If you’ve always wanted a small kitchen island with an area for breakfast, there’s an easy way to accomplish that which won’t cost a great deal. Using some used cabinets or even new ones if you prefer, and a few brackets as well as some and will give you just what you’re looking for.

Two cabinets, about thirty inches tall which are set at either end of the counter top with the backs facing inward and the cabinet doors facing outward may–depending on whether you buy them new or used, cost as little as 50 to 75 dollars. They may be as fancy or as cost effective as you’d like them to be.

Add to that a piece of counter top that is approximately 3 feet long and 24 to 28 inches wide. Getting remnant counter top will save you a lot of money on the cost of building your island.

Set the cabinets back to back and then spread them out enough to give you the length of counter that you’d like to have. If you want just a work island that is small and not very long, you’ll just butt the two cabinet backs against each other. If you’d like it a little longer, you’ll leave space between them.