Inspired by Ana White's kitchen island, Mike and I built custom furniture for our tiny house kitchen. We knew that we need furniture that would be mulifunctional and inexpensive. A counter, two benches, a water cooler stand, and a table {not shown}. Each piece was made using salvaged 2x4's and 1x3's we had laying around out behind the barn. The whole project cost us $14 for a premade counter top and $17 for a gallon of stain and paint, all from Restore.
The counter fits in next to our dry sink, the two benches are tucked into the corner, creating a giant L-shaped seating area around the kitchen table, and the water cooler stand fits right under the stairs. The benches not only serve as seating for meals, but is the depth of a standard couch and gets used as a reading nook, extra sleeping area when cousins come to visit and storage for art supplies, games and work related items.
I really love building furniture. It's wonderfully satisfying to build just exactly what we need. Our last and final furniture project will be bunk beds for the boys. Just as soon as we finish some other projects, though.