The Brockloch Tree House sits perched on stilts among the trees at the edge of a clearing where clients George and Julie Nicolson’s Brockloch Farm meets the bluebell wood in Galloway, Scotland. The couple wanted a romantic, off-grid woodland retreat to complement their existing sustainable holiday cabin on their farm property.
Designer Sam Booth, founder of Scotland-based Echo Living, and also responsible for the design of the site's main cabin, created a treehouse made from two connecting pods—prefabricated in the Echo Living workshop—which are made of local larch and wrapped in corrugated tin skins. A steel staircase leads to the entrance of the main pod, which opens into the intimate 10-foot-by-11-foot living space. The interior walls are lined with spruce and accented with minimal soft colors.
Booth’s design fills the small capsule with natural light while still crafting a cozy interior. The walls of the pod are perforated with more than 50 small windows that allow beams of light to shine through the capsule and that also frame views of the woodlands and rolling Scottish hills. A full-width skylight above the built-in double bed further opens the space to its surroundings.
The kitchen is contained in a freestanding, hand-built cabinet which includes a built- in gas cook top, refrigerator, butler sink, and cupboard and drawer space. A tiled, fireplace nook houses a wood burning stove. Clever built-in shelves that often double as window sills, pull out drawers under the bed, and a blanket box provide useful hidden storage for a clutter-free space.
The private bathroom is secluded in the second, attached pod. A sunken tub sits below a second skylight and is surrounded by spruce panels, oak tiles, and tiny cut-out windows. The panel door pivots to conceal an environmentally friendly composting toilet.
