Outdoor play is invaluable when it comes to children’s health. A well thought out, appealing wooden tree house design can be a great way to encourage your kids to get outside and away from their screens. Not only can a kids treehouse offer a place to hang out and play, it can double up as an exercise apparatus, and even a place to have sleepovers in as a home away from home (almost!)

One of the amazing qualities of a kids treehouse is that it offers new ways to make use of vertical space. This can be through using the framework of the tree, or the treehouse itself, to install clever, space efficient play features and hidden climbing apparatus. In this blog we share some of our favourite treehouse ideas that we know your children will love. Hopefully you will find some inspiration to create your dream tree house design, which children (and adults!) of all ages can enjoy.

What makes a great treehouse for kids?

What many people don’t realise is that a kids treehouse can be so much more than just a place to hang out in. A treehouse can be a creative play apparatus, filled with hidden features to clamber on, swing from, or slide down. It can be the perfect product to transform outdoor spaces into fun, imaginative zones.

The secret to a truly exciting treehouse that your children will love and continue to enjoy as they get older, is for the treehouse to offer a variety of experiences, which your children can discover for themselves in a safe environment.

Of course, it is vitally important that your children can stay safe when playing. Adding play features to a tree house design is a great way to encourage your kids to get outside, but the features need to be safe and robust. That’s why we’d always recommend that you work with a well established tree house design and construction company when creating your child’s dream treehouse. That way you can be confident that the treehouse has been built to be strong enough to take load associated with the structure and its play features (such as swings, slides and climbing walls). All of these features add weight and complexity to a tree house design. This needs to be understood and carefully accounted for to ensure the treehouse is safe and long lasting.

16 awesome features to include your kids tree house design

Ready to get started on a treehouse for your own children? We’ve collated a list of some of our favourite play features and tree house designs. Which ones are your kids’ favourites? Whether you're looking for an easy, simple tree house design, or something more complex, there are plenty of play features to choose from!

1. Fireman’s pole for your Kids Treehouse

What kid doesn’t want to be able to make swift, action hero exit from their treehouse? There is no better way to do this safely than with a fireman’s pole. For inspiration check out Red Treehouse’s pole which is accessed from the treehouse balcony, and is fittingly, painted red. It’s a great way to add some fun to the treehouse!

treehouse-with-red-firemans-pole — *Red Treehouse’s fireman pole*

2. Why every child’s treehouse should have a climbing wall

Why climb the stairs when you can climb the wall, monkey style? Climbing walls are a great way for children to safely practice climbing and can be modified in terms of steepness, height and ease of climbing depending on how old your children are. You can even colour code the climbing grips to create different routes for your kids to climb! Check out Elmfield Treehouse’s funky climbing wall for ideas, which pairs perfectly with climbing frames.

treehouse-with-play-equipment — *Elmfield’s climbing wall*

3. Ziplines

A guaranteed favourite with children! If you’ve got the space in your garden why not include a zipline to transport your children from the treehouse platform in style? Check out the Hareway Treehouse for inspiration. It’s a brilliant way to take advantage of the vertical frame of the treehouse.

treehouse-with-zipline — *Hareway Treehouse’s zipline*

4. Gym hoops

Make the most of the elevated treehouse structure and let your kids flex their muscles and agility with some carefully hidden hanging gym hoops. We love hanging out under the Red Treehouse!

5. Net mezzanine for your kids treehouse

The perfect kids treehouse isn’t just a place to play; it’s also a perfect place for sleepovers! For a truly elevated experience check out the awesome net mezzanine and ladder combination in the Hareway Treehouse! We guarantee your children will thank you for it. t’s also a great way to enhance the privacy of the structure while providing an amazing view.

6. Monkey bars

Monkey bars are one of the easiest features to integrate into a good tree house design. What’s more they are fully hidden so work well on tree houses where you want to keep the play features more subtle. We love the contrast of the monkey bars against the stunning hexagonal floor of the Little Croft Treehouse.

7. Exit your kids tree house in style with a Slide

Sometimes you can’t beat the classics. A stainless steel slide is not only a great play feature that is safe for children of varying ages, it can also be an attractive design feature in its own right. Check out the shiny slide on the Wilderness Treehouse.

treehouse-with-slide — *Wilderness Treehouse’s slide*

8. Nest swing

Integrating a swing into a tree house design is another great way to take advantage of the vertical structure offered by a tree house. Although, not all swings are created equal. To really excite your kids why not include a funky nest swing like this little beauty hanging from the Little Croft Treehouse? It adds a range of fun activities for them to enjoy.

treehouse-with-net-swing — *Little Croft’s nest swing*

9. Wobbly bridge

There’s something inexplicably exciting about crossing a bridge suspended between two treehouse platforms. And something even more exciting about creating a multilevel canopy walk with multiple platforms joined by multiple bridges! The Nassjo Treehouse design combines 3 treehouse structures and 2 bridges to create a treetop world of its own!

treehouse-with-bridge — *Nassjo’s bridges*

10. Basket pulley system to get those essentials up to your kids tree house

What better way to transport precious cargo up to the treehouse than inside a basket that can be carefully hoisted up with a clever pulley system? Check out the hand woven basket we installed on the Lyneham Treehouse for inspiration.

treehouse-basket-and-pulley-system — *Lyneham’s basket and pulley system*

11. Seesaw

OK so it's not technically adjoined to the treehouse, but a seesaw is a great play feature which can be integrated as part of the overall tree house design and can make use of the space underneath or next to a treehouse. Check out the Nassjo Treehouse’s rustic seesaw which uses recycled tyres.

12. Clamber Rope up to the kids tree house

What better way to keep the riff raff out than with a clamber rope?! Not for the fainthearted, this feature is best suited for older children as it requires some strength to climb safely. Check out the Hemlock Treehouse which has an epic knotted rope leading to a floor chute entrance.

treehouse-with-clamber-rope — *Hemlock’s clamber rope*

13. Every child’s tree house should have Trapdoor

Because duh, no treehouse is complete without a trapdoor! For a truly adventurous treehouse, like the Hareway, team the trapdoor with a fireman’s pole and you're onto a winner.

treehouse-with-trapdoor — *Hareway Treehouse’s trapdoor*

14. Tyre swing for that monkey business

Sometimes you just can’t beat the old school. We especially love the fact that this gives us an opportunity to upcycle old tyres! The Lyneham Treehouse has an epic tyre swing suspended by the 5m high platform.

treehouse-with-tyre-swing — *Lyneham Treehouse’s tyre swing*

15. Scramble net

We are sure that your kids will agree that the more ways that they can climb up and down from the treehouse the better. A scramble net is a great, low cost addition to this! Check out the Nassjo Treehouse to see how it can fit in.

16. Pullup bar

Why not double up your treehouse as a gym apparatus with a pullup bar so your children can exercise while they play? Look no further than the Hareway Treehouse for ideas.

Ready to create your kids dream treehouse?

For a treehouse your kids will never stop thanking you for, reach out to us via our contact form.

16 Treehouse design ideas your kids will never stop thanking you for