I think the three kitchens are pretty equivalent in equipment. I'm assuming that out of sight in the first one is a full sized (30") Miele oven? It depends on what you want. Which has a bigger fridge, or if you like the freezer drawers in kitchen #1, whether the grille bothers you in kitchen #3, whether you'd rather have a separate cooktop and wall oven or a range. Which has more storage. Whether you like an open kitchen or a galley, etc. (Galleys are great to cook in, but don't have the social element that open kitchens do.) Which color you like best. Viking isn't in such good odor currently, but if it's there and it works it should be fine. The design is nice. The third apartment looks older and lived in, and not so well designed. More homestyle than architectural. I wouldn't throw over the third apartment just because it wasn't brand new, if the price, location, amenities and view were right, but the pot filler sitting like a navel in the middle of sheet stainless? Not pretty. Hm... Looking again, maybe it is a new kitchen. If so, it's a bit, um, yellow-beige. It might look a lot better in person. Also, in my opinion, a built in espresso maker is an attractive toy. If you have continental breakfast with cappuccino every morning, it's useful. If you only make espresso for twee little dinner parties, not so much. But considering the sizes of these kitchens, it doesn't waste enough space to get really mad about it. Keeping all the stainless in kitchen #2 spotless and smudge free, and the same for the gloss white in kitchen #1, might be a big problem if you don't have daily help. Especially in kitchen #2 if you allow people to sit at the island and their shoes hit the stainless. From that point of view, the bland kitchen #3 would be the easiest upkeep. In terms of quality, I think they're all in the range you're looking for, so the thing I'd really really check out, like bring a ventilation expert with you when you go see, is the hoods. Make sure they really vent to the exterior. See how much they really draw, find out where the exhaust exits and what your responsibility, vs. the board/association/freeholder or whatever, is for keeping it clear of nests and other maintenance is, and find out if the hood isn't adequate for you what you are or are not allowed to do to improve it. For instance, are you allowed inline blowers? (Is that a stupid question for an NY apartment? I've only been in NY for four days in my life and was baffled the whole time.) Oh. I guess that's an assumption, that you'll be able to see before buying? I know some people buy from abroad. Consider we're talking apartment in New York with big kitchen, however, my guess is this really is the equivalent to a house in Beverly Hills. In BH, people tweak their new spaces to suit themselves. This is why I think the ventilation is the most important thing. You're not likely going to be able to change the ductwork or anything like that, and it's probably not worth the money and hassel even if you could. The rest can be altered slightly. For instance, I agree with Rococogurl that putting in a Wolf rangetop would compromise the design of kitchen #1, but it would still look fine, and might be just the thing to make it less clinical. (And the Miele should be fine to cook on and keep the architecture intact.) As for the rest, I'd think those other things, like location, parking (if you have a car), amenities, rooms, bathrooms, location, storage, view, location, square footage, outdoor space/access and location, are more important than the specifics of the kitchen.

As a buyer little changes like you describe would not make any difference to me. For me a second showing means that I am interested in the house and I am going to look for flaws that I missed and consider how the house fits my lifestyle. Things I would do on a second visit - * lift up area rugs to look for hidden damage * open cupboard to look for sags or cracks *look at the outside for the damage and condition of the paint * Look at the condition of the fence * Maybe open the electrical panel - if it is an old house * Look in closets to carefully consider storage * If the neighbors are out I would talk to them about the neighborhood Minor issues would not discourage me, but if I opened a closet and everything fell out or if I saw serious damage it would make me rethink it.

Wow, that's amazing. Vintage Dutch Colonials are so very charming. I'm so looking forward to seeing your adventures in making this your own. I love everything you've already done with your little stone house and your main house. So I skimmed through your posts asking about painting white inside and the balcony outside and here's my $0.02 (for what it's worth). If it were me, I'd start by peeling off everything that you KNOW is going away. Get rid if drapes and wallpaper and prime the walls of any rooms that have colors that you don't like. Take away everything that you're certain that you dislike. Strip it down to basics and see what's left. Commune with it for a little while. Wander around with a glass of wine and just imagine options. You have a great "gut"...just go with it.

Here is the color of my front door, on a house that is much the same as yours. My stone is bedford so is irregular, and my roof is black and railings are all black, I like this rusty red a lot. I would never remove my storm door. I use it all the time. I dislike not having doors open both for ventilation, but also to view outside.