Up a Tree

(Photo By Len Spoden for The Washington Post)

Navidi's treehouse was originally built for her two sons, Fabien, 14, and Sebastien, 11. "At the time it was for the two boys . . . now our young daughter uses it the most." Anya, 8, has turned the hideaway into a girls' clubhouse.

Bob and Tram Grohowski added a treehouse to the wooded yards behind their McLean home just last month, a gift to their three older children after the birth of a new baby. Construction on the 11-by-13-foot structure was done with the help of a contractor, but it was a true family project: Each of the older children chose one thing they wanted incorporated into the design. Megan, 6, wanted a barn door because she loves horses; twin sister Lauren wanted a trap door to get up to the second floor; and brother Riley, 3, wanted a bucket and pulley. "They think that food will appear when they pull it up," says Mom.

"It's a place they can call their own," Bob Grohowski says, adding that they've named it Pine Cone Island.

The children's first try at a sleepover was thwarted by a thunderstorm that forced them back indoors. Parents with treehouses have concerns about weather and accidents much in the same way families with pools worry, especially when neighborhood children come over to play.

To avoid disaster, the Grohowskis have set clear rules for their children and guests.

"The first rule is that everyone is welcome," Tram Grohowski says. The rest: no pushing, no more than four people at the top, no walking on the roof and no climbing on the tree. There's also a rule that takes neighboring yards into consideration: "If someone is in the neighbor's back yard, we tell them to respect their privacy and come back down."

Treehouses run the gamut from DIY affairs sketched out on a kitchen table to kits found online. Some people turn to local contractors or a handyman for the actual construction. Others call in a specialty treehouse design firm.

The costs escalate accordingly. Nelson's no-frills (and no walls) models start at $85 a square foot, for just a platform. At the other extreme, a playhouse with walls, roof, ladders and a bridge can start at $20,000. The most expensive he has built cost an extraordinary $320,000 and included modern amenities such as fireplaces, stainless steel appliances, running water and plumbing. These projects, he admits, are actually more second homes than true treehouses. "When it has things like kitchens and bathrooms, it loses some of its spirit," he says.

Nelson notes the success of an organization that designs handicapped-accessible treehouses for children with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Forever Young Treehouses ( http://www.TreeHouses.org), a nine-year-old nonprofit group in Burlington, Vt., incorporates wheelchair ramps, elevated walkways and rest platforms.

In May, the organization completed a project at Camp Still Meadows, a camp for people with disabilities just north of Harrisonburg, Va., and its goal is to build a wheelchair-accessible treehouse in every state.

Bob Grohowski admits that the design for their treehouse started simply, "with a bucket on a pulley." The project grew considerably more complicated, and costly, but he has no regrets. "I like that it's something that I can do for them, that I can design and build for them," he says. "I like that it's something we made together. And I like the trap door."