Time for a confession: We don’t have our own treehouse yet. Yes, really. In fact, we don’t even have a piece of land let alone a tree to build one on. Real estate prices and so on. That’s why I – Miriam – was incredibly happy when I stumbled across the small shop “Amazing Plant-house” from Rotterdam.

Founder Maarten Kok offers feather-light plant houses made of balsa wood as DIY kits. Whether slender, prickly or thick-stemmed, these miniature treehouses really fit on every plant. Kok’s models are classic, minimalist, at the same time designed with great attention to detail and simply beautiful. With a little practice and a healthy dose of swearing every now and then, they’re easy to assemble and customize.

The online shop Amazing Plant-house inspires miniature builders from all over the world, and the shop now has 9,400 fans on Instagram. One of the products is not only beautiful to look at, but also very useful: the Plant-dripper reliably waters your indoor jungle even when you are not twiddling your green thumbs at home.

The newest product in the store is an expansion set that offers four to five misprints for custom treehouse construction in small format. In addition to the kits, there are also mini spotlights and small fairy lights, so that your miniature world also appears in a good light at night.

All sets contain everything you need for assembly except for the Stanley knife. But this can be purchased in the shop. Even the wood glue is included in a convenient size. The assembly instructions are clear and easy to understand. However, as a bloody beginner in miniature construction, my fingers first had to get used to the small, damn light components. Together with the wood glue, these can form a really mean connection. Fortunately, broken parts can be quickly glued back together. The learning curve is steep. Only the delicate rocking chair brought out unattractive aspects of me, at the same time I was all the happier when it ostentatiously rocked in the finished house after the third repair. On the other hand, it’s nice that you can carry the plant house beams on your pinky finger and don’t need two strong helpers.

So far I have purchased and tested nine products (incl. chain of lights and bird’s nest), installed four of them and given away a few as gifts. I enjoyed the tree hut the most, which I gave to a friend for her big birthday. This was the first set I personalised. A predator-print-carpet stretches out in it, on which there is a small gift table with a tablecloth, gift and birthday candle. A towel is still hanging on the railing to dry, in front of the door with the house number 5 there is a red upholstered rocking chair, you know which one. I colored the balsa wood with a very thin top coat, while I coated the plant-dripper with coffee grounds.

Conclusion: If you want to breathe treehouse life into your favorite plants, you will find well thought-out DIY kits in the Plant-house Shop, which contain everything you need for the implementation. All you should have ready is a steady hand and your favorite curses. With these plant houses you can realize your treehouse dream on a small scale with little money and time but a lot of joy. In short: Yes, I would do it again.

Super precise laser cuts make assembling easy. But beware, they’re fragile!*

The supporting structure is mounted with rubbers…*

… while one half of the platform just sits loosely on top*

That way the platform can be disassembled or adapt to a growing plant.*

The Plant-dripper provides with water while you’re away*

The atmosphere of a big birthday immortalized on a houseplant**

Like the real house it also carries the nr. 5**

A thumbtack serves as a candle, left over balsa wood as a table**

The plant looks like its made for the plant house, doesn’t it?**