Just one day of Christmas cheer isn’t enough for a real-life Santa and Mrs. Claus, who celebrate the season 365 days a year in Southern California. Old St. Nick and the missus call on Pete and his crew to spruce up their yard with some holiday magic. Pete creates a treehouse workshop complete with Santa's red chair, a naughty-or-nice drawbridge, a secret elf trap door, a candy cane and holly access bridge and some miracle Christmas snow...in the California desert!

Santa's Workshop

Pete Nelson

Temple of Adventure

Season 1

Pete builds an incredible, adventure-themed treehouse for a young, exploration-loving family in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. The family calls Pete and his crew to create a massive, two-story jungle masterpiece packed with secret doors and hidden passageways within a cluster of cherry trees! Pete delivers not just one but two bouncy suspension bridges, a daring rock-climbing wall anda living wall containing more than 700 live plants for this colossal treehouse, which overlooks a deep gorge. With a secret sarcophagus entrance, a second-sleeping loft and loads of adventurous novelties, this treehouse is sure to bring the family hours of fun, especially when Pete reveals his tailored, sentimental surprise: a tribute to the family’s beloved grandmother.

Two sisters who run their family’s rural inn in Farmington, Pennsylvania, present Pete with a bear of a task: build an observation treehouse on their 1000-acre property, where they can watch the black bears roaming the land. Pete is a little nervous at first when it comes to his team building in the midst of these wild beasts, but he turns his fear into inspiration by creating his first-ever mid-century decagon treehouse with walls of glass and windows, a wrap-around deck, cathedral ceilings and a closed-circuit bear-cam tracking system nestled among three white oaks and standing more than 20 feet from the ground. For the interior, Pete incorporates mission-style furniture, a roaring fireplace and a handmade oak bar.

Black Bear Bungalow

A large family from Independence, Ohio, runs a nonprofit organization Cornerstone of Hope, which provides grief services to anyone who has lost a family member. The family asks Pete to build a therapeutic space in the trees for Cornerstone of Hope, incorporating the nonprofit’s symbol, the butterfly. Pete jumps at this opportunity as he strongly believes in the unique healing power of trees and treehouses. He designs a butterfly-themed treehouse that stretches across six tree varieties, including a gorgeous cluster of maple, cherry, tulip and beech trees. The treehouse features a 400-square-foot deck, loft space, a butterfly wing-shaped jungle gym, a gigantic climbing net and a breathtaking butterfly chandelier. Pete really goes above and beyond when he outfits the treehouse with mechanical butterflies that can be enjoyed all year round!

Wild Butterfly Escape

A nature-loving woman in Humboldt County, California, asks Pete and his crew to build a treehouse that pushes their skills to the limit. She feels cramped in her home and wants a permanent residence 60 feet up in the area’s giant redwood trees. Pete and crew take the comforts of home to new heights in this bohemian-chic, tri-level treehouse, which boasts a bathroom, lounge and bedroom loft spread out throughout three floors with low-hanging lights, tapestries, modular furniture and an overall genie-in-a-bottle aesthetic. The owner dreams of being able to see the Pacific Ocean from her cozy forest perch atop the redwood canopy, and Pete knows that he and his crew are the only ones who can deliver!

Sky-high Redwood Retreat

A young couple has big dreams of a lighthouse treehouse atop a seaside seawall along the coast of Northwest Washington. Pete is challenged by the property’s incredibly steep grade and must deliver all of his materials to the site by way of barge only! The octagon-shaped, two-story, white-and-red shingled structure, which is housed among a group of cottonwood trees, features porthole windows, a wrap-around balcony, a nautical-themed interior and rainbow-colored glass. The couple, wanting to truly live off the grid, throws Pete a curve ball by asking him for a rainwater shower system, a composting toilet and supply power (where there is none). Surprisingly, Pete delivers a custom gift for the couple's pampered pooch: a 'backyard' high in the air!

Levitating Lighthouse

A family from nearby Seattle wants to expand its already famous rural recording studio up into the trees! Up for the challenge, Pete creates a high-tech, two-story recording oasis more than 36 feet tall with in a group of cedar trees. Marrying music and nature, Pete and crew accent the treehouse with rust-colored metal, patterned, textured cork walls and a massive picture window that overlooks the wild salmon creek below. Upon completion, this musical treetop masterpiece is ready for its first recording session when a Grammy-award-winning megastar arrives at the reveal to lay down a brand-new track.

Record-High Recording Studio

Pete uses handhewn rustic cedar to build an African-inspired circular hut treehouse complete with aerial walkway, spiral staircase, and thatched roof.

African Safari Hut-WRONG SEASON

Pete revisits his former home - a site where he built his very first treehouses. Revamping old treehouse building techniques with new and improved methods, the team fuses traditional wood with the power of steel, making these Nelson classics brand new.

