The Carolina Jewel Treehouse in Asheville, NC

We recently had the opportunity to stay at the Carolina Jewel Treehouse near Asheville, North Carolina and it was absolutely incredible!  I also wrote an article for kidtripster.com, a website about family travel and you can read that article here.  The article includes a lot of information about things to do and places to eat in the area that I won’t cover here, so be sure and read it as well.  It also includes a link to a video tour of the treehouse that my daughters made.

First, a little background about the treehouse.  It was built in 2016 by The Treehouse Guys from the DIY Network. The episode is called “Diamond in the Sky” and is available to watch for free on Amazon Prime.  Now, you might be wondering what’s up with all of the jewel references.  Well, the lovely owners, Michael and Eva, have a jewelry store in downtown Asheville that has been in the family for 4 generations so it would be an understatement to say that gemstones are near and dear to their hearts.  If you are ever in Asheville, I recommend stopping by Spicer Greene Jewelers.  It is a great store!

The treehouse is actually located in Weaverville, which is about 15 miles from downtown Asheville.  Also on the property are 2 other houses available for rent:  the Carolina Jewel Farmhouse and the Crystal Creekside Cottage.

The Farmhouse is a 5,000-square-foot, beautifully-restored Victorian farmhouse with five bedrooms, each with a private, full bath and working fireplace.  Built in 1845, it sleeps up to 12 people and would be ideal for family reunions or retreats.  Walking through it, I couldn’t help but imagine the family that lived there in the 1800s and how much history had taken place inside those walls.  Eva pointed out that this house was built before the Civil War!  There were even a few original documents about the house (tax bill, purchase documents, etc) framed on the living room wall and seeing those was really neat.

The Cottage is right next door and has two bedrooms and two full bathrooms.  This 800-square-foot cabin sleeps four people and has a full kitchen.  True to its name, it sits right next to a picturesque mountain stream.

When we first arrived, we went underneath the treehouse so that the girls could help Eva fill the bird feeder, which gave us an opportunity to check out the structure of the treehouse. Little known fact:  I am a licensed architect (though I left the work force in 2007) so the structure of the treehouse was fascinating to me.  The girls were more interested in the bird feeder, which is actually really neat as well.  It hangs way up in the trees, on the same level as the treehouse, but must be raised and lowered by a winch to fill it.  Here they are getting a lesson from Eva:

Once it was lowered, they poured in the birdseed.

It took a while to crank it back up, so they took turns.

Eva and Michael also told us some interesting facts about the structure and even had a piece that the girls could hold.

Here’s another view that shows quite a bit of the structure:

Here you can see how they covered some of the steel posts with tree trunks.  The method they used is described in the tv show:

 Okay, I know you’re probably dying to see the treehouse so here we go.  I’ll start with the outdoor spaces and then move to the inside.

The path leading up to the treehouse is a mixture of dirt/gravel and stone steps:

There’s a 1,000 square foot deck surrounding the treehouse with several seating areas.

There’s an outdoor shower with endless hot water.  Because we had unusually warm weather that weekend, the girls were able to use it.

 Now, I’ll show you the interior.  The downstairs has a full kitchen, full bath, dining area, living area, and gas fireplace.

I love the tree branches that look like they’re growing through the house:

I also love the whimsical little touches like this sink in the downstairs bathroom:

This couch turns into a queen size bed and has a very comfortable memory foam mattress:

Now, let’s go upstairs.  The tree trunk at the top of the stairs has a story behind it.  It was found on the property and when it was young, a vine grew around it and after that, the tree ended up growing around the vine.  Eventually the vine killed the tree but left it with the corkscrew shape.

In the stairwell, there is a hidden storage area which my girls absolutely loved playing in.

This is one fancy bed.  It has a remote control that will raise and lower both the head and the foot of the bed.  There is also a massage option, as well as a night light feature that causes a soft light to glow from underneath.  It is also a memory foam mattress.

Here are the girls testing it out:

I love the tree branch up here too:

There are so many windows which show the amazing views.

I somehow neglected to get a photo of the upstairs bathroom, but it is a full bath with a window with a beautiful view of the mountains.  Also, both bathrooms have heated tile floors.

There are binoculars and a bird guide provided in the house, and my girls spent a lot of time watching all of the birds eat from the bird feeder, which is level with the deck.

Now I’ll share a little bit with you about the grounds.  Like I mentioned earlier, there is a beautiful little stream on the property that my girls loved playing in.  They spent hours out there.

Here you can see the treehouse in the background:

Next to the stream is a large grassy area which they also enjoyed playing in, as well as several good climbing trees.

You want to know what our favorite thing to do was?  Cook smores on the fire pit, which we did 3 times during our stay.

The creek is even lit at night:

Walking back to the treehouse one evening, I looked up and this view took my breath away:

We loved everything about our weekend at the treehouse.  I can’t recommend it enough and I hope we have the opportunity to return.

.

Disclosure: I pay for all of my own Disney vacations, but occasionally I am sent on assignment for a family travel website, kidtripster.com.  We were hosted at the Carolina Jewel Treehouse for the purpose of a review for kidtripster.com.