Depending on where you are with the purchase decision, get a book on home inspections, which will list all potential issues and how you can spot possible problems. Bring along a friend or family member with experience. Once you've decided to buy, get a good inspector and spring for any extras he recommends. (We were recommended to get someone to send video up the chimneys, which turned out to be unlined and not particularly safe). We bought a house in good shape, but thanks to our inspection report, negotiated down the price based on a number of items that needed to be fixed that we didn't see, but our inspector did. For stuff like the chimneys, which didn't get negotiated down, we had an estimate. Many things will be clues as to how well the house has been maintained and upgraded over the years. Have the electrics been redone? When? What about the heating? Or the roof? The house looks pristine, but you want to know if the house has been care fully and lovingly maintained over the years, or just recently painted for resale. The bath shower arrangement, for example, is strange. What happened to the shower curtain rod? Was there a miserable moldy -- or worse yet, rotting --- bathroom that got fixed up and they didn't put the curtain rod back because a quick sale was more important than doing a good job. It's great if someone else took care of headaches so you don't have to, but make sure they did a good job. Ask questions about the history of the house and its updates. Unless there's another serious buyer who sounds like he'll buy at the asking price now, honest sellers will be happy to answer questions.

Rachel, I guess it depends on your definition of 'modern'. If you want sleek and stark and contemporary, then this piece isn't for you. But I agree with Saratoga that to me this is very 'modern' for its time. It's beautiful as is (which is how I would probably use it if the veneer is good) but its not a priceless antique so it be changed up if that's your style and would go better with other pieces in your house to give it a new life. Either way it has soul that contemporary pieces lack in my opinion. It's a little piece of history and a statement about the industrial time it was created. Including the beautiful mirror.

I saw the neutral tones with beige/peach accents and thought -- color! I did a screen capture and put in my painting, Child of Eden, because the greens interacted so well with the room. (Not sure about the size ratio -- the framed picture is 30 x 26.) As a fine artist, I tell my clients -- when you choose artwork for your home, the most important thing to look for is what you like, and what makes you smile -- and it will fit into any color scheme you choose, simply because you love it. When we start over-focusing on matching the color scheme, we risk buying something for the color scheme first, and our liking it second. Both you, and the artwork in your home, deserve better than that.

The blue is awesome (grey is too trendy)! The reason it stands out to you is perhaps because it's the only real colour there. Bring in the blue in a window treatment, a small appliance that sits on the counter, a pretty tray or area rug. Also, it is more appealing often if there are more than 2 colours - so right now you have a white and blue colour scheme - bring in red or orange or fushia - something from the other side of the spectrum (like you did with the yellow flowers but in a more permanent way)!