When we moved into our current house, we decided to put the dining room table into the den (which is covered in bookshelves) instead of the dining room (which we converted to an office). The shelves that are behind our dining room table are the best. It’s a whole wall of books, and the shelves are so easy to move and change. 

For Christmas last year, I opted to re-house some of my books in a different room, remove two shelves, and make a small nook for a tabletop Christmas tree. Before I tucked my little tree in the space, however, I made a wallpaper of torn book pages in the nook. It added a little bit of texture and helped it relate to the overall bookshelf. 

Then, I tucked my tabletop tree in the space and added my flock of mini glass owls. First, I’d like to say that we should all have more tabletop trees. A tabletop tree is usually between two and four feet tall, lit or unlit, and has enough branches and space to hang ornaments. It’s essentially a miniature Christmas tree. The best part about a tabletop tree is that you can still get a big wow, but you don’t need to take up as much space or buy as much stuff. 

I opted to use my scruffy unlit tabletop tree because it felt more wiry and woodland-esque. I added only about eight to ten owl ornaments and put the concrete base inside a dark metal bowl. But it wasn’t having the effect I wanted. It needed a little more.

Using several yards of thin grapevine, I wound around and around the metal bowl holding the tree base until I had a nest for my owl Christmas tree. This felt designed but not overwrought or overthought. A small woodland moment inside my bookshelf.