What $45 Won't Buy You

Yesterday DH finished building a chopping block center for the kitchen. Pics to the side.
The drawer was not yet completed at the time of these pics; however he did finish that last night. The piece is in the garage awaiting paint and oil. The cabinetry portions will receive white paint. The legs will get a clear finish, possibly some stain, and the top will simply be oiled. I will try to remember to post pics when it is all done and installed.

The coolest part is the entire thing cost $45. DH was at work one night and they were going to throw away a large cutting board, which
had been a toolbox top. It was blackened with use and the wood had split.
Rather than glue it back together, they were discarding the whole thing and ordering another.

DH rescued it and brought it home. Glued it back together. Sanded all surfaces. We drew a picture of what we might like as a piece of furniture to use it.

The furniture shop around the corner closed out in November and sold many parts at highly reduced prices. DH scored the 2 legs for $15.

Then he took the drawing, the chopping block, and legs to The King, a friend who builds kitchen cabinets for a livelihood. He is a friend of DH and a true nut. Very, very conservative, very vocal on any and all topics. Very opinionated. Brilliant. IQ like 450.

So The King (he calls himself this, btw, it is not a blog concoction) saw the drawing, pointed out all the inaccuracies, of course, and built the face of the cabinet; the drawer and little cupboard opening. Mortise and tenon construction. Then he cut all the remaining pieces for DH as he understandably is a little reluctant to use the table saw himself. Me, I want to sell / give / trash the table saw, whatever. The King apologetically said, "I'll have to charge you this time." How much? $30.

So DH brought home all the little pieces and constructed it.

Total cost: $45. The closest thing I can find to it in terms of size and scale is an island from World Market for $229. I am unable to paste a pic of it in here, or even to show a pic using the URL, but you can see a sketch of it and the assembly instructions at: http://www.worldmarket.com/assets/product_files/373229.pdf
And, it's made in Thailand. The cautions you see on the page say do not place in a humid location (like a kitchen?), do not use cleaners on it, do not place it in a sunny spot (like a kitchen?) etc, etc. Sooo glad DH has the creative mind.