Glamour + Camp = Glamp!

Architect Jill Neubauer of  Jill Neubauer Architects would do a “glamp” on every project if she could. She’d all but drop everything, she laughs, to draw these tented structures that are equal parts glamour and camp for a client. In fact, her firm can pull one off in about three months time, and has an enduring relationship with the Denver Tent Company, who will do any shape or size for her.

photo by Meredith Hunnibell

For 30 years, Neubauer has collected images of magnificent tents ranging from those of the desert of Arab cultures to safari tents to those dripping with modern-day elegance à la Ralph Lauren. She has been “watching them, and longing for them,” she shares, and, after occupying one in Moab, Utah, she went home and designed one. Today, she conceives them for summer homes and grandchild spaces, complete with real beds and beautiful linens, bureaus and candles. “Glamps are the most memorable guest bedrooms that anyone can stay in,” she says. 

Photo by client

People fight over who gets to sleep in them, and they are a fun, cost-effective alternative to designing a guest bedroom (prices typically range from $10,000-25,000, rather than the cost of a new bedroom, which is closer to $100,000). The frames aren't temporary and are structured, and the tent zips on and off and can be hung in storage until next season. 

A lot of people like to welcome their entire family in the summertime, but their homes get a little overloaded. A homeowner can contact Jill Neubauer Architects in the winter with plans for a family reunion come July, and have the ultimate sleeping setup—whether they are a current client or not. A homeowner can outfit their glamp with bunk beds and send the grandkids out. 

photo by Meredith Hunnibell

Tucked within the terrain far enough from the main house to be an adventure but close enough for comfort, Neubauer’s glamps are proof that one’s experiences don’t end at the wall of a house. And all are equipped with a deck for communing with nature. The design depends on the narrative. Clients can have a girls’ and boys’ tent, a parents’ tent “with a little sneaky connection” or, even, a small village of them. 

Photo by client

For the above glamp created for a trio of young boys, Neubauer collaborated with landscape architect Bernice Wahler of Bernice Wahler Landscapes on the site. Wahler helped to place the structure appropriately within the landscape, created a management plan for the woodland invasives (like poison ivy) and carved out a naturalized path for access to and from the glamp.

The experience took Wahler back to her days in Central Arkansas when, as a child, she would build forts for herself deep in the woods. “It was absolutely amazing to remember my youthful play outside,” says Wahler. As a parent of two young children, “you’re always trying to make sure they’re more connected to nature than they are to technology. To me, outdoor play for kids is very, very important.”

“Glamps are wonderful,” seconds Neubauer, “and I’d love to do more of them.” They also support what the architect has long known; that it’s not about luxury or scale, rather, “it’s all about family and memorable spaces.”

Images courtesy of Jill Neubauer Architects; main image by Meredith Hunnibell