TwistedSifter

The Ultimate Adult Tree House

 

Completed in 2011, the treehouse at Camp Wandawega Lake Resort in Elkhorn, Wisconsin is simply amazing. Proprietors Tereasa Surratt & David Hernandez along with a group of very talented and generous friends built this labour of love, located in the center of the property.

Below you will find progress pictures of the construction, the end results and the background story on how the tree house came to serve as a touching tribute to Tereasa’s late father Tom.

Carpentry
• Bladon Conner of Bladon Conner Design Studio
• Shaun Agase and Tyler Peterson of Stone Blitzer
• Steven Teichelman of This is Threefold

Interior
• Angela Finney Hoffman of Post 27 Store
• Tereasa Surratt

 

1.

Photograph by Bob Coscarelli for Chicago Home + Garden

 

2.

Photograph via Tereasa Surratt @ A Very Modest Cottage

 

3.

Photograph via Tereasa Surratt @ A Very Modest Cottage

 

4.

Photograph via Tereasa Surratt @ A Very Modest Cottage

 

5.

Photograph via Tereasa Surratt @ A Very Modest Cottage

 

6.

Photograph via Tereasa Surratt @ A Very Modest Cottage

 

How “Tom’s Treehouse” Came to Be

It started with a tree. Not long after Tereasa and David purchased Wandawega in 2004, Tereasa’s father christened the property by hanging a rope swing on the big elm tree in the center of the camp. Tom would pass away a year and a half later. Tereasa tells Chicago Home+Garden:

“Almost immediately after, we found out the tree had Dutch elm disease. I was devastated. I couldn’t cut that tree down.”

 

Although the tree’s branches were dying the trunk was still quite strong, so the couple along with some friends started thinking… big.

Ultimately they settled on a three-level cottage in which the tree comes through a deck near ground level, then breaks through the floor in three spots on the first level of the house. At two of those points, sturdy arms of the tree were sawed level with the floor; a third arm pierces the floor and extends out a window.

Tom’s Treehouse was built for free through the amazing generosity of Tereasa’s incredibly talented and generous friends (mentioned at the top of the post). They selflessly donated their time and skill to make the tree house a reality.

 

7.

Photograph by Jacob Hand for Designtripper

 

8.

Photograph by Jacob Hand for Designtripper

 

9.

Photograph by Jacob Hand for Designtripper

 

10.

Photograph by Jacob Hand for Designtripper

 

The DIY Interior

Most of the wood is reclaimed and much of the interior is custom-made, vintage and re-purposed. It’s a showcase of DIY ingenuity by Angela Finney-Hoffman of Post27. For example:

– The pillows are made out of old flour sacks
– The stumps of the trees were refashioned as side tables
– DIY Antler chandelier made from old sheds found at the camp
– DIY mason jar lamps with lamp kits from Home Depot
– Repurposed sconces in the sleeping lofts from elsewhere on the camp
– Much of the interior was sourced from flea markets, thrift stores and eBay

 

11.

Photograph by Bob Coscarelli for Chicago Home + Garden

 

12.

Photograph by Bob Coscarelli for Chicago Home + Garden

 

13.

Photograph by Bob Coscarelli for Chicago Home + Garden

 

14.

Photograph by Jacob Hand for Designtripper

 

15.

Photograph by t. HARRISON HILLMAN

 

 

Sources

Official Wandawega Website
A Very Modest Cottage Blog
Chicago Home+Garden – Up in the Air
Designtripper – Stay: Wandawega Treehouse
Bob Coscarelli Photography
Jacob Hand Photography
t. HARRISON HILLMAN Photography
The Lettered Cottage
Apartment Therapy – Tereasa & David’s Grown-Up Tree House

 

 

 

For All Inquiries, Visit Camp Wandawega Lake Resort’s Official Site!

 

 

 

 

If you enjoyed this post, the Sifter
highly recommends:

 

This Couple Built a Real-Life Ewok Village in Costa Rica

 

 

 

School Bus Converted Into Mobile Home

 

 

 

The HemLoft: A Secret Tree House in the Woods

 

 

 

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