Vintage butcher blocks like these can be expensive. That's about the only thing keeping me from having one in my home kitchen. Otherwise, they add such beauty and utility to the space that the cost is almost worth it:

A few of these are extremely worn down from use over the years, but that just adds to their charm. After all, these butcher blocks are beautiful because they're old. For instance, that's an early 19th century French table in the first image, available from Sjae Alexandre at 1st Dibs.

Related: How To Sand Your Butcher Block to Look Like New

(images: Sjae Alexandre, Flickr member yellow book licensed for use under Creative Commons, Regina Yunghans, Country Home ME via La Maison Fou)