Get 'Er Done: Vashon Island Treehouses Starts Growing

A New Project: Vashon Island Treehouses
My brother Gene Kuhns Jr. has always been a “doer”. With his wife Jan by his side (and often, slightly in front of him), they get more done in a week than many folks get done in a year. That’s why I’m excited and anxious to watch the progress on their latest, all-encompasing project: Building a series of tree houses on their newly-expanded property on Vashon Island, WA.

Gene Kuhns _hammock swing, Vashon Island Treehouses When Gene was considering moving out to Seattle to take a job several years ago, I told him that there was no way he could live in the suburbs, where I lived. He and Jan wanted more land where they could do organic gardening, bee-keeping, wild-flower raising, hanging out in a hammock swing, and all the other things that makes him a “Nature’s Guy.” Having just visited Vashon Island for the first time, I suggested he look there.

Fast forward several years. Not only do they have a house on acreage there, but they recently expanded their property to include what is basically a wilderness less than a hour from downtown Seattle (by Washington State Ferry). Perfect place for a Seattle-area “Staycation”.

Here’s what Gene said in his own words:

Good morning from the lovely Pacific Northwest, & Vashon Island, which is in the heart of the Puget Sound.

Our plan is to build tree house & hobbit house accessory units for a bed and breakfast “Nature Immersion Experience” on a pristine 7 acre property, on the north end of Vashon Island.

In order to have accessory units, one needs to first have a primary unit or primary residence. That’s the first step.

We are currently in the permitting stage with King County for the Primary residence. CAD (Critical Area Designation) completed yesterday! Whoot! Whoot!

I’m very excited by their new adventure. You can follow Vashon Island Treehouses on Facebook, as well as on this blog.

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David Kuhns

Dave Kuhns is originally a quasi-city boy from suburban Milwaukee, but he spent weekends and summers in nature on Lake Winneconne in central Wisconsin. After raising his kids in a Seattle suburb, he moved to a small town in central Utah. He figured he’d buy some rural property there, or back in the Badger State.

Then he fell in love. Through a series of amazing events, he bought a rural property (a few acres) across the creek from the Chickamauga National Military Park (Civil War battlefield). There, he and his new wife are putting into reality the conservation, gardening and land management practices he learned from his grandmother, his forest ranger Dad, his little brother, and his own surburban experience.