A Bamboo Bed & Breakfast

By Cory Olesen

One step onto the porch of the Alpaca Treehouse and you are immediately immersed in a green sea of swaying bamboo. If you didn’t know better, you’d never guess you were in the middle of an East Atlanta neighborhood.

“Originally, I just wanted a place to sit and drink with friends,” explains owner Kara O’Brien. “It wasn’t until later that a friend suggested we rent it out for some extra income to support our growing group of llama and alpaca rescues.”

O’Brien, who was a general contractor for over 30 years, designed and built the treehouse herself, using mostly reclaimed materials for the finishes. The result was this elevated, eclectic retreat for two.

120-year-old French doors lead from the wrap-around porch to the cozy interior, complete with a mini fridge, coffee maker and wash basin. A collection of multi-colored reclaimed beadboard finishes the walls and sleeping loft, while reclaimed windows and doors look out onto the surrounding bamboo forest. The heart-of-pine floor was once part of an old church, and the stained glass windows date back to the late 1800s.

“The beadboard is definitely my favorite detail,” says O’Brien. “The alternating colors remind me of a wooden quilt.”

Wondering why it’s called the Alpaca Treehouse? The property is actually a working farm, complete with an orchard, beehives, chickens and a wandering herd of llamas, alpacas and guanacos (the ancestor of the llama). O’Brien blames the chickens as her “gateway livestock,” and soon found herself looking at other animals to add to the menagerie when her search led her to alpacas. The rest of the farm grew from there.

“The herd helps keep the bamboo in check,” O’Brien explains. “Normally, it spreads very quickly, but it’s one of their favorite snacks when it’s shooting up in the springtime.”

Tips From A Savvy Salvager

Kara is an expert treasure hunter and offers these tips for homeowners who want to find their own hidden gems:

• Visit Scott’s Antique Market and look outside in the salvage yards.
• For frugal finds, try hunting on Facebook Marketplace.
• Educate yourself and compare prices online to make sure you’re getting a good deal.

alpacatreehouse.com