Your Weekend Bag for a stay at the Treehotel in the North of Sweden includes local eco-labels and modern takes on Swedish classics — designed to keep you warm.

When packing for a weekend at the Treehotel, a gathering of fantastical dwellings nestled high up in the trees of Northern Sweden, you need to keep in mind that Nordic winters are just a tad colder than most of us are used to. Embrace Swedish style with local eco-labels and updates on classics like clogs, a Sami parka and Lovikka mittens. It may also be a good idea to pack a thermos and fill it with one of Swedes’ favorite warming winter beverages — glögg or vargtass, a mix of vodka and lingonberry juice.

Thin Finn Dry Flat Selvage Denim
Swedish denim brand Nudie’s The Dry Selvage line is a special concept made from select selvage denim from Japan, Italy and Turkey, featuring the highest denim qualities — denim with cashmere, hemp and organic cotton, and so on. Styles are all unisex, and the Thin Finn is one particularly favored by the ladies.
Approx. $340, Nudie Jeans Co.

Fjällräven Luhkka Cape
We love this Luhkka Cape, inspired by a traditional Sami garment, by classic Swedish outdoor brand Fjällräven. Even if there is a snow storm, you will have to leave your treehouse to eat, use the facilities or warm up in the sauna. The lightly insulated G-1000 material provides protection against rain, snow, sleet and bitter winds, and the large kangaroo pocket in front is great for keeping your hands warm and toasty. Best of all, this cape will look just as good in the city as it does in the Nordic wilderness.
$299, Fjällräven

Hildur Cashmere Cardigan
If you go to the Treehotel, chances are you came to relax. This cozy, slightly over-size cashmere cardigan by Swedish eco-label Righteous Fashion will certainly help you do that. There’s enough fabric that you can almost wrap yourself in it like a blanket. Handmade in Nepal from 100% Fair-Made Cashmere Wool.
Approx. $420, Righteous Fashion

Shearling Clog Boot
What’s more Swedish than a clog? This updated take on the classic everyday footwear has a shearling lining that is sure to keep your toes warm when trudging through the snow. Sven’s Clogs are handmade with pride in a 36-year-old factory in Chisago City, Minnesota. What we like most is that you can choose the style, leather option and color, as well as the base color to make your own perfect clog.
$360, Sven’s Clogs

 Lovikka Mittens
Every Swedish kid goes through many pairs — usually knitted by a grandmother — of these traditional Sami-style mittens during their childhood. They are supposedly easy to make if you feel like taking on a DIY project (try this pattern). If not, they can be purchased from Swedish arts and crafts stores, perhaps a good souvenir to bring back from your trip?
Approx. $45, Hantverkstan

Ambika Boutique Front Fold Hat
Ok, so it’s not Swedish, but we so love this fluffy hat with front and earflaps, made with friendly fur. On her farm in Upstate New York, designer Ambika Conroy raises angora rabbits that are shorn every three months according to their natural cycle. The fibers are then hand-carded and spun into the yarn Ambika uses to create her designs. Best of all, because of the angora rabbits’ long fibers, it doesn’t shed.
$275, Ambika Boutique

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The Treehotel in Sweden features unique, futuristic camp sites.

Imagine the scene: you’re walking through a forest in northern Sweden, when suddenly you come upon a collection of bizarre objects suspended from trees: a mirrored cube, a UFO, a giant bird’s nest. Have you been abducted into a Dadaistic art installation?

Relax, it’s n0t a flashback to a youthful overindulgence of banned substances, a sojourn through William S. Burroughs’ Interzone or even a Trekkie bootcamp. It’s a 21st century designer eco-hotel-camp called Treehotel.

Treehotel’s green credentials are exactly as you’d expect for a Swedish hotel set in a forest: renewable energy provided by hydroelectric power from the nearby river, LED lighting and water-efficient sinks, and combustion toilets. In most units, waste is heat-blasted at 600C; in the Mirrorcube, your poop gets frozen, while the heat from the freezer’s element is used to heat the room in winter. Dead smart, those Swedes.

The five “treerooms,” designed by leading Scandinavian architects, are all different inside as well as out, with simple furnishings. The UFO, accessed by a ladder underneath has spacey print fabrics, while the ultra-realistic Bird’s Nest is circular with tiny round windows in its pale wood walls. The Cabin is much more conventional, but also larger – a rectangular box with huge windows and an outdoor deck, while the Blue Cone overlooks the river.

