In a Nutshell: Eyeball Living

Doesn’t matter how big your loft is or how much light you’ve got, every so often, you probably get a hankering for something a little more organic.

Tom Chudleigh’s rock-a-bye shelters should feed your need. Inspired by shipbuilding design, the spherical tree houses are built from either cedar strips or fiberglass, and are roughly the size of a 12 by 12 room. And like a boat, the interior of the sphere is conveniently fitted with a small platform in the middle to make it easier for bipeds to maneuver.

From the outside, they look like giant eyeballs. But suspend one of these babies from a few trees and you’ve got your very own bird’s nest, high above the clamor and clatter of the city. Add a DIY suspension bridge and staircase for easy access to your house and you can kiss renting good-bye forever.

The spheres aren’t outfitted with separate rooms, so privacy is at a minimum, but Chudleigh has included a loft, living area, kitchen, portholes, and working front door. The spheres are also equipped with standard power connections to run a microwave, blender, space heater or whatever else you simply can’t live without.

Hung in the old growth forests of Vancouver Island, Chudleigh’s prototypes accommodate weary travelers looking for a place to hang their hats. The “free spirit spheres” are light, but their shells as tough as nuts. So even though you’ll sway as the treetops do, you’ll be safer than a squirrel. And don’t worry about seasickness. The ropes you’re swinging on will absorb most of the movement.

Bio-mimicry that works with nature and human bodies. Space-saving design as cute and convenient as European studios.

Sounds like pretty good reasons not to cut all those old trees down.