My NYC, turn of the century rowhouse has 3 floors and 2 kitchens. The original kitchen and butler's pantry was located on the 1st/parlor floor. However, the PO, an MD, turned the first floor of the house into his medical practice and moved his family living space to the upper floors. In the process, the original kitchen became his examining room and the main kitchen was moved to the 2nd floor. When I decided to renovate my 2nd floor kitchen, I realized it would be a relatively inexpensive proposition to "restore" the original parlor floor kitchen at the same time. (The walls were already open for wiring and plumbing, the tradespeople were already on site and numerous items --e.g. cabs, dw, fridge, ceiling fan, etc. from the 2nd floor kitchen were capable of repurposing back to the revived original kitchen). (Of course, becoming fully indoctrinated GW TKO probably played a role in my decision to reno not just one kitchen but two! LOL). As a result, my "restored" original kitchen served as a full-service temp kitchen during my primary kitchen reno. Better than that, it is now a full-service kitchen to used by visiting house guests; a second kitchen to be used when a major social event is going on and I'd rather banish all the overeager "assistant chefs" from my own kitchen to a kitchen of their own; a summer kitchen (i.e., a 1st floor kitchen base for outdoor entertaining) and "garden room" (horticultural station and winter green room for my plants) and, finally, an additional kitchen storage and utility room. The biggest reasons for "restoring" the original kitchen, however, is that a key piece of my retirement plan is to be able to lease a portion of my house to a tenant -- thus generating rental income. So, while the decision to restore the house's original kitchen was definitely somewhat of a major TKO "luxury" at the moment, I also envision that a 2nd kitchen in my house will play a very significant and practical role in helping me stay financially afloat in my senior years -- with the latter scenario fast approaching the horizon.

not to throw you a total curve, but the reason the Hawaiians and missionaries used koa, mango, and other exotic woods is because they stand up to the humidity (I'm on Oahu). You see a lot of teak around the island - also used on boats as it does not swell - but its color is lighter - and often more Scandinavian in design. Rattan used a lot and I love the look, but impossible in my mind to keep really clean looking over time as dust and crumbs fall in. Pacific Craftworks on Oahu sells custom cabinets made from mostly darker colored woods in Viet Nam - another tropical place - that should hold up to Hawaii weather (no affiliation) - some looks like mahogany but different wood. We used them in our master bath and the prices weren't bad. The dark woods are traditional but too much can make the room feel heavy. Hawaiian homes were influenced by missionaries from New England, cowboys, Balinese, Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Europeans, and plantation owners. So we don't have a purely beach feel - the white rattan look is more East Coast. Tropical is the darker, wider strip, rattan. Here it is all about moss rock, exotic woods, flowers, surfboards, waves, turtles, pineapple, dark sea blues and green foliage mixed with white, cream, and woven mats. If you stick to the white (which will look clean, fresh, and airy) make sure they are quality boxes to hold up to the humidity. For the Hawaii vibe decorate with a few koa or monkeypod (less expensive) chairs, coffee table, or a bowl on your counter, bring in the light and the air and avoid kitsch. Your koa fan will tie into those accents. The one you have chosen is very modern looking and I understand that fewer blades (3 to 4) move more air than 5. Traditionally locals used lots of fans to move the trade winds and homes were designed to pull in the trades. Don't fall for a kitschy fan if it doesn't function well. Suggest any fabrics have local tropical flowers (ginger, heliconia) in large, lush prints. Your inspiration Kauai cottage has beautiful accent pillows that illustrate this - the upholstery is beige but the pillows have heliconia and tropical leaves to bring in color.

I have a rental condo that is 40 units. About 1/3 are owner-occupied. It is about 20 minutes from a very large university and there are a good amount of students there. But the students aren't "typical" students (really!!). Myself and many of the other rentals are owned by the college students' parents. It is far enough from school to not have the wild partiers but close enough to travel to school. One thing I have noticed recently--myself included-- (although I don't know a lot of people there-actually mostly same as me-parents of kids living there)--is that there is a lot of remodeling/upgrading going on within the individual units. These units are now worth around 100K and you could get in 5 years ago for 50K--plus rents have gone up a lot here. I recently had new flooring and a new bath put in. Many people are doing upgrades-putting 10K plus into these. And this is very state-specific--our governor recently changed our college bright futures scholarships--basically if you are in the very top percentage in HS--tuition is paid for. So instead of these parents paying 10K for tuition (most of the students I know there are engineering/difficult subject majors--therefore I would think recipients of the tuition being paid for) --the parents are paying for much-needed upgrades to the condos instead. So not all rentals are bad. Us helicopter parents keep an eye out and make sure they are well-maintained! It is a well-kept condo complex and yes probably most were paid for with cash.

shead - I sort wash loads into 4 categories: whites, lights, darks, jeans. On very few days would I want to put everything I'm wearing into the same load. And obviously, lives are different. DH works on a farm. All of his work clothes (which can amount to more than a load per day in the winter when he wears multiple layers) can all be washed together. It will be FAR more convenient to wash his clothes in the master closet and put immediately away than lugging them to the other side of the house and back again to put away. 90% of my things can be washed together as well.