What kid hasn't dreamed of having a treehouse?

Although a treehouse is usually thought of as a haven for children, mention “treehouse” to adults, and watch their eyes light up with wistfulness.

Ronnie Campbell builds big houses for grownups, and lately, little ones for, well, kids and grownups.

Campbell, who grew up in Boothbay, built his own house in Boothbay Harbor. When he finished it last year he had a lot of leftover materials.

He said it had been a childhood dream to have a treehouse, and now he had a good excuse to build one: His 3-year-old daughter, Brianna.

Campbell said his wife, Jaime, who has a beauty salon in their home, wasn't thrilled with the idea.

“I had just finished the house, and that Sunday morning Jaime woke up and looked out the window, and I was building the frame for the tree house. She said ‘Aren’t you tired of building yet?’”

He said he sketched out what he was planning and showed it to her.

“By nine that morning, my mother and Bri and I were at Lowe’s picking out paint colors,” Jaime Campbell said. “It was a fun project.”

Brianna chose the colors. They're what you'd think a little girl would choose: pink, blue and turquoise. But they work for adults, too.

Campbell claims he's not an artist, though he designed the very artful little house.

“Building this was a lot easier to me than drawing something,” he said.

The treehouse, completed just in time for Brianna’s third birthday on Sept. 24 of last year, has crooked windows.

“All the studs are crooked, so the windows are crooked; even the light switches inside are crooked,” he said. “Everything inside is crooked. I wanted it to look like a kid built it.”

There's a painted turquoise staircase up to the blue deck, with a railing made from cutouts of trees and tree-related shapes.

The house itself is painted a magenta pink, and the trim around the door and windows is a purple blue. The roof is cedar shakes.

The inside is every little girl's dream. There's a working refrigerator for a supply of cold drinks for Brianna and her friends. There's a little table with pink tablecloth, a small bureau with drawers painted all the colors of the outside of the house, and a loft for sleeping.

“I always wanted a cool treehouse, I just didn't know when I'd build it. But I think every kid wants a hangout. This was all about (Brianna).”

Campbell has just completed his second treehouse, built for a local family who saw Brianna’s and asked him to build one for their daughter.

“She wanted me to sketch out something to show her, and I said, ‘It's all here,’” he said, pointing to his head. “I can't draw, but I can build you something. I think I can have it mostly built before I get done drawing it.”

Campbell said he did draw a rough sketch. She liked it and told him to go with it.

While the treehouse Campbell built for his daughter is artfully cool, the newly finished one is more elaborate.

Originally conceived as a playhouse for a young girl, over the course of the summer it morphed into more of an all-round guest house.

The 20-foot octagon treehouse with a 16-foot octagon second story, has zip lines, a slide and a climbing wall outside. There are large, flat stone steps leading to a drawbridge that connects to the wrap-around deck.

Inside, the treehouse is finished with freshly painted interior walls of pale aqua with gloss white trim around windows and doors. There's an antique settee with cushions and throw pillows, and a bar. Art and items with nautical themes adorn the walls.

A spiral stairway in the middle of the house leads to the second floor. Upstairs are four bunk beds, with small winding steps leading up to the top bunks. There are built-in shelves at the heads of the bunks, and outlets for charging iPhones. And a cathedral ceiling.

Campbell said that there were usually three guys helping him on the project.

“It was fun. A good little project. We're all going to miss working on it.”

He said he has loved the time spent on treehouses, and is open to the idea of building more.

Ronnie Campbell can be reached at 207-380-4273.