Master Doug started in the lifestyle online in 2005, and by fall of 2006 was ready to create his first dungeon in his master bedroom. Always a hands-on type of guy, he wanted to build as much of his own furniture as possible, to fill the space he had. He started out with the classic bondage bed, and soon a chain web inspired by one he had seen at a local event. His chiropractor got new tables and gave him his old one, and thus the bedroom was full. In 2009, he moved to a house with a nice basement, and began filling that up, too. When he found his current home, he was excited to have even more space to create in.
Dungeon furniture can cost a lot of money, depending on where you get it, but Master Doug solved that problem by making his own. It is far cheaper, and it gives him more of a connection with the pieces. He grew up learning carpentry and welding, and he has tools, space and many ideas. (He would also like to make pieces for others, so if you see something you like, just ask.) Finding the materials has also been a way he has kept costs down. His bondage bed mattress is an old futon. Slats for the spanking bench were found at a yard sale. Everywhere he goes, he is on the lookout for parts to turn into furniture. And the leftovers are used to make the toys that line the walls.
His favorite part of the creative process is envisioning a piece and then bringing that vision to life. He sees ideas at events and online and then he thinks about how he could make one in his own style. Fetlife and medieval torture sites provide a lot of jumping off points, too. He prefers big rough pieces of wood, to the painted or highly polished look others enjoy. Though, due to health considerations, he does use spray polyurethane to seal the wood and make clean up easy. He considers the sizes of his partners, and of his regular guests. He enjoys making a piece that is versatile enough for everyone to use.
He has several projects in mind, to continue expanding his dungeon. He is considering is a rotating table. This piece would have a frame to attach a person to, but an open middle so you would have access to everything. It would be on a fully rotatable axis so that you could have the person horizontal, vertical, or anywhere in between. He also wants to get into more metalwork. An aluminum cage would fit nicely in the dungeon’s empty cubbyhole. He also wants to make a curvy bench, bolted to the floor only at one end, so the rest seems to float in space. And one day, when he wins the lottery, he tells me, he is going to expand the basement to have some private rooms away from the rest.
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