Here’s the scenario: You’ve come up with the perfect design for a fort encompassing two trees. Mom’s on board. Dad’s on board. The kids are beside themselves with excitement. Now comes the tricky part. To speed up the installation process, you’ll be building most of the components in your shop…
Every custom structure that we build begins with a site visit and some creative brainstorming. The family describes their needs and Barbara looks at any unusual or challenging features of the outdoor space. In this case, drastic changes in elevation were the key features to work around. Above, Barbara has…
Built for the lucky two- to five-year-olds that attend The Orinda Preschool, the TOPS treehouse is a secure way for very young children to experience the highest limbs of a tree. In operation since 1938, The Orinda Preschool’s play-based curriculum offers the children copious amounts of self-directed exploration, and what better…
You’ll need both a secret password and solid climbing skills to get into this clubhouse! Start by making your way down the steep hillside with the help of a massive rope. If you’re up for yet another challenge, test out the climbing wall and you’ll end up at an…
Here’s a peek at one of Barbara’s latest projects, from start to finish: Barbara started with a design sketch that combined rustic tree stumps & limbs with rugged construction to create a rough & tumble outdoor play structure. Early on in the process, Barbara & Jeff went on site to…
Crooked Gap Clubhouse starts out in the design phase with Barbara’s sketch: During the initial design process, Barbara, Jeff & Marco spend a day doing a “stick-out” on site, using rough strips of wood to layout the shape of the Clubhouse on the hillside.Then later, after building, staining & detailing…
Castle Play Structure: Everything is built and the site is ready!Barbara does a quick layout inside the newly graded space to verify that the play structure, with appropriate Use Zone, will still fit. Installation Day1: Monday is a hot, sunny day. Things heat up quickly when carrying all the play…
New Castle Play Structure design: Barbara’s latest design started with traipsing through the woods to find the perfect spot for the play structure. Her goal is to find a spot close enough to the house to keep an eye on young kids (from the kitchen window or a porch) but…
