The story below is a preview from our July / August 2016 issue. For the full story Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
The dominant credo of these multi-generational tree houses seems to be that “what happens in the tree house stays in the tree house.”
Tree houses don’t exactly pre-date people, but they didn’t come long afterwards. What began as necessary housing in areas where predators roamed at night has long since been a children’s recreation vehicle, as well as a centerpiece for family bonding.
Tree houses are sprinkled through the urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods of the Roanoke Valley and they come in every level of complexity and expense, but the most family-oriented of all of them are those built by the families, working as a team.
We sought out several good examples of them recently and here are their stories.
Sharpley Family
“We knew we wanted to do something special, simple, nothing elaborate, and something we knew our children would enjoy,” says TK Sharpley. “We wanted the bare minimum, a lean-to, and nothing involving a kit to resemble the park playground equipment. It had to be a structure that was safe, sound, and provide an escape from under the regime of our watchful eye.”
So, 35 years ago Ron Sharpley (now a retired dentist), laid in some lumber and went to work on a tree house in South Roanoke that is now entering its second full generation for children of the Sharpley family. It was originally constructed for Walter (now 41), Sarah (Carino, 39) and Lauren (Hartman, 28). Now their young children are enamored with the tree house, which has considerable wear, occasional cobbling back together and is the home for stories.
“What happens in the tree house stays in the tree house,” says Sarah, smiling broadly. Over the years, the treehouse has been home for many sleepovers, booming rock music and graduation over-nighters. The house has undergone occasional renovations (Lauren painted ocean waves inside and Ron has shored up the base upon occasion), but it remains basically the same, about 40 feet from the house and slightly above it.
Says TK: “We realized that children could care less about design, function and neighborhood curb appeal. Treehouses, after all, are meant for forming life-long friendships, sharing secrets, and living in the pretend world, as long as possible.”
And, she says, “Whatever Walter, Sarah, and Lauren tell you ... believe what you must. Fact or fiction, only the walls of the shelter in the woods know for sure.”
Hall Family
Archer Hall, who is now 13, nailed up the first board to what would become the tree house in the Halls’ fascinating back yard in Salem three summers ago. That suited for a while.
“It was a death trap,” says dad Lynwood. Mama Aimee called it “a co-pay platform.”
Then, the idea of a real tree house, constructed among three large trees, was born, and the whole family pitched in. The wood came from a neighbor’s razed barn. Archer designed the two-phase ladder system and her mom and dad, Aimee and Lynwood (he is in creative services at Foot Levelers, she is an events coordinator), went to work on the upper floor, a triangle with railings, a simple design.
“It’s not much, but it’s a lot,” says Archer. “We didn’t want it to be as crappy or as dangerous” as it was, says Archer.
Now, it’s just right. “You should see the sunsets from up there,” says Aimee, who goes up to relax upon occasion. Archer goes up to play music and to talk the way teenagers talk. “We took a little pool up there once,” she says.
Leftwich Family
Robert Leftwich wanted to build something special for his granddaughter, Morgan Smith (now 12), who lives across the street in the Windsor Hills area of Roanoke. Morgan has always been a regular at her grandparents’ home and a tree house in the back yard, just beyond the swimming pool, would be yet another attraction
Robert is a retired information systems consultant and wedding photographer, but he has always been handy with a hammer and a rule. He enlisted his friend Larry Hubbard to help put the house together—with suggestions, like windows, for design from Morgan—and they finished the project in about six weeks. “We poked along,” says Robert.
Initially this was a “no boys allowed” zone, but Morgan is rethinking that corporate policy as she nears teen-age. She hangs out in the tree house with her friends. The house is electrified, so she can plug in her phone, and it is equipped with WiFi. There is a small basket and pulley at the back of the house that was once used to raise the family dog to the second level, but that’s no longer necessary.
“It means a lot to me that [my grandfather] built it,” she says. “It took a lot of time and cost a lot of money. My friends and I will hop out of the pool, go get an ice cream and go inside the tree house to talk.”
“When the curtains are drawn,” says Robert, “there is a secret meeting in session.” He smiles.
Kakouras Family
When the Van Kakouras family—wife, two children—moved into their woodsy home in Roanoke County, it had large decks on the front and back. Those decks have been disassembled and moved about 40 yards up a hill behind the family home now and are well on the way to becoming an impressive, finished tree house.
It is a tree house in that it is built around trees, bolted to them, not so much a house sitting in a tree. Frankly, the location is high enough without having to mount a tree for a view. One of the most significant challenges in building the house, says Van, was getting the lumber up the hill.
The house is almost all recycled wood, tiles, paper and the like and what didn’t come from the two decks (which Van replaced on a smaller scale) has been bought at Habitat for Humanity.
“I’m kind of a pack rat,” says Van, “so I had a lot of materials already.” He’s looking now for cedar siding (“to match the house”) in order to finish the tree house.
Van once worked for a custom home builder and learned the building skills there. “I’ve always tinkered with home projects,” he says.
Son George, a 10-year-old point guard, is looking forward to occupying the finished tree house. “I wanted a big tree house,” he says, looking up the hill at the two-story house.