Creating a Custom Wood Door For A Treehouse

January 29, 2024

Since moving to Washington from California, Dannie and Craig McLaughlin have been creating their authentic home in Gig Harbor.

Dannie, an award-winning landscape designer, has made beautiful gardens around the property, full of local botanicals. Craig is a passionate collector and restorer of antique and classic cars. Each of his garages houses cars from a different country of origin: Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, The United States.

Despite all of the unique and personal elements, their home was still missing something. Every summer, especially around the Fourth of July, there wasn’t enough room for all their friends and family to stay. They needed a guest house—and the McLaughlins decided to make it a unique one. With a huge evergreen tree on the property, Craig and Dannie envisioned their new guest house as a treehouse. One with spectacular views of the Puget Sound.

Dannie, an award-winning landscape designer, has made beautiful gardens around the property, full of local botanicals. Craig is a passionate collector and restorer of antique and classic cars. Each of his garages houses cars from a different country of origin: Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, The United States.

Despite all of the unique and personal elements, their home was still missing something. Every summer, especially around the Fourth of July, there wasn’t enough room for all their friends and family to stay. They needed a guest house—and the McLaughlins decided to make it a unique one. With a huge evergreen tree on the property, Craig and Dannie envisioned their new guest house as a treehouse. One with spectacular views of the Puget Sound.

They knew that such a distinctive house required a distinctive door. So they came to us. But at first, we weren’t sure we could do it.

The McLaughlins wanted to incorporate a piece of art into their custom door design. Dannie had found it while they were traveling in Lake Tahoe and knew it had to be part of the new build. Lake Tahoe was a special place for the McLaughlins and the rustic chalet architectural style of the area served as the inspiration for the design of the treehouse.

But putting the artwork into the door wasn’t straightforward. Because of the size of the piece, it would have been hard to create a door that also had insulated glass. And entry doors need insulated glass to regulate internal temperature.

The McLaughlins had come to us before—in fact, we’d done carriage doors for all of Craig’s garages. So we accepted the challenge, because that’s why we’re here.

We build the doors that no one else can.

The production and design teams worked through several design possibilities. In the end, they found a solution that preserved their desired door design while using insulated glass.

Once the door was built, we waited until the treehouse was at the right stage to be installed. Since the McLaughlins are local clients, we installed the door ourselves. The result is a door that’s not just functional—it's a piece of art. A door that’s perfectly suited to its owners.

This is why we do this. To be able to create something beautiful that tells your unique story. Because a door is never just a door—it's the face your home shows the world. We're so thankful the McLaughlins trusted us with their entryway.

Watch the video to see the whole story!

The production and design teams worked through several design possibilities. In the end, they found a solution that preserved their desired door design while using insulated glass.

Once the door was built, we waited until the treehouse was at the right stage to be installed. Since the McLaughlins are local clients, we installed the door ourselves. The result is a door that’s not just functional—it's a piece of art. A door that’s perfectly suited to its owners.

This is why we do this. To be able to create something beautiful that tells your unique story. Because a door is never just a door—it's the face your home shows the world. We're so thankful the McLaughlins trusted us with their entryway.

Watch the video to see the whole story!