A Houseful of Responses

Rob's query in the last eZine about which room of your house gets the most attention in terms of your woodworking projects really caught the attention of readers -- we got a full house of replies. We've highlighted some of them here, and check the Woodworker's Journal Blog in the next week or so for even more.

For several readers, the room that's received the most woodworking attention might not even be "in" the house at all. - Editor

"There is some irony in that question. The room I have done the most with is my workshop (my basement). Remodeling the kitchen is a close second." - Larry Giust

"While it has not represented over a 50 percent majority, I would guess that the most attended room is the shop itself, including those parts of the garage that store tools and lumber. I frequently need to build or modify storage and work surfaces to make room for new tools and projects." - Keith McKinnon

"During the last 37 years in this house, I have built furniture and projects in every room in the house, including a ham radio 'shack' in a closet. My wife, however, will be the first to let you know that I have probably done more building/rebuilding/remodeling in my garage/shop. When the cars are indoors, it's a garage; when the cars are out, it's a shop. I've had to build and modify the shop with a lot of wheeled machines to fit around the cars . Built-in workbenches, cabinets and shelves have consumed much of my woodworking time, not to mentions lots of jigs. Of course, every time I get a new or improved woodworking machine, I have to rebuild the working space. It's amazing how much you can cram into a 400 cubic foot garage if you keep building." - Ed Amsbury

For others, it was the living/family room. - Editor

"For me, it would be the family room (or great room, or living room, depending on who you were asking). It's the big room with the big TV, that we all sit down in front of the fireplace (that I put in), with all the cabinets (that I built) and shelves on both sides of the big TV (65") where we keep all the various games, DVDs, etc. There are some nice end tables (that I built) to put your drink on. There's even a nice coffee table to put your feet on (that I built). At the other end of the room is the smaller TV (35") for the kids to play on the Wii™. It sits on a table (that I built) that houses all the stuff that goes with it all." - Kirk Brun

"Most of my projects are in the living room; not necessarily because they were intended for that room, they just end up there. I made a box for my wife to put her things in; she was still using the last one I made her, so it ended up on a shelf in the living room. I made a nightstand for the bedroom, but it ended up as an end table by the couch in the living room. I made a TV stand for the guest room, guess where it ended up. The living room coffee table is the only thing I made that ended up where I intended it. I’m kind of afraid to start that toilet shelf I’ve been thinking about." - Phil Gilstrap

The dining room or kitchen also received some votes. - Editor

"By far, my kitchen has received most work. I've built dining room table, chairs, benches. I just put a new countertop on the kitchen bar and new doors on the cabinets." - Daniel Pruitt

"I have built projects for just about every room in our house, but our dining room is the clear winner. I made a 9’ long, built-in buffet with 48” tall, glass-front upper cabinets above it. The cabinetry is all frame and panel construction with trapped beaded board panels." - John M. Bronson

As did the bedroom. - Editor

"For me, this is an easy answer. Bedroom furniture. I have been building a curly maple bedroom suite for my daughter. This includes a bed, dresser and nightstand. It’s not a room that gets main traffic for friends or clients, but it is really enjoyable to hear my daughter brag it up when her friends come over." - Bill Perez

Some readers, however, couldn't pick just one room. - Editor

"My woodworking efforts over the past 15 years have chronologically emphasized kitchen (cabinets and storage), then bedrooms (beds, chests of drawers, closet storage) and, most recently, the den (desks, musical instrument storage, bookcases). About four years ago, I started turning and now have bowls, boxes and a variety of other round things all over the house." - Ron McLaughlin, DVM

"You asked which room I might do the most work 'for' or 'in,' and I can’t pick just one. At one time, yes, it was the kitchen (all the cabinets plus cedar tongue and groove on the ceiling), but I’ve built a dresser and chest of drawers with two end tables for the bed room, end tables, shelves, decorative items, and wainscoting in the living room, shelves (built-in and wall-mounted), a vanity mirror along with the vanity cabinet with sink, as well as towel and toilet paper roll holders for the bathroom, cedar chests (two), and lots of other things. I don’t have a 'favorite room.' I even built a bar in my rec room from old gray barn wood." - Bruce Loder

"I have been going through each room one by one in my house. First, it was the small bathroom. New vanity, mirror, etc. Then came the kitchen. Complete overhaul. New wood flooring, new cherry cabinets, new bead board ceiling. This was followed up with the big bathroom. Again new vanity, mirror and special-made shower curtain rod/shelf. Now I am creating an office area. I have recently built and installed a new built-in shelving with a base cabinet. I am in the process of building a new cherry desk. After that, I am moving into our bedroom. The furniture we have is from when we first got married 29 years ago. Time for some new cherry bedroom furniture." - Jerry Sebald

One reader's laundry room got a vote. - Editor

"We just replaced our old washer and dryer with new front load models. Unfortunately, they were too low to the floor, and the appliance dealer wanted over $200 a piece for the stands. I had furniture grade red oak veneered chip core and some cutoff pieces of 2x10, so made my own and saved about $400 in the process. Now my wife wants cabinetry for the laundry room. A woodworker's work is never done, and that is a good thing." - Vince Granacher

And others noted the rooms where they had done the most work were not actually in their own houses. - Editor

"Without a doubt, it’s always someone else’s room, always someone else’s house." - Wayne Mougia

A Room of Its Own...for Dust Collection

And, we also received this suggestion from a reader regarding the question in last eZine's Q&A section from a reader installing a dust collection system in his shop who wondered how the air movement would affect it. - Editor

"The solution I came up with is to build a small insulated room adjoining my shop only big enough to hold my vacuum system. I then cut a hole in the wall between that room and my shop (20" x 20") and installed a very good furnace filter in the opening to catch small particles of dust not captured by the vacuum. I also have a door on the opening so it can be closed when not in use (to save heat). This dedicated room for the vacuum reduces the noise in my shop when in use, but more importantly, it returns the heat that the vacuum takes out of my shop and, of course, there is no negative pressure." - Ken S. Blair