A Fairoaks creation, outside of New York City

This elegant chalet-type treehouse is nestled 20 feet high in the white pine foliage of an island on Maine's Flying Lake. Its deck is perfect for a view of the lake, but serves a far more thrilling purpose: a diving board. A favorite activity: vaulting off in cannonball formation for a dip.

Jonathan Fairoaks, on a tree house in New York