You might try sending an email to Bonhams down here in LA, but I don't think you're going to raise a big price, Bonhams has a monthly auction that they call an "estate sale" auction, and you can search on the site for past results. I'm not suggesting that you strip it and paint little hearts on it, but it's not showing to its best advantage, I think. Even if it's custom made, colonial repro isn't in fashion, and esp. not in Southern California. I'm not trying to be all doom and gloom, but being realistic.

Thank you, thank you for so many thoughtful posts. This is an international move for us, so I have been travelling to coordinate everything involved - I only had 2 weeks to find something and this house ticks a lot of boxes for us, so I will work with it. I completely agree with many of you on working with what is there and with the Scandi modern look - as I said in my first post "will try to go with a mix of nature (lots of wood), clean lines, bright colors (fern green, orange, yellow, turquoise), and some funky accents". My mom is Danish and I have inherited Danish modern dining table & chairs, buffet, turquoise pottery, floor lamp, etc. so that is our style in general. Our stuff is pretty modern, but not industrial, more nature-oriented mixed with lots of ethnic art and crafts bought on our travels. I'm definitely not trying to recreate a period-perfect kitchen or house - as palimpsest accurately guessed, this is a split entry colonial revival ranch so I'm really not sure there is any period-perfect style anyway. But we do like to respect the period features of our homes (most recently an 1882 Victorian and a 1910 Tudor revival, both 4 stories so we are really looking forward to one main level!) (And I really enjoyed reading all the commentary here on period issues.) Nonetheless, Tuscan-looking or even American traditional just isn't us, or the rest of the house, ergo my desire to create a feel in kitchen more in keeping generally with our eclectic stuff and the period of the house. Even though they are not my taste, there is no way I could take down almost new solid maple (cherry-stained) cabinets, as much as I might love IKEA. Anyone have any experience stripping stain off cabinets like these? I "might" think about that as I would like them better in a lighter wood tone, of course even better with a slab front but too many cabinets to contemplate that. I like the suggestion to take down and store the uppers next to the range and do a big tiled backsplash with a big stainless range hood. I like that idea aesthetically and practically since microwave vents are never powerful enough and uppers near a stovetop always wind up sticky and greasy. Will definitely look for a sleek stainless pull, maybe with a curve. I wonder if it possible to somehow cut off the mullions from the glass-fronted ones?? For the floors, I have loved the look and feel of cork previously so I'm inclined to go with that - it needs something less busy to minimize the busy-ness of the cabinet fronts. I don't know what to do for the counters? Formica or metal-trimmed aren't what I was contemplating. I think stone or tile will look too "Tuscan"/90s - whatever you want to call it - with the cherry cabinets. Already too much wood cabinet for butcher block. That leaves concrete, stainless or that manufactured quartz that looks quite uniform. Any thoughts? Thank you for all the links - I loved some of the tile patterns, but am concerned about busy-ness. I haven't had a chance to look at all the lighting links - thinking something clean lined, Scandi looking, not space-age. I'm also a bit stuck on backsplash and paint color. I love green and will be using it elsewhere in the house, but I have too many memories of dark green with cherry in 90s kitchens. Maybe another shade? I do love yellow and orange, which again will show up elsewhere in the house alot. I guess I am just really hung up on that cherry and what goes with it...

WoW! The gangs all here, well almost all here! Yippy! Yahoee! OK! I'm in a really good mood today! Luvs...I have a Ott desk light that I have had for years but hardly ever use it. It is great for fine detail and gives you a pure color, which other lighting don't. Great that you got it at 50% off as they can be expensive. And showing my ignorance, what is TTYL? Nona....Thank You for the laughter! I love the nap..I'm there! And I am so glad you have joined us here! We watched Julia and Julia, what a fun movie. If I cooked, ya'all know the next line to that one, but for Nona's benefit, "I don't like to cook!" and ate my way through a cook book.....I would need Luvs WW and all of those other weight loss foods "As Seen On TV." And would also need AA with all of that wine. Anj... I have a beautiful desk that is absolutely useless except as a collect all. But then I have to keep reminding myself I'm not at work any longer and need to down size, so my desk is just fine and it was a gift and I can't give it away, a thoughtful gift after all, it pretty, so I need to keep it! Sigh! Hope you have everything in hand and only need to change things once. Glad you found your camera cable, so get with the posting!;) Punk, so glad that your new gal Friday is working out so well, there is light at the end of the tunnel. And Please Take Care when on the roads! Our weather has been so mild that my flower plants are up, and not just the Daffodils or Tulips, but my Lily's and others as well. We are getting some peat moss and mulch to cover them with, frost can't be to far away. Can't wait to actually spend more time in the yard and getting things back to normal. While DH plays poker tonight I am taking our DD, her hubby and my DGS to the theater to see "Over the River To Grandma's House," a comedy about a Grandma and her Grandson. My very good friend is playing the Grandma, so it will be doubly fun! Our "theater" is very small, seating about 75 people and everyone is so close to the "stage" which is more like an ampha (spelling error!) theater. My ulterior motive is to show my DGS that "theater" is fun. He just gives me a funny look whenever I mention going, together.... So, well see. Gotta run, take care! Belle PS...I know...another chapter...sorry... but you all just hype me up and it's gotta come out! Would you believe I'm the quiet one of our friends? I am!

Jakkom offers some great advice, try to make an adventure out of looking for things you might like in your apt. Get out and do some shopping at some cool places you find out about. Come here and read posts that interest you, you can get some great ideas. When I had my house, I used to keep a little slip of paper in my wallet with a list of some of the kinds of things I needed for the house, so when I was out and about, I would be able to remember if I needed something or not. It's kind of nice to know that while you have a perfectly adequate floor lamp, you're really looking for something the same basic height and size, but way cooler. That's why I started out with hand me downs thinking I could always upgrade piece by piece. In the end, I have found that the quality of the hand me downs has often far exceeded any new things I have seen in the stores, and the price sure was right for the hand me downs! Over time, it has developed into my "look" which I call MCM Grandma! For example, an old lamp that was anachronistic in my house for years and years but I just never found a replacement for, is now super hot again and the young folks who come over think I'm uber hip! OMG Jakkom on the prices for the Milo Baughman stuff, I'm going to have to take a closer look at my chair and find out if it is an original or a knockoff. I know it is of the MCM era, not a repro. It has the original faux naugahyde dirty white vinyl covering. Sadly, it got nicked in two places during my last move. Not sure at this point whether I am going to recover it or sell it. It's very comfortable, despite its lean modern looks. Despite it being comfortable, SO hates it, at least in its dingy white vinyl incarnation, and it doesn't go very well with most of my other stuff, although I pride myself on being "eclectic." We'll see how my furniture culling goes, it may be time to pass this chair on to someone else who will love it properly. I kind of like it, it represents to me the humor of something that was a complete garage sale can't get rid of item a decade ago and now is really hot, and also something of quality and value, albeit "out of date" by casual standards and yet still has intrinsic good/worthy style. "Character" I guess would be the operative word. Oh, BTW Bigeze, that's another way to have fun decorating your place, seeking out things with "character" which I think can be fun. Unless you just want to go out and get everything and have it be done and over with, which I can also relate to and understand. I'm often torn between the two instincts.