Bionic Treehouse-WRONG SEASON

A couple in Tulsa has two things in common: they are both expert gardeners and they both have Scottish heritage. They enlist Pete to build “something extraordinary” in their backyard by creating a treetop Scottish cottage 10-feet high in a robust pin oak. Pete creates this sturdy treetop gardeners’ paradise to resist the powerful Oklahoma winds and connects it directly to the couple’s home via a sky bridge: a first for Pete! The treehouse features custom hanging flower baskets, floral-themed decorative railings, interior cubbies for storing gardening tools, Scottish-themed furniture and even tartan curtains. When all is said and done, the treehouse will be a floating garden in the sky, built by Pete and the NTS crew while donning a new addition to their uniforms – authentic Scottish kilts.

Scottish High Garden-WRONG SEASON

The matriarch of a multi-generational Memphis family with a retreat in a wild bird paradise reaches out to Pete to build a giant bird nest treehouse. This “human nest” will pay homage to the magnificent egret nests that line the family’s lake, and will be housed in two hackberry trees and one sturdy oak. The two-story retreat will feature driftwood railings woven to truly look like a living nest, a Southern-style living area, and twelve hand-crafted windows. The exterior will feature a wraparound screen-porch, wildlife viewing deck, and a dumbwaiter rigged to send Southern sweet tea to the roof during sunset bird watching sessions.

Birds Nest-WRONG SEASON

Pete and the crew look to Buddha's teachings as they build a traditional Japanese teahouse 20 feet in the air complete with a shoji screen wall, Tatami mats, low table with sunken floor and pagoda style roof for a zen-like paradise in Seattle.

Towering Treetop Teahouse-WRONG SEASON

Truly a worldwide phenomenon, treehouses extend to even the farthest corners of our world. Pete travels to Japan to tour with the country's most beloved, renowned treehouse builder: Takashi Kobayashi. Longtime friend of Pete’s and truly an inspiration to treehouse builders everywhere, Taka takes his American buddy on a whirlwind tour of his greatest creations, including a treehouse bar in the middle of Tokyo, a luxurious spa retreat in the countryside and a touching treetop tribute to children affected by the devastating 2011 tsunami. All the while, Pete experiences the wonders of Japan's wilds, the quirky excitement of Tokyo, and shares with us traditional Japanese experiences.

Treehouse Masters International: Japan-WRONG SEASON

Pete builds a treehouse that represents the meaning of summer camp, with a glamorous twist, just off the coast of WA. Pete gains inspiration to create a space that includes archery, a rock climbing wall, and enough bunk beds to sleep plenty of “glampers.”

Canopy Island Camp-WRONG SEASON

Pete and Daryl join forces with an inventive treehouse designer to create a sky-high geometric globe for an adventurous and deserving family whose many good works include rescuing lost and stranded hikers in the vast woodlands near their Seattle home. This 30-sided, out-of-this-world treetop orb will be connected to the trees solely by wires.

View From Above 2-WRONG SEASON

Brian Kelley – a Southern gentleman who just happens to be half of superstar country-pop sensation Florida Georgia Line – is dreaming of a treehouse that he can “cruise” to with his gorgeous new wife in their home outside of Nashville. It is a three story whimsical, speakeasy-themed creative space built at the edge of a ravine below their home, perched in two strong oaks and a hickory tree. A sky-high bridge attached to their front porch floats through the tree branches to the second story of the treehouse, allowing the couple to easily access their private refuge. Pete incorporates wood from a treehouse that Brian’s father built for him as a boy, a bedroom, office, writing room, and a fantastic music-recording studio decorated with Guatemalan fabrics and vintage light bulbs.

Country Superstar Speakeasy-WRONG SEASON

An Arizona boy's Make-a-Wish request is granted when Pete designs a tree house with a ramp for his wheelchair and characters from the 2014 film "The Boxtrolls."

AJ's Wish Treehouse-WRONG SEASON

People who know and work with Pete Nelson describe him as a tree whisperer. For his part, Nelson lets the trees do the talking. He's a world-renowned treehouse designer and builder, and this series documents the work he and his team of craftsmen—including his son Charlie—do to create incredible homes and businesses in nature's canopy. Pete uses a combination of science and art to realize clients' sky-high aspirations of magnificent multi-bedroom treehouses with elaborate kitchens and bathrooms, or simpler, peaceful one-room escapes. Other backyard escapes featured in the series include a spa retreat, a brewery, and a honeymoon suite. "We awaken that inner child who dreams of living among the trees," Pete says.

Santa's Workshop

Seasons11

Season 2 Episodes17

Cast1

Discussion

Episode Summary