This Lakewood family has taken the concept of a tree house to new heights
Any child with his very own tree house, functioning as a hideaway or a place to play cops and robbers, could consider himself blessed. But few have one as distinctive as 6-year-old Spencer Willeford’s tree house.
Built with stained-glass windows and a wrap-around veranda, this tree house isn’t only a haven for imaginative adventures but also a conversation piece for friends and strangers alike. But with a mother who has a knack for home design and a father with his own hardwood business, anything less than unique would be a waste of talent.
Sara Willeford, mother and one half of Willeford Hardwood Floors, says her original plan was to build a cottage. But considering the ages of Willeford’s son and her two stepsons, 11 and 17, she knew they weren’t likely to play in a cottage.
“When I first thought of how it would be structured, I just knew I didn’t want your typical tree house. So I went to the bookstore and purchased books on different tree houses,” Willeford says. “I got consumed with a lot of different ideas and sketched it out and asked our framer if he could do a tree house.”
About a week and a half later, the state-of-the-art tree house was complete.
“It was fun watching it develop from a piece of paper,” Willeford says.
The project even included wiring the house for power.
“The electricity is to run the (ceiling) fans, but eventually my husband wants to put a television or a game station in there,” Willeford says.
Completed about four months ago, the tree house has since become a source of curiosity for the Willeford’s neighbors.
“Now everybody wants one,” Willeford says. “I’ve had several people drive by and just knock on the door and ask if they could look at it.”
This wasn’t the family’s first project. Willeford has renovated the entire house.
“Her ideas for home projects always come down to something way more than what I expected,” says her husband, Mark.
She has toyed with the thought of turning her passion for home design into a business, but would much rather be at home with her family, she says.
And that’s just fine with Spencer, who plays in the tree house almost every day with his neighborhood friends.
“I like to play trains in it,” he says. “What I like the most about it is the big tree that grows in it because it’s fun to play on.”
