This tree house in Sweden with a mirrored exterior by Tham and Videgård Arkitekter is just large enough to host two people.

A look inside the new design store Watt in Ghent, Belgium.

Radamés “Juni” Figueroa lived in his art project tree house, made from found materials, for two fortnights, as part of his artist residency at La Practica at Beta-Local. "The Practice" is an interdisciplinary program of research and production focusing on art, architecture, and design, with an emphasis on collaboration.

Just as the barn was extended and cantilevered over the sloped site, so too was the deck off the kitchen, which juts out toward the oak grove. “There are 125 coast live oaks on the property,” says Walker. “They’re beautiful trees, so why not exploit that?” See more ways to use oak in your home.

The courtyard is sunken because of the existing grade. The Albezia shade tree was planted when the outdoor area was still scrap yard, an “act of hope and faith in the future,” says Wittman.

@sticks.and.bricks: it's #treehouse season! please excuse me while I go #playintheyard.

An intricately detailed staircase leads to the central wing’s second level. Its walnut treads and top rail harmonize with the welded steel rod railings. The geometric pattern on the staircase’s risers comes from encaustic tiles that were handmade in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Ethan Schussler built his first tree house at 12 years old. His tree house in Sandpoint, Idaho, sits 30 feet above the ground and can be accessed by an "elevator" consisting of a bicycle that, when pedaled, ascends a pulley system to the top.

Plumstead describes the Clip Tree valet as sheet music where the bars are posts and the notes are the adjustable clips."I became focused on entry hall," he says of the concept. "I was trying to come up with a system with fairly simple parts for shipping and manufacturing, and for it to be configurable so people would have authorship over the object."

A cantilevered cabin designed by R D Gentzler blends into the forest, even as it hovers above a 20-foot drop-off. Its south face is almost entirely glass, but a roof canopy limits solar gain.

The long rectangular Field House abuts what Burnette describes as a “memory orchard,” a grove of fruit trees just beyond the deck that was planted in honor of Geller’s late father.

Estate Bungalow in Matugama, Sri Lanka, by Narein Perera as published in Cabins (Taschen, 2014).

The terrace off a bedroom holds chaise longues from Design Within Reach. “When we laid out the project, the eucalyptus tree was going to go away,” says Walker. “But then we thought, if we move the foundation a little bit, we can probably save the tree.”

Visitors learn about energy and water conservation as they climb outdoor staircases that lead from the forest floor to the 125-foot-high rooftop rising above the leaf canopy.

Engesvik's glass trees will be part of The Essence of Things: New Designs from Norway exhibition.

Large gum trees offer a natural barrier for the house. Harkness designed the house's footprint in order to minimize the effect on tree roots. “The retained trees offer a sense of layering and age that new vegetation won’t be able to for a long time,” Harkness says.

Backstay Hostel is located in the former office of Dagblad Vooruit (socialist newspaper) inside an Art Deco-style building in Ghent, Belgium, dating from 1930. The striking frosted glass facade is courtesy of an architect named Brunfaut; the renovation of the landmarked building was undertaken by designers Nele Van Damme and Yannick Baeyens.

Blu Homes's new prefab in Joshua Tree, California.

A Tree Becomes A Tree Becomes A Tree by Shwan Soh, Photo by Sergio Pirrone

In the ground-floor bar area adjacent to the lobby, furniture was upholstered with hundreds of wooden typesetting letters from the collection of printing house Strobbe (Izegem). During the renovation, the entire ceiling had to be replaced due to dry rot fungus so a minimalist interior was added, so as not to interfere with the building's historic spaces.

Aaron and Yuka Ruell transformed a Portland ranch house into a retro-inspired family home with plenty of spaces—like the trellised porch—for their four children to roam.

Jaime: Tree Museum in Switzerland Open since 2010 on the grounds of the Enea Garden Design headquarters in Switzerland, the Tree Museum is a unique and rather poetic concept: a collection of 50 specimen trees, many older than 100 years old, in an open-air museum-like setting designed by architect Chad Oppenheim. Blocks of sandstone set off the sculptural tress, and give the whole place a Zen-like atmosphere. Would love to see it in person some day!

Kansas. Nicole and Robert Boles of Same Tree draw upon their backgrounds in fashion design and engineering to create appealing, multifunctional furniture such as the Angle, a Douglas fir coffee table that contains storage space and can be used as a bench.

Nestled in the jungle of São Paulo, Casa de Vidro (or Glass House) was the first built project by architect Lina Bo Bardi. Its glass volume stands on thin support columns that allow greenery to grow into the home.

The Forest House’s detailed design includes concrete ceilings with openings that allow planted trees to stretch toward the sky.

With 108 beds and 15 rooms, it's one of the largest hotels in Ghent. In a nod to its past as a newspaper office, the rooms are all named after famous international newspapers: Le Monde, the New York Times, Die Zeit, El País, La Stampa, the Guardian, and more.

The hostel is located in Ghent's university district in the center of town, opposite the renowned art center Vooruit. The Art Deco lobby and stairwells are painted in a vibrant yellow.

The Backstory Bar is open all day, ideal for travelers or Ghent locals.

The iT House was designed by Linda Taalman and Alan Koch of Taalman Koch Architects. The minimalist desert escape has an industrial aesthetic, and it pushes the envelope in terms of green design—the owners even decided to forgo air conditioning. The home’s sustainable building strategies include: large doors and operable windows for cross-ventilation, overhangs for shade, and solar panels to harness the power of the sun.

In the airy kitchen, meals are prepared on a Silestone White Storm countertop. The backsplash’s tiles match those on the staircase’s risers. In the adjoining dining area, a Caboche suspension light by Foscarini hangs over a CB2 dining table and Real Good Chairs by Blu Dot.

The rise of the front lawn and the height of the trees give the house a subtle presence amid magnificent surroundings.

Beyond the staircase, at the heart of the main wing, a two-floor atrium rises from the concrete floor. Its array of windows, many of which are different sizes, connect the indoors with the central oak tree and the outdoors beyond it. The top of the wall slopes inwards, leaving the oak tree with room to grow.

A dramatic departure from your typical cabin on the lake, this unique retreat adds shades of black to a tiny island awash with local color. A modern brick outdoor fireplace, tall and slim, is flanked by Philippe Starck’s outdoor chairs for Kartell for cozy fireside seating.

Teak furniture, sourced from Teak Warehouse, adds a fitting lightness to the patio.