1.If you were buying a house in an historic district of a city, how
would you consider the following in a purchase - great potential or bad
resale? (Keeping in mind that someone who would buy such a house is
interested in the historic aspect)


2. As a cook, how would you view it?


1890s "folk victorian' house. We're totally renovating the interior and
restoring the exterior. The kitchen has been gutted. It's 13x13ft - not
too small, not huge. 3 door ways, one to a walk-in pantry, one to a
butler's pantry with shaker style cabinets built in (which leads into
the next room, a den, dining room is off to the other side). It's also
got two windows, one 5 feet tall and starting about 3 ft from the
floor.

In looking at modern cabinets and counters to install, even shaker
style ones which would fit, they just look overwhelming. It makes the
kitchen look like it's the Land of Cabinets. While I like modern
kitchens and normally don't think that in most homes, maybe it's the
space limitations or the house style that makes it look silly.


So am thinking of rather than building modern cabinets, using movable
period pieces - like standing cabinets, baker's rack & hutch, butcher's
block table for an island, etc. We don't like the all matchy matchy
look, so these would be differing units, not meant to go together
necessarily. Differing colours. We'd still need some cabinets - will
have a dishwasher and built in oven. We're living with NO counter space
now and want to maximize it, but I think between the butcher's block
and counters for what cabinets ARE there, it could be sufficient.

*We aren't trying to 'restore' the kitchen to authenticity, but DO want
it to fit with the house.

We're both foodies, but live with 'less is more'. That DH is European
helps in that regard ;-). We also have 12 ft ceilings, so where there
ARE modern cabinets added, they'll go higher (probably 40-46in on top).


Also, I've fallen inlove with a dirt cheap antique stove. It's working,
but needs to be finished. As it's cast iron we need to make sure it'll
not fall through the floor in our pier and beam foundation house, but
once finished will be gorgeous AND functional.


If only for us, we'd go for it. Our concern is resale - we're likely to
move away in 5 years, and hope to make a decent profit off this house.
We're doing EVERYTHING (it was bordering on being a tear down), not
just the kitchen, but that's a big part of resale.


So, would you look at it and think "I can work with this, get rid of
that, etc etc" and find the lack of attached cabinets an asset to a
personal remodel, or would you think "No way."?