The Mirrorcube is like a live work of art. Its outer surfaces show constantly changing images of trees and sky, which you can appreciate from a roof terrace, a more zen alternative to watching TV. Another building houses a sauna and hot tub (this is Sweden, after all). The bad news: this is also where the showers are located, since none of the treehouses has its own tub or shower. This is the Swedish idea of glamping: fab interiors offset outdoor plumbing.

Meals are served, and guests greeted, in a guesthouse run by one of the owners named Britta.

Rates from $573, including tax, breakfast and unbeatable dinner table stories.

Photos: Peter Lundstrom, WDO; Frank Updates via Harper’s Bazaar

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After a quick snack, it was out the door on our bikes or roller skates or skate boards, not to return until the sun was setting. We built forts, climbed trees, played tether ball; we enjoyed the fresh air and freedom for the three hours between school and dusk when our mothers had to drag us inside by our shirt sleeves.

Our fun was finagled out of nothing other than ourselves and, well, dirt and trees.

Climbing trees wasn’t just a boy thing, or maybe it was but I didn’t notice. I liked hanging out up high and watching the world go by below.

Tree houses are iconic. They hold memories of a time gone by, of our childhoods and our children. And nostalgia is intoxicating.

Up, above and away from it all, the tree house offers a natural, peaceful, secluded and special-like-no-other place to relax and contemplate nothing. So when I heard about a hotel of tree houses in Sweden, I needed to know more.

Located 60 km (approx 37 miles) south of the Arctic Circle and just outside the Swedish town of Harads, Treehotel opened this past July to rave reviews. At the time, only four structures were completed, but as of October 2010, there are seven uniquely themed structures – six “rooms” and one Tree Sauna (drawing above).

The project was inspired by the 2008 documentary “Tree Lover” (Trädälskaren):

“…the story of three men from the urban environment who look to get back to their roots by building a tree house together. It is a philosophical film about what “the tree” means to us humans, both historically and culturally.”

Each structure is completely distinct and designed by a different Swedish architect. Each sleeps 2-4 and the sauna holds up to 12 comfortably. Powered by sustainable electricity and equipped with freezer or “incinerator” toilets, they’re attached to the pine trees via an adjustable metal clamp that won’t harm the trees as they grow. I love that part!

The concept and construction are intended to allow for expansion and increased innovations in sustainability. It’s truly an inspired and inspiring spot that I’d love to visit. The Swedish should be proud of this forest retreat.

I could go on for days about each individual house but the gist is this – hip, slick, cool, green, peaceful, respectful, secluded. Now let’s have a closer look at a few of the finest…

The Blue Cone (image above) is a simple, wood constructed two-story cabin colored in red that looks lego-like in its structure and texture.

The Bird’s Nest (image above) is a more complex 3-legged structure that is accessed via a retractable staircase (I really want to walk that staircase!). Its twiggy exterior contrasts distinctly with the modern, minimal design on the interior.

There aren’t words for The Mirrorcube (image above). It’s a lightweight aluminum structure covered with mirrored glass. Kind of unbelievable if you ask me.

And especially remarkable when the interior (image below) is pure plywood with views that go on forever. Dwellers reach the Mirrorcube via a rope bridge.

The Cabin (image above) is another odd looking creature that seems to jut out from the middle of nowhere and sit comfortably amongst the trees. The room is accessed via a footbridge that opens onto a large deck at roof level.

Would you believe me if I told you there were spaceship sightings in Sweden? The UFO (image above) is a newer structure that the creators envisioned would “…have a huge appeal for people with fertile imagination.” You think?

I’m wondering what they’ll come up with next. Clearly, the sky (or tree) is the limit.

The price per night varies depending on which structure you decide to inhabit, but the range is around $600 per night, which includes breakfast. Not your Euro Youth Hostel situation.

But worth its weight in sustainability and 360 degree views, for sure. The Swedish countryside and forest is so spectacular and austere; pure and still. Imagine resting inside one of these rooms and looking out at the trees and water and vastness. Wow.

And of course, the peace of mind, tranquility, silence and relaxation are all free of charge.

Top Images: emdot, Design Squish

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