Fred Reid has reached the top of his industry– he’s been president of Delta Airlines, CEO of Virgin America, president and CEO of Lufthansa and today he’s president of Flexjet-, but often when he’s not working he escapes to his secret place: a tiny house on stilts.

A heightened hermitage

His hermitage is a small cabin three stories above the ground. It’s not exactly a treehouse since it’s not attached to any tree, but it’s tucked so tightly between the redwoods it appears a part of the grove.

To design the elevated home- permitted as an observation tower- he called upon Scott Constable of Wowhaus who crafted a refuge with only the “luxury of the essential”. The House of Tree- as Reid has dubbed it- doesn’t have plumbing or electricity, instead he relies on kerosene, bottled water and a camping stove.

Luxury of the essential

“Though not technically a ‘tree house’ because it makes no connection to any tree, the elevated cabin,” explains Constable on his Deep Craft blog, “has all of the hallmarks of one: 360 degree views through the trees, rustic accommodations, no utilities, and a feeling of being apart from everything but closer to nature.”

In this video we visit Reid’s West Sonoma “spiritual sanctuary” where Constable takes us for a tour inside the second growth redwood grove and up above in the roughly 200 square foot rustic, crafted home.