The TreeHouse Workshop Family Tree

Each member of the close-knit TreeHouse Workshop team brings a unique set of skills that allow us to build tree houses that are beautiful and functional works of art, as well as examples of truly fine craftsmanship. We use our collective working knowledge to tackle each unique tree house building challenge.

Owner Pete Nelson, and The TreeHouse Workshop Family Tree

Pete Nelson: I was born in Mineola, NY in 1962 and grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey.

Early on, I had a fascination with and aptitude for working with wood. As a young boy I built a handful of treehouses with my father and my friends and designed my first major treehouse while attending high school. It was never built but the treehouse seed was planted.

One fateful day, an old high school friend sent me a little illustrated book on how to build my own treehouse. It inspired me not only to build treehouses again, but to create a treehouse coffee table book. In 1994 Houghton-Mifflin published “Treehouses, the Art and Craft of Living out on a Limb.” In 1997 I opened TreeHouse Workshop with my partner Jake Jacob, and I have written 3 more treehouse books since then, including the latest book, “Treehouses of the World,” published by Abrams in 2004.

My most recent undertakings include the Northwest Treehouse School, which teaches hands on treehouse design and construction, Treehouse Point, an environmental treehouse retreat center, and the Tree For All Foundation, a non-profit corporation inspired by the work of Bill Allen of Forever Young that brings disabled people into nature and treehouses.

TreeHouse Workshop also utilizes the talent of other artists, craftsmen, and specialized professionals to help realize the dreams of each client and their unique vision. Our ability to network with interesting and unusual talents has been a hallmark of some of our best work. Please visit our Resources page for more information.