The Treehouse at La Cressonnière

Somehow I hadn’t heard about the treehouse before we moved here. What a wonderful, unexpected surprise!

charming tree house in Francecharming treehouse in france

The details continue to make me smile — like this scalloped metal trim.

charming treehouse in France

This bell waits at the front door.

charming treehouse in France

The front door opens and closes with this little knob.

charming treehouse in France

A small shelf (to leave gifts of seashells) and a place to write a note. You can open the cupboard by pulling the ribbon and leave a message inside.

charming treehouse in France

The scalloped trim on the awning is amazing. And so are the walls made of woven sticks.

Inside, you’ll find a collection of antique keys…

charming treehouse in France

…and some dishes ready for tea time.

charming treehouse in France

Let’s admire the shutters. They open and close.

charming treehouse in France

This is the view from the back. Do you see the heart cut out of the wood?

charming treehouse in FranceCharming treehouse in France

A hanging picture frame to gaze through. Genius!

charming treehouse in France

So many great ideas — I hope to copy them all some day.

Update: Here are some more details I just received from the homeowners. “As you probably guessed, Hugues [the husband/father] built the treehouse around that big walnut tree several years ago. It was a labour of love, and he spent the good part of a summer constructing it. The wonderful thing about it is that we didn’t buy anything to make it (apart from nails). We had all the materials either in the house, the barns or in the local forest. The decorative woodwork is in hazelnut. The antique keys are [my daughter’s] key collection and we thought that a good place to display them.”

How about you? Did you have a treehouse growing up? Have you built one for your kids?

104 thoughts on “The Treehouse at La Cressonnière”

  1. Brilliant, just what I needed for inspiration for the tree house we’re building this summer. All it needs is a window box for some pansies. I love the doorbell and I think I might copy using hurdles for walls – what a great idea. Ours won’t be as rustic as we’ll be reusing a climbing frame but I’m hoping I can find the perfect place for shutters, they have to be included now :-)

  2. My grandma was from France. Her 60+ years of living in the US never proved perfect for her. She was always on the lookout for shutters that served a proper function, and bread baskets that store flat, and a proper table cloth, proper pots and so many other things that France does so beautifully. She would have loved your treehouse.

  3. stephanie smirnov

    Only you would end up in a house named after watercress with a treehouse with lattice walls and scalloped metal trim. Beautiful!!

  4. possibly the best tree house i’ve ever seen! I wanted one when i was little, but never got one, this looks like a great place to pass the time for your children. I’m sure they will remember it forever. :)

  5. My dream tree house in my dream location. I just love the antique keys, the little tea station, and all the unique details.

    Something your kids will never forget! So much fun.

  6. Get out — that’s so cute! And French. My 5 yr old son talks nonstop about having a tree house. I like that this one isn’t too high off the ground…and has a bottom level to it.

  7. You have got to be kidding! The tree house if fun and wonderful for kids, but what is up with all of the amazing rustic-design elements for mom and her blog followers to enjoy? The cupboard? The keys? I mean, come on! The only things that are missing are Mary Lennox and Colin Craven.

  8. I love it! I think my favorite part is the twig fence walls, but the little details are all awesome and I can imagine how much fun kids would have with all those keys.

  9. I can’t even stand how much I love this tree house! I’m locking away all the details in my memory. As a kid (even as a teenager) I always said I would live in a tree house some day, but we haven’t had a place to build one yet.

    Someday…

  10. All those unbelievable details. It is amazing – I love it. I’m also glad it was a surprise for you and your family!

  11. Ok…the antique keys? Seriously. That alone is the coolest thing EVER. The hanging window? I am dying over here. Unbelievable. I love it Gabby. Just LOVE it. It is perfect and artsy and imaginative and perfection for the whole brood. I hate saying this but stay in France for as long as you can. Soak the whole thing up and tell us all about it :)

  12. I grew up in apartments so no treehouses for me. But I’m kind of obsessed with them now. It’s definitely on the list of things I want to build for my girls. And this one is a particularly awesome and inspiring example.

  13. *faints dead away* That is an amazingly awesome tree house. Someone put a lot of time, energy and love into building int. I hope you’re asking the owners if you can “steal” a key to take home so you can remember it always!

  14. Oh that’s amazing! I salute you and your sense of adventure. A quirky tree house would make some parents nervous… but you see magic waiting. I love it.

  15. But the best thing about it is that it’s not put together from a kit!! It looks like the ones we used to build when I was little–made of odds and ends and discovered items. I really dislike the typical playhouses and treehouse…so little imagination.

  16. Congratulations on your move to France. I am beyond jealous. I’ve only been once and cannot wait to return. Your home is so charming as is this treehouse. How lucky your wee ones are.

  17. no wonder your kids are in heaven. i would be too!
    my dad built the four of us a jungle gym (which my mom sewed a canvas roof for) when i was younger. it was the envy of the neighborhood. now i live in a house that has a postage stamp for a yard and no trees. *sigh* maybe someday…

  18. Incroyable! It’s like one of those fantasy dreams…I dreamt that my house had an amazing treehouse, and extra big closet, and and a guest bathroom…..etc, etc. Maybe these fantasy dreams only happen in NYC where we are envious of everyone else’s square footage!

  19. Holy Cow…are the owners of this place effortlessly artistic and talented, or something? It’s like they just woke up one day and said they were going to throw some nic nacs and a few twigs together for a treehouse and that’s how it turned out.

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