6 High-Flying New Treetop Abodes by O2 Treehouses

Over the years Dustin Feider of <a href="http://o2treehouse.com/">O2 Treehouse</a> has put together an amazing portfolio of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/gorgeous-south-african-home-sits-amid-the-treetops/">unique treetop dwellings</a> made of everything from wood to metal, and we've rounded up six of our favorites. We've featured his <a href="http://inhabitat.com/o2-sustainability-treehouse-by-dustin-feider/">geodesic treehouses</a> in the past, but this new collection demonstrates the talented designer's ability to adapt his creations to all kinds of unique sites and situations. Hit the jump to see a slatted treehouse, a tee-pee, and even a lotus-shaped retreat, along with a few others. Who knows - they might give you a few cool new ideas for your own backyard retreat!

Here is yet another unique treehouse design we've never seen before and this one only has a footprint of 80 square feet. The platform of this treehouse and bridge is supported with a tensegrity tripod made of bamboo. It has two hanging platforms connected with ropes and ladders so the kids in Venice, California can swing back and forth. A catwalk leads into a dense bamboo forest - the ultimate sanctuary.

The Mulholland Slat Treehouse is definitely unique. It was made from 70 vertical slats of FSC certified wood and then fashioned into 10 foot cylindrical structure that was set 20 feet high in a live Oak tree. The sweep of the treehouse mimics the surrounding valley's shape and permits slivers of moonlight at night through the slats.

These two lotus tree houses were pre-fabricated on site before they were installed around a live oak tree using a circular tube that supports cables tied to the tree's branches. One of the structures is 8 foot in diameter and the other is 10 feet and they are connected by a cable car that provides quick transportation between them. They were made with sustainably-sourced materials.

This treehouse is more like a ship. The owner in Hollywood had very little space in the backyard for the children to play in, so they commissioned this unique treehouse that comes complete with a cabin, a captain's for, a bow and a stern. It's rigged into the hillside using steel cables and anchored with concrete footings. The tree-ship is reached via two rope ladders and a sneaky trap door.

We've featured cozy tipis on Inhabitat before, but they were sitting in the top of a tree! The TreePi was designed for two young chidden in Santa Monica and consistent of a 25 tall treehouse covered with a recycled sailboat sail. The whole structure is anchored to the Canadian Pine with a cable support system and a trap door entry lets the kids get down to the forest floor.

The Geo Donar was made out of leftover cherry hardwood taken from the owner's house remodel in San Diego, California and then covered in a recycled HDPE canopy. The dome is totally water-tight and zips up with marine zippers, and the exit is reached with a basket powered by an electric winch pulley system. It's has a 14 foot diameter.