Should I keep my metal kitchen?

[Tyler Holzer]

Hey everyone! I am in the process of closing on an as-is duplex in South Jersey. We plan to house-hack and then later use it completely as a rental. It’s a pretty nice suburban neighborhood in a majority working class township - so nothing really high end around here. 

The kitchen upstairs is pretty small, and has old steel cabinets. They’re in pretty good shape and definitely past their prime. I entirely planned to remove them until a contractor told me they were expensive-rare pieces, