March 16, 2018Next at Treehouse Utopia: A Chateau and Library in the Trees!

The Nelson Treehouse crew has been hard at work down in Texas at Treehouse Utopia. This romantic treehouse retreat will open this summer and will include four rentable, private treehouses. Surrounded by the natural splendor of Texas Hill Country, Treehouse Utopia exudes magic.

In the meantime, we’ve put together a fun collection of photos of the progressing treehouses at the retreat. You’ve already seen the resplendent Chapelle, the first treehouse at Treehouse Utopia, on our blog and on Treehouse Masters.

The next treehouse is titled “Chateau,” and embodies the charm of a French country estate. The third treehouse, “Bibliotheque,” is also underway and is designed like an ultra-cozy, nostalgic library. Owner Laurel Waters is curating the interiors with treasures she has collected on her travels through France.

Scroll on to check out the crew’s progress at Treehouse Utopia.


CHAPELLE

The first treehouse at the retreat, “Chapelle,” roosts in twin cypress trees at the heart of the otherworldly property.

Chapelle makes for a stunning backdrop to the crew’s work zone, providing inspiration as they work on the remaining three treehouses.

Utopia truly lives up to its name—those riverside views are hard to beat.


CHATEAU

Chateau is getting close to the finish line! This beauty roosts in three enormous cypress trees. Its special features include a turret with a spiral staircase, rigid bridge as access, and a spacious bedroom loft.

The crew assembles daily for their “Mornin’ Meetin’.” They use this time to go over the plan for the day.

Each railing post is thoroughly pressure-washed to remove excess bark. The posts then lounge in the sun for an all-natural drying process.

Even Chateau looks small in comparison to the site’s prodigious cypress trees!


BIBLIOTHEQUE

Construction on Bibliotheque is firmly underway. This library-themed treehouse stands out for its single-tree design, endless built-in bookcases, and very cozy atmosphere.

Here, Aaron preps the steel column that will contain utilities lines and provide support for Bibliotheque’s rigid bridge. All the treehouses at Treehouse Utopia are rigorously engineered to ensure structural integrity, and involve a lot of heavy metal for support.

These painted steel pipes will act as knee braces, supporting the expansive, single-tree platform that is the substructure for Bibliotheque.

Shout out to Tsuga Utility bags for keeping our crew outfitted with top-of-the-line tool bags!

Here, Wyatt rips a flat edge on a joist for the platform to Bibliotheque. This technique ensures that each joist is the same width along the entirety of the board, removing discrepancies that can occur at the mill. It helps us create a beautifully level platform surface.

Travis says, “If you love it, put a ring on it!” This heavy-duty metal ring is at the heart of the steel support system for Bibliotheque.

Interested in what went into engineering and building this geometric platform substructure? Stay tuned for our video all about this process, coming to our YouTube channel next week!

We hope you’ve enjoyed taking a look at the progress underway at Treehouse Utopia. You can stay up-to-date on all our content about this coming treehouse retreat at nelsontreehouse.com/treehouse-utopia.

Visit treehouseutopia.com to learn more about booking an overnight stay for two in the trees once Treehouse Utopia opens.

And for a closer look, check out owner Laurel Waters’ blog post about Chateau, here!

@nelsontreehouse