Couple’s Moroccan-themed treehouse Airbnb featured on HGTV
By Sarah Killian
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CULLMAN COUNTY, Alabama (WVTM) — A Moroccan-inspired Airbnb tucked away in Cullman County has gained national attention after being featured on HGTV’s “Wild Vacation Rentals.”
Jeff and Cherisa Lewis own the Flying Carpet Treehouse.
“When people drive up and get out of their car, the ones that have told us, wow,” Jeff Lewis said. “I couldn’t even dream this was in Alabama.”
The idea for the treehouse started with a simple concept.
“We was loving the trend for the treehouses. So we thought, well, I think we’ll do a treehouse,” Cherisa Lewis said.
However, the project quickly grew into something much more elaborate.
“We were on our way home from vacation and stopped at a salvage store and found these doors and windows,” Cherisa Lewis said. “I think it’s the first thing that we seen and we fell in love with it. So we decided we’re going to do a Moroccan treehouse.”
The couple dove into the design process, drawing inspiration from Moroccan architecture.
“I started just going through all the pictures of what the architecture looks like, and you start to click and ideas of what made Moroccan, Moroccan,” Jeff Lewis said.
The project was challenging but rewarding.
“It was very labor intensive. But it’s just when you have a passion to do something, it just drives you. It’s exciting,” Jeff Lewis said.
The Flying Carpet Treehouse is filled with intricate details, including rich fabrics, vases and lighting from Morocco, and custom wallpaper from Latvia.
“It was like a puzzle. The pieces just started coming into place,” Cherisa Lewis said. “I would find the perfect piece, It seemed like, this is just meant to be because everything just fell into place.”
Since its feature on HGTV, the treehouse has attracted visitors from across the country and even internationally.
“Since we’ve been featured, we’ve actually gotten a lot more diverse. We’ve from California. We’ve, yeah, from Colorado. Just Boston, I think. New York, Boston, a lot of different states,” Jeff Lewis said. “We had a couple who stayed a week from Guam, they came just for the treehouse.”
Despite the attention, the Lewises say their focus remains on creating a memorable experience for their guests.
“We love the hospitality side of it,” Cherisa Lewis said. “We really want them to leave here. Say, you know what? Everything was perfect,” Jeff Lewis said.
The couple is already planning their next Airbnb property, though they are keeping the details under wraps, promising it will be just as unique as the Flying Carpet Treehouse.
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