Build Your Own Home Office Furniture

December 1, 2001
Proulx offers a variety of designs for home office furnishings that are functional, professional looking, and well within the abilities of most woodworkers. Using sheetgoods, modern fasteners, and some solid wood, readers can make a workstation, several kinds of desks, bookcases, and a lateral file cabinet. Proulx offers easily followed instructions supplemented by a wealth of color photographs. Owing to the proliferation of home offices, there is sure to be interest in this title. Recommended for most public libraries.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2002
It is tempting, especially for those familiar with wood and tools, to try to build a functional piece of furniture. In one word, don't--until you use a beginning how-to book and then turn to Proulx's latest guide. This woodworking expert is no stranger to the art of crafts writing; after such titles as "How to Build Classic Garden Furniture "and "Smart Shelving and Storage Solutions\plain\f2\fs24\b, "he's now put together a home office workshop in print (with some help from Jim Stack, editor of "Popular\plain\f2\fs24\b" "Woodworking")\plain\f2\fs24\b \plain\f2\fs24 featuring 14 "must have" projects. Detailed directions include two types of cutting lists, hardware and supplies, 3-D illustrations of each component and how they fit\plain\f2\fs24\b \plain\f2\fs24 together, tips (for instance, make sure drawers are one inch smaller in width than the cabinet's inside dimensions), construction notes (information about possible variations and additions), and photographic step-by-step instructions. What's more, he starts by building modules--laminate tabletop, file and storage drawers, desktop organizers--and graduates to such projects as an office bookcase and a writing desk. Suppliers and sources appended. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)