation in the tree.

Make a Tree Deck for Younger Children

This treehouse from Les Kenny from Buildeasy is more like a deck surrounding a tree; it has a staircase with a handrail leading up to the deck and enclosing the entire deck. It was built with smaller children in mind.

It can be modified for older children by incorporating a ladder versus a staircase. It also contains four in-ground posts set in concrete for the deck foundation. Additional features include a slide and swing.

Add a Climbing Wall

Katie Wells from Wellness Mama shares her materials list, schematic plans, and a video that discusses how she made a 12-foot tall treehouse and exercise playground for active children.

Its super-cool features include a rock climbing wall, climbing rope, zipline, slackline, fireman's pole, hammock chairs, a hammock, gymnastic rings and trapeze, and cargo net.

Design a Treehouse With Porch

This treehouse design by bloomie972 on Autodesk Instructables is secured to a tree with four corner posts. The walls were framed on the ground and lifted into place. This treehouse features a trapdoor, a fully functioning front door, a front porch, and a shingled roof.

Make it Freestanding

This freestanding treehouse is set in the woods, surrounded by trees, but trees do not support it; no trees were required. It features a fully framed house, deck, and lookout spot. It's set on a triangular platform and does not require concrete posts for stability. It features bunks inside the house, a Dutch door, and a pulley system for lifting items into the treehouse.

Make a Craft Area

Make space for a craft ares in the treehouse so your kids can be creative and express themselves. A small table and storage for supplies like paints, crayons, and other artistic tools is all you need. Simple but impacet

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I avoid when building a treehouse?

There are several things you'll want to avoid when building your own treehouse. First, don't built it too high; keep it within 10 to 15 feet off the ground. Next, don't wound the tree by using nails, screws, and saw notches; stick to rope. Finally, don't construct your treehouse near any electrical wires as this is a safety hazard.

What is the best height for a treehouse?

The best height for a treehouse is between 10 to 15 feet off the ground.

How much does it cost to build a treehouse?

The cost of building a treehouse will vary greatly in price. That said, the national average is $7,350.

Read the original article on The Spruce.