Who doesn't long for a tree house to escape the trappings of daily life? If there's one thing kids and adults have in common, it's an innate appreciation for and fascination with well-designed lofty perches nestled into the branches of a majestic tree. Tashen's new book Tree Houses: Fairy Tale Castles in the Air features stunning images of 50 of the world's most amazing tree house designs. Structures range from traditional A-frame homes in miniature, to bulbous, futuristic dwellings that cling to behemoth branches. There is a true wealth of images to be savored in the glossy photos captured of each arboreal abode in Taschen's 352 page book.

Ilya Korolev, an architect friend of mine, once designed a tree house that was to act as a kid-friendly annex to our lean-to cabin in upstate New York. The design (pictured in the image above) resembled a yurt suspended ten-or-so feet off the ground by high-capacity cables with rope ladder access. The “flying yurt,” as we affectionately referred to it, is yet to be built. But I thought of Ilya’s design as I reviewed the equally brilliant designs featured in Tree Houses: Fairy Tale Castles in the Air. One day…

+ Tree Houses: Fairy Tale Castles In The Air $69.99