I'm Floris Brouwer, and for ten years my Amstelveen garage has been a one-man furniture workshop: oak shelves, walnut desks, a wobbly first stool that still stands in the corner as a reminder. Sawdust Notes is where I publish honest project diaries, joinery basics and tool notes for people who want to build real things with real wood.
It started in 2016 with a borrowed handsaw, three planks of construction pine and a stool that rocked on every floor in the house. That stool taught me more than any video ever had: wood moves, measurements lie, and patience is a tool. I kept building — shelves, a dining table, a desk that survived two house moves — and I kept notes on all of it.
Sawdust Notes is those notes, organised. Every project diary includes the real cut list, the real mistakes and the real cost in euros and weekends. Nothing here requires a professional workshop: my garage is twelve square metres, and half of it is bicycle.
No sponsored tool walls, no fantasy workshops — just one builder, twelve square metres of garage and a decade of sawdust.
Every published plan includes a tested cut list with real timber dimensions available in Dutch shops — not nominal sizes that leave your boards two centimetres short. If a plan has a weak joint, the diary says so and shows the fix.
Each project diary ends with the true cost: timber, hardware, finish, and the tool I had to buy halfway through. You'll know what a build really costs before you drive to the timber yard — not after the third extra trip.
Readers can book a workshop consultation or join a small beginner course in Amstelveen. Bring your sketch, your space and your questions — you'll leave with a plan you can start the same month.
Alongside the free guides, I offer hands-on help for beginners and improvers who want to skip the expensive mistakes.
Feedback from course participants, consultation clients and readers who built their first piece with the blog's plans.
"Floris turned my cluttered shed into a working workshop in one visit. The layout plan alone saved me from buying a table saw I didn't need — his prioritised tool list put the money where it actually matters. Best investment in my hobby so far."
"I arrived at the joinery course having never held a chisel and left with a wall shelf that my wife refuses to believe I made. Floris explains calmly, corrects gently, and the printed reference card now hangs above my workbench."
"The custom build plan for our alcove bookcase was worth every euro. The cut list matched the timber yard's stock exactly, and the two follow-up checks caught my measuring error before it became firewood. The bookcase has survived two kids so far."
A question about a plan, a course date, or a garage that wants to become a workshop? Send a message through the form and I'll get back to you personally — probably with sawdust still on my sleeve.
Fill in the fields below and press the button — your request is noted and I'll reply by email or phone.