Treehouses: not just for Suri or guys ordained by the heavens anymore! In the first of its new five-part Off the Grid series, AOL Real Estate takes a look at Finca Bellavista, a 600-acre treehouse community in the Costa Rican rainforest. "We literally stumbled upon the land and the opportunity, and the idea to build a treehouse village just popped into my head," says Erica Hogan, who cofounded the enclave with her husband in 2006. "I didn't envision just one treehouse, [I wanted] my friends in the tree next door to me, with a zipline from my house to theirs. It just made sense at the time, and it seemed fun."
Structured somewhat like the Star Wars universe of Endor—in which Ewoks live among the trees—Finca Bellavista radiates outward from a core group of homes via suspended bridges, and now contains five true treehouses, each handmade from local harvested teak and naturally felled wood from the surrounding forest, plus a bunch of other huts/structures. "The wildlife and the immersion in the environment can't even be explained. It's an experience and a life like no other," Hogan says. More details and pics, over at AOL Real Estate.
· Costa Rica's Finca Bellavista Treehouse Community Is 100 Percent Sustainable (Off the Grid) [AOL Real Estate]
· All treehouses coverage [Curbed National]