Tree House
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After years of childhood dreaming, waiting and planning, the new tree house has finally took its physical form from a person’s heart to the heart of Tuscany. Like some of our other glamping structures, it was constructed by hand here on the property of Agriturismo Pereti. The whole family participated in the planning, designing, constructing, painting and decorating; including our children, friends, and volunteers who came to give us a helping hand from Canada, Costa Rica, England, Curacao, Venezuela, Colombia and Hungary. The Casa delle Fate - as we decided to name it, accommodates comfortably 3 people, but it can host even a family of four for an special experience to be always remembered. We built the tree house with one fundamental philosophical concept: whatever we will do, we will not hurt the hosting tree. The tree house is only a “visitor” of the living tree, which has been growing here for many years. It was clear from the beginning that we must not cut any major branches of the tree, but rather enfold the house around the tree in a way that the living tree will coexist with the new visitor.
We decided that the tree house will have its own supporting pillars extended from the ground in order to avoid any stress of access weight on the hosting tree. Similarly, it was clear that no nails and screws will be used to hurt the living tree. Unfortunately, many tree house builders around use screws and nails unscrupulously. With this philosophy, however, we did not make things easy. On the contrary! Instead of screwing, nailing and leaning on the tree, we needed to find a way to build the tree house around a tree, which decided to grow on a very steep slope! And since we decided not to cut any major branches, we were faced with a hard choice: either we make the house tiny to avoid the branches, or we allow some branches to grow inside the bedroom! Many discouraged us from this second option as we would create technical difficulties in the process. Mostly, how do we prevent insects to enter inside? How do we prevent water to enter? How do we take into the consideration wind aspect, which will move the branches? What about the diameter of the branches, which will change in time? The logic was telling us to avoid this challenge! However, the lure of unknown, the curious idea of coexisting with the tree at least for a short visit, and the general curiosity inside was telling us we should try. So we chose the challenge and allowed the tree to grow inside the bedroom.
After many experiments, dozens of hours of climbing on the tree and around it, we finally decided on the exact position of the house, which would not require any cutting of major branches and thus hurting the tree. This was a long effort of many many hours, drawings, and climbs upon the tree. After lots of time we found the final position of our tree house in such a height and such an angle that the branches growing inside could grow and would not prevent movement of people within the house. We first used light wooden poles to build the actual dimensions of the tree and terrace platform, to be sure we liked the size and shape. After we all agreed, we dismantled the model to plant the actual pillars and attach supporting beams. This process alone took almost a month! The house is now finished! It seemingly stands on the hosting tree, but in reality it is supporting by very robust chestnut pillars, which were carefully chosen in a nearby forest.
No chestnut tree was cut. We only used dead fallen trees. This had two positive aspects: we did not have to cut and we used wood that is already dry. After the harvest, we first burned the pillars with flame at the bottom to minimize moisture damage in future. This is an old and proved technique used by local farmers for centuries. We no machinery, we were not sure how to raise these pillar. After some experiments we finally raised them above the ground and placed them in straight position. This was no easy task and took many hours of delicate work. Also, the horizontal beams are of the hard wood chestnut, which were collected locally. They are 5,5 meters long weighing well over 150 kilos each. To raise these by hand 4 meters above ground was a lot of fun but not a joke! Another important aspect of the tree house was the element of light. As we allowed for the living branches to reach out inside the house, we also needed to give them as much light as possible so that the branches would not suffer from the lack of light, and could grow in future. We finished with 14 windows (!), which are carefully placed between supporting beams, the inclining roof, and branches reaching inside.
All windows are well insulated and double layered, with 2 cm wide air chamber. Also the walls and the roof of the house are well protected with 8 cm wide insulation panels. The larch wood terrace is another beautiful aspect of the Fairy House. The terrace is built on the western side of the tree house, which allows beautiful lake views of the Montemassi Damn and the picturesque village of Roccatederighi. It is shaded the whole day, and therefore very comfortable even during the hot summer months. The protective railing is made from “weaving branches” to support the natural feeling of the house. The sunsets are particularly breathtaking from the terrace. Because of the height of the terrace, which reaches 4 meters above the ground, however, only adults and children above 12 years old are allowed. A private bathroom with a compost toilet, sink and shower with hot water is located 10 meters away.
The magic our Tuscan tree house is underlined by the tree itself, which is special in many ways. The tree house is built around a majestic cork oak, one of the most beautiful trees on the property, which is sacred to some cultures. In ancient Greece, for instance, only priests were allowed to cut them down. Cork oak symbolizes freedom and honour. Cork oak (Quercus suber) is an evergreen tree, which is a primary source of cork for wine stoppers, and its used also for insulation. It can live over 200 years, and it will therefore most likely outlive the tree house we built around it. Maremma Toscana is one of Mediterranean main produces of cork. The cork from the tree harvested every 9-12 years before the bark regrows to be harvested again. In Maremma Toscana, the tree is protected and can not be cut down without a special permission. Come and discover the magic of our Fairy House Tree house in the heart of Tuscany; one of the most unique glamping tree houses in Italy.
OCCUPANCY
• 2 - 4 persone
CHILDREN
• Children are welcome. Attention: the terrace of the house is 4 meters high above the ground. Parents assume a total responsibility for the safety of their children.
LENGHT OF STAY
• 1 night minimum
BATHROOMS
• A private bathroom equipped with a shower, sink and compost toilet
• Soap and toilet paper are included.
HOUSE RULES
• No smoking
• No open fires
• Quiet hours 10 pm-9 am
INCLUDED
• Use of hot and cold water.
• Bed linen, room and pool towels
• Wifi in the common areas
• Final cleaning
• House safe
• Free parkingContinue
• Final cleaning
• House safe
• Free parking
NOT INCLUDED
• Dinner: 30 euros/person (upon reservation only)
• Kitchen (15 euros/day)
• Change of towels: 5 euros/person
• Change of bed linen: 10 euros/person
• Extra cleaning during your stay: 20 euros
• Washing machine: 10 euros/loadContinue
• Change of towels: 5 euros/person
• Change of bed linen: 10 euros/person
• Extra cleaning during your stay: 20 euros
• Washing machine: 10 euros/load
