Amanda Simons I can't get over the first one. It would be awesome to watch woodland creatures crawl around "inside" the house, but how the heck do you clean that?! I live in WV woods (where this house is), and I have a hard enough time keeping my normal windows clean from woodpecker doo. Not to mention tree pollen and other animals. Still cool though!

twilcox My thoughts exactly, Amanda! Seems like you would constantly be climbing inside that box to clean! And, I'm not sure I would welcome the sight of vermin that might be inclined to run up the tree in the middle of my house. (thinking opposum right now). LOL. Very interesting ideabook though!

Mooshlu You just need one of these to keep them clean!
http://mocoloco.com/fresh2/2010/09/24/from-korea-a-robot-that-does-windows.php

mrlonestar Mooshlu - That cleaning contraption is only good if you can get at both sides of the window. It would not work with this idea. Nice try though. You are asking for a nightmare to clean that glass if you go with that tree. I don't think I would go for it unless I could afford maid service to do the windows. Instead of the tree maybe an aquarium would work better?

hometipster Love the first one, as I'm sure most people here do. Just a fantastic concept of having nature incorporated into the interior design. Wonderful.

astraea I love trees, but I'm not sure how much I'd get out of having a couple of bare trunks encased in glass, in the house! I have a Japanese spider maple right outside my office window, and love it's colorful leaves .. and watching the critters climb around it. Besides the whole "cleaning the glass" issue .. what do you do when a squirrel decides to bury its nuts somewhere safe .. like at the base of your encased tree?! What prevents birds like woodpeckers coming in to pick at insects .. then flying into the glass? Maybe a mesh screen around the tree at the roofline?

brant3 I'm thinking perhaps doing this setting in more of a screened in porch or deck setting, enjoyed through windows in harsh weather. Not sure if all tree species could endure the treatment above though.

purplepansies Although intriguing, all I can wonder is how do you take it down if it gets damaged or diseased? It's on my mind because of the many trees that had to come down around my neighborhood due to Superstorm Sandy.

Sharon I agree with the cleaning. That goes for those gigantic windows too. Imagine having to climb 30' ladders to try and get swipe free cleaning done on those! And I wouldn't be able to stand it if I had left a swipe mark or missed a spot. And live trees grow. I tried to wrap a deck around some trees but within a few years, the deck had to be replaced for 2 reasons. The trees had grown and some had died due to pine beetles. You could argue that you could cut down a tree but cutting down a tree surrounded by a house would be an expensive nightmare leaving you with a stump under the house that could draw termites. Living in the woods for 5 years I also found that having trees close to the house endanger your house to falling limbs and trees, roots that undermine the foundation and break up your paved driveway. I do believe in having trees in strategic spots to shade your house (we live in hot SC) but not so close that it can damage your house.

Stone & Land, LLC I agree with a lot of the practical comments. Most people don't have the resources to build homes with trees growing through them. It’s fun to enjoy the images though. I always liked the Idea of a house with a courtyard, the house on 3 sides, 1 side accessible and a great tree, not necessarily centered, maybe kind of the fourth side. The canopy acts as an organic cieling. A really cool outdoor room viewable from most of the house but with built in privacy. I think the last picture evokes some of that vibe.

jsonderg The tree design concept in photo one is quite possible the worst idea i have ever seen, right next to the stupid invention of forced air heating.

cargar01 I agree with Sharon to say the trees would undermine the foundation of the house. What would stop animals from climbing into the glass cases and getting trapped? Beautiful to look at but not very practical.

brant3 jsonderg, I would really like to hear more on your comment about forced air heating. I'm always searching for alternatives to common HVAC.

Amanda Simons Sharon, I also have a deck that is built around trees. What I really want to do is tear it out and replace it with stone or pavers, that way if the trees do come down (and hopefully not on the house), I would only have to put the rocks back in place instead of rebuilding the deck.

katiejones79 as one who is ALWAYS trying to bring nature indoors, there are stunning ideas that i look forward to figuring out how to incorporate! thanks for sharing!

A D Construction We completed an amazing project we affectionately call the "Tree House". This house is built around a redwood tree that the neighbor planted the day that President Kennedy was assassinated. The tree is now huge in the middle of the lot. There is also a beautiful oak tree in the backyard. The house was built to maximize the view and interaction with the redwood tree and the oak tree. A suspension bridge carries you through the canopy of the redwood tree. A soaking tub in the master bedroom sits under a Nana Window to capture the beauty of the oak. A spiral staircase made from a downed cedar tree completes the tree house. This was such a fun and inspiring project.

Stone & Land, LLC One of the first examples I ever saw of someone trying to bring nature into the house by building around a tree. It wasn't a very good experiment with the tree limb eventually dying probably from the construction damage and the temperature differential between the house and cold outside. Also damage from water infiltration. You can see a photo of the before in the foreground and now there is a just a reference with a prop tree limb tacked in place. Frank Lloyd Wrights home and studio in Oak Park IL. Even great minds make mistakes See the the article in Houzz this week.

astraea @Stone & Land - It's dangerous for people to only think of the space the trunk of a tree takes up, when they should measure the "drip line", as a perimeter of the root network that needs to be protected (or could come up under the floor).

A D Construction I agree with the comments about protecting the trees & home. Our project above had a very special plan to protect the trees. There was an arborist that consulted on the project from the design phase to the end of construction. The foundation of the house was carefully engineered to protect the tree roots and allow them to grow and expand (deep pillars with a raised perimeter foundation). Extensive thought went into preservation of the trees and longevity of the home.

Stone & Land, LLC Like A D said its good to have a tree protection plan. Root pruning well in advance of construction (like a year) a thick layer of mulch during construction to minimize compaction, snow fence barriers and keeping storage of materials away from trees, and pillar or pier foundations, like they probably used in the first photo, are all good measures. Tree roots, especially the feeder roots that gather the water and nutrients, extend well past the drip line and are very close to the surface. Thats why compaction is one of the biggest killers, especially of Oaks.

La Lune Collection We just LOVE these tree-centered rooms! If you're not lucky enough to have a beautiful tree sprouting through your dining room, we think it might be a nice alternative to evoke the feeling with a table like this one from La Lune Collection. http://www.lalunecollection.com/collection/tables/table-base-only-3095-3101/