It’s been far too busy and sociable this past week or so, and now it’s time to focus on writing once more. So here are some places where ‘escape’ is the name of the game and SO much writing would get done in close proximity to nature…






It’s been far too busy and sociable this past week or so, and now it’s time to focus on writing once more. So here are some places where ‘escape’ is the name of the game and SO much writing would get done in close proximity to nature…
Following last week’s perched offerings, I realised that architects and hoteliers have caught on with humans’ perpetual fascination with treehouses. So there are now more new places high above the trees than ever before, where you can eat, study, play or even pray, indulge in your Tarzan fantasy… for the right price.
Is it too early to be dreaming about holiday escapes? Or homes where it feels like you’re on holiday all year round? I rather like perched houses: after all, they provided our ancestors with such refuge. There is a beautiful poem by Romanian poet George Bacovia about the ‘lacustrine’ homes on stilts of long ago. Although, this being Bacovia, it is anything but cheerful… I’ll just translate the first stanza for you below:
De-atitea nopti aud plouind,
Aud materia plingind…
Sunt singur, si mă duce un gând
Spre locuintele lacustre.
So many nights I hear the rain,
hear solid matter cry and drain…
I’m all alone, my thoughts go back again
to the lacustrine dwellings.
Alongside a (slight) obsession with chateaux and libraries, you may know that I also dream of owning a treehouse. So here are some that have inspired me over the years…
We’ve come a long way from our tree-dwelling ancestors, haven’t we?
Now all I need to do is find a suitable tree…
The weather is set to change to rain and snow this weekend, but just before it does, what better place to escape to than the height of a tree? From there we can watch all the flowers peek out their cautious heads, listen to birdsong and read our favourite books of course. On her wonderful crime fiction blog, Margot Kinberg recently mentioned places where detectives could retreat and recover from their hectic jobs. Sheds, boats, orchid rooms… We both agreed we would love to hear of a treehouse-dwelling sleuth. Do let us know if you’ve heard of one, won’t you?
Here are some tree houses that he/she might like to try out… Something for every taste, modern to traditional, mansion to modest dimensions. I suppose it’s something to do with our hunter/gatherer roots, that we are so attracted to tree houses.