Some home shop are less limited by space and cost and can build a full featured shop.  Maybe like most you can only dream of such a space, but you can also make use of some of the ideas.

A Fully Loaded Workshop Play Space

An ample number of high-intensity fluorescent lights provide illumination for close-in operations that demand a high degree of accuracy. Several windows provide natural light. A 3-hp cyclone dust collector helps keep tools and workshop clean.

The great Virginia smoke out

Measuring 32×48', Dale Toms' Bedford, Virginia, workshop is pretty good size. It has to be, because Dale needs the space to put all the tools he has acquired since he and his wife, Debbie, made an arrangement 16 years ago. Dale was a heavy smoker back then, so Debbie proposed this: For every 30 days Dale could go without a cigarette, he could buy any tool he wanted, no questions asked.

Not your typical work shop

Outside Elizabeth, Colorado, on the eastern slope of the Rockies, John Herboldsheimer's 18'x28'6'' workshop lacks a view but not much else. Contained within a larger metal structure, that used to house his concrete business, the shop is surrounded by hallways and small offices once used by his employees. "We built those offices for the business, and it took my view away," says John, 66. No matter. After spending most of his life on this 41-acre home site, John is well aware of the scenery.

A New England Natural

It took Mike Connolly and friends a long weekend to raise the frame of his workshop near Concord, New Hampshire. Four years later it's still not done, and Mike couldn't be happier.

The "over-the-top" workshop

Nestled in the forest on a shore of Lake Chelan in central Washington State, Mike Walker's 1,670-square-foot workshop is the epitome of organization. From the outset, plenty of storage space and an efficient work flow dominated the planning. "I am obsessed with organization," Mike says, "and we spent a lot of time planning spaces to accommodate all of the tools and accessories."

Simply Radiant

Winter can be brutal in Lafayette, Indiana, but Dave Shively doesn't care. He's out in his workshop custom-building cabinets or furniture--in his shirtsleeves. "The best thing I did was install in-floor radiant heat. There's no open flame, no air movement, constant temperature, and a warm floor," Dave says.