In my last post, I provided a step-by-step guide to building a book tree for the holidays. I approached the project with limited research and a limited number of books, ending up with a rather small tree that, while cute, was just a little too little for my liking. If Charlie Brown had built a book tree for the Christmas play, it would've looked a little something like mine.

Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad. But after staring at the little tree for a day, I figured there had to be a way to get a taller tree without loading up on more books from the local Goodwill.

Then, while doing laundry in the basement, I had an epiphany. Or, rather, a half-baked idea. But epiphany sounds more climactic. 

I dusted off an old U-shaped end table and hauled it up to the living room, deciding it would make the perfect hidden shell for a taller tree. I disassembled the little tree, slid the end table against the wall and began building the tree around it. I needed fewer books because I wasn't going in a complete circle this time. And the table provided excellent reinforcement as the layers increased. Meanwhile, while in the basement, I did dig up some more books that I'd forgotten about. Not a lot, but enough to just about double the size of the tree I'd built before. The first tree wasn't quite as tall as my waist. The new one comes almost to my chest. And I'm 5'9". You do the math.

So while the process I described in my previous post is still on the money, if you have a limited number of books but still want some height, find something like an end table to build around. And make your books go further by building against a wall, eliminating the need for a complete circle. 

Once again, Happy Holidays!