Nestled in the hills is HoneyTree, a reprieve from the friction of downtown Fredericksburg, not even a 10 minute drive from Main Street.
Look out a circle or crescent shaped window and you’re in a canopy of live oak trees, or step onto a deck to watch the sun sink beneath the hills then watch shooting stars.
Jacob and Kate Rhodes moved from Los Angeles to build their family, treehouses and cabins on 10 acres. Overlooking the Palo Alto Creek are 17 Airbnb two-night stay rentals.
It’s “where relaxation takes root,” they say.
Katie, from Fredericksburg, and Jacob, a Texan who often visited Fredericksburg as he was raised, are glad to be back and planting their roots in the hill country.
“I super appreciate that Fredericksburg has enough industry that people like me can move home and make a living,” Kate said.
“For a while he was getting sort of a reputation as ‘Jacob from California,’” she joked. “We’re trying to fight against that narrative, because we’re real. We’re real locals around here.”
Each bespoke treehouse and cabin has a different atmosphere, but the aesthetics overlap, Kate said. The couple take turns designing and do not restrict themselves to one, single design.
“It was no small challenge to design 17 unique structures,” she said.
Treehouses in “The Meadow” are The Live Oak, Sycamore, Sapling, Leaf and Acorn.
There are hexagonal doorways and sloped ceilings, hanging swings and outdoor tubs — all making for a whimsical getaway.
An oak trees’ limbs are the foundation of one: its arms hold the deck and living structure.
“We didn’t necessarily start out to build tree houses until [a] hiccup became a central piece of our brand,” she said.
While leveling out the slope of their first property into tires before construction, they questioned how to incorporate the trees. They decided to build one of the live oaks into their design, and thus, they began building treehouses.
“With any kind of hiccups,” Kate said, “we do our best to not simply put band aids on things, but make them a feature”
After they were approached by an investor to expand, the freeze of 2021 wiped most all the trees from their new piece of land, so they again decided to embrace the unexpected. They now call the open space “Blue Sage.”
“Because it’s on a hillside, the neat thing about it is that you’re way more exposed, but the views are really impressive,” Kate said.
The cabins have more open floorplans and are better suited for families or large groups than the treehouses. Three accessible cabins allow all to enjoy the experience, since only the back of the units are elevated and there are no stairs.
While they’re not wrapped around a tree, the cabins make visitors feel like they’re staying in the sky.
In their sixth cabin, a large glass door rolls overhead to a private deck that looks out onto the land.
When visitors thanked the couple for not having televisions, they decided to embrace screen-free fun. Although, there still is Wi-Fi.
“It’s just a bit of a throwback for those of us who were born in the 80s,” Kate said. “We try to be a little bit nostalgic with the game offerings.”
They have Connect Four, board games and even a Spirograph in one cabin. Kate and Jacob also recommend taking a dip in a soak tub on the deck or leafing through a book in a nook.
The cabins and treehouses are hideaways filled with familiar elements like vintage-styled Vornato fans, robes, knit towels and Carol Hicks Bolton wares. The kitchens are always stocked with the necessities.
Everything is specifically chosen for the space it is in, Kate said. Each location offers a different experience, so when visitors return, it’ll feel like another new place, with the same comfort and familiarity, the couple hope.