Some of the other things I have tried...
This is an Auto garden that I found on YouTube. The idea is when the food grows, you walk by and hit the button and a piston pushes the plants and seeds into the hoppers and then later you collect them from the chests. I am very bad at using Redstone thus far, but I must say I was proud when I made this work! 
Here is a Google image of an auto furnace. I have made the same exact one several times. It is great for smelting tons and tons of blocks! I love to throw in the iron ore and let it go!! 
ok... this isn't super cool. It is just my open ended dog and cat house on one of my maps. I built it to keep them dry!
Yes, you are seeing that right, a bathroom. I made a toilet with a cauldron and a trapdoor. Working toilet seat! Also, there is a hand washing sink. On the other wall is a small white toilet paper roll.
Here I attempted to make a pond for the yard. It is difficult because of the water currents. I changed the design several times before I left it at this.
