Pete Nelson (born June 4, 1962) is an American master treehouse builder,Gardener, Cheney
"Build a Better Treehouse Without Hurting Yourself, Your Pride, or a Tree; A master treehouse builder (yes, that's his real job title) on the numbers, physics, and philosophy of the perfect fortress"
''

Outside (magazine) ''Outside'' is a magazine focused on the outdoors. The first issue of the ''Outside'' magazine was published in September 1977. It is published by Outside Inc., a company that also owns various other ventures. History ''Outside'' founders were ...

'', June 6, 2016. Accessed September 20, 2018. "Pete Nelson’s first treehouse sat in a maple tree in his childhood home's cramped Ridgewood, New Jersey, backyard." author, and, from 2013 to 2018, host of the

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel focusing on the animal kingdom owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1 ...

television show '' Treehouse Masters''.
USA Today.

Personal life

Nelson became excited about treehouses at the age of 5 when his dad built him a tree fort behind the garage of their

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a Village (New Jersey), village in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Ridgewood is a suburban commuter town, bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown M ...

home, but it wasn't until 1987 that he built his first adult treehouse in his Colorado Springs backyard. He is a graduate of

Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy (often called Deerfield or DA) is an Independent school, independent College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding and day school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schoo ...

and

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

in Colorado Springs. Nelson runs Nelson Treehouse and Supply, a treehouse building and supply company, and Treehouse Point, a treehouse Bed & Breakfast located outside of Seattle. Until 2018, Nelson hosted Animal Planet’s television series, Treehouse Masters. He lives with his wife, Judy, in

Fall City, Washington Fall City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States, east of Seattle. The community lies along the Snoqualmie River and Raging River. The population was 2,032 at the 2020 census ...

and has three adult children, all of whom work in the family treehouse-building business.

Career

In 1987, Nelson's dream of a career in treehouses was rekindled by the book ''How to Build Treehouses, Huts and Forts'' by David Stiles that was sent to him by a high school friend and shortly thereafter, he built his first adult treehouse in his back yard in Colorado Springs, moving to Washington State that same year, where he built homes and started writing books about treehouses.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Nelson owns and operates Nelson Treehouse & Supply in Fall City, WA, 30 miles outside of Seattle and the company is a family affair, with wife Judy, daughter Emily and sons Charlie and Henry, all involved. The 1994 publication of ''Treehouses: The Art and Craft of Living Out on a Limb'' inspired him to write 5 more books on the subject. His latest book, titled ''Be in a Treehouse'', details the technical aspects of building in the trees along with showcasing treehouses from all over the world. In 1997 Nelson co-founded the Tree-House Workshop. In 2006, Nelson opened Treehouse Point, a bed-and-breakfast composed entirely of treehouses, near Fall City outside of Seattle, WA. In 2011, he founded Nelson Treehouse and Supply, a high end treehouse design, construction and supply business based out of Fall City, Washington. In 2013,

launched Treehouse Masters, a documentary series which shows Nelson and his crew traveling the world, building treehouses. As of 2015, the show was averaging 1.3 million viewers per episode. In 2016, Nelson collaborated with country music star

Zac Brown Zachry Alexander Brown (born July 31, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the co-founder and lead singer of the country Zac Brown Band, as well as electronic dance music group Sir Rosevelt. In 2019, Brown ...

to build a 1,300 square foot treehouse at Brown's Camp Southern Ground, a non-profit designed to serve children with neuro-developmental disorders as well as children from military families struggling with PTSD.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Pete 1962 births Living people American founders Colorado College alumni People from Fall City, Washington People from Ridgewood, New Jersey