Guess whaaaa? Our Treehouse + Cabin was featured here on A BEAUTIFUL MESS. Need some styling and ‘cozying up home’ ideas? We gotcha covered.

Here is part of what we shared on A BEAUTIFUL MESS…

Hey, we are Tristan + Lynne Knowlton… a mother/daughter team from Design The Life You Want To Live. When we aren’t styling spaces, we’re eating popcorn, making chunky knit blankets, hanging out in the treehouse + cabin retreat, or road trippin’ with the family in our vintage airstream camper.

Making a house a HOME is our jam… inspiring you to Design The Life You Want To Live <<< see what we did there? 🙂
 

Let’s talk about tiny home living, style and all the things! There’s beauty in simplicity. We hope The Treehouse + Cabin Retreat will inspire you to create small spaces with big style.

Escape the ordinary

Good things come in trees.

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How did it all start?

We built our treehouse 10 years ago on our 100 acre property near a wee little town called Durham, in Ontario Canada. Durham is so small, if you blink, you’ll definitely miss it. With 4 kiddos and a whole lotta countryside, a treehouse just made sense. We upcycled and recycled a friends 100 year old barn (which had been recently damaged by a tornado.) It inspired us to repurpose items, and use them in all kinds of new ways.

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What’s old is new.

We love to give old things a new life. Years later, we added a sister cabin to the Treehouse. The cabin is the sweet unsung hero of the Treehouse + Cabin Retreat. It’s located in the same forest along side the treehouse and laTREEn (the wee bathroom.) There’s a legit outhouse and a pool too!

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Planning a Treehouse

Originally, we tried to build our own treehouse, and it was a rickety disaster. Bag of frogs, ugly.  We learned our lesson and hired a pro to build the treehouse that we have today. You’re like…oh phew. You should have seen the frogs. Ugh.

Our plans were simple:

1. Start with a treehouse platform in the trees.
2. Drink wine
3. Eat popcorn
4. Frame a basic outer structure
5. Paint everything inside white. Btw, there’s no such thing as too much white.
6. Rake 436493 pine needles.

Goal : create a simply beautiful, relaxing space.

Like anything, not all went as planned, and I’m convinced we didn’t drink nearly enough wine.

But we made it happen.

Behind the scenes:

It takes soooooo much work to make a magical Treehouse + Cabin Retreat happen. And rules. And codes. And permits. GULP. Townships = Their bat. Their ball. Their rules. We had to make a lot of changes over the years to dot all our i’s and cross all our t’s. (Sniff sniff) GAH.

Pass the Malbec please.

What is your favorite room in your home and why?

I have sooooo many faves *face palm*. How will I choose? One of my fave rooms is the cabin loft bedroom. It’s so so so very peaceful. You can hear the birds singing and the rustle of the leaves in the trees. Oh and hello bed canopy. Swoon. And fireplace. I can’t decide. This is like picking a puppy. I love them all.

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Treehouse porch :

I am reliably informed that the treehouse porch is the best one I’ve met, ever.

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DIY slat wall : We were totally inspired by A Beautiful Mess DIY here and created this slat wood wall. When it was done, I believe I may have screamed. Yup. I definitely screamed.

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Tell us a little about some of your favorite or unique items in your home.

I have two fave things. Three things: Okay, I have a lot of fave things. Have you met me?  You can shop all my fave things here on the blog. I’m obsessed with all things HOME combined with a laid back, slow living Hygge style.

Fire pit :  if nothing else, add a fire pit to your backyard. Best thing ever.

Incense : Okay. Super hit incense is d’bomb diggity. It will float your boat. Fly your kite. Milk your cow. Butter your bread. Yeah. THAT good.

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Here’s my LOVE list of things …

shop my faves

You can shop all my Treehouse + Cabin faves. So good. So so so good. Here’s a wee highlight of my faves, and the full list is here.

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Wall decor : Hello gorgeous. Here’s the thing. Macrame, straw hats, wooden beads. It’s all absolutely perfect. I love that style of decor with all my might. {{ HUG }}

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Linen bedding : We love our linen duvet covers. We have them on every bed. I’m not even exaggerating. Wait. Do you know me?

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Natural elements : Natural elements like jute rugs, upcycled white furniture and shiplap are our jam. Seriously. Perfection. ‘Nuff said.

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Outside :  Wowsers to hammocks and twinkling Edison lights. ADORE. Stamped it. Double stamped it.

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Fave splurge item : Linen. It is one of my all time faves. I use linen e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.re. Bedding, curtains, throw blankets, tablecloths, tea towels. You name it. It’s linen all the way baby!

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Wine glasses. You can never have too many wine glasses. *insert big toothy grin* LOL.

How long have you lived here and how has your home evolved over time?

We have lived here for 17 years. Totally, strange, since I am only 27 years old (uhm, times two.)

We started with a house, barn, and 100 acres of copious quantities of weeds.  After a lot of paint, sawdust and blisters, we built a pool within the reclaimed stone walls of an old burned down barn on our property. Next up, was a treehouse. Followed by a cabin. Mixed with wine and popcorn.

Over the years The Treehouse + Cabin Retreat has grown organically and is now a vacation rental during the summer months of May-Oct.

Photo sources:

Bed canopy photo by Lauren Miller. // Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Photos are by Suech and Beck. // All other the photos are taken by us.

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When it comes to design we love to inspire others to have big style in small spaces. We cover a little bit of everything: travel, tiny house living, hygge style cozy home living, RV inspo, decor, recipes, lifehacks… all woven together with photos and inspiring you to recreate similar experiences in your own life.

You got this! Get inspired ! We’ll show you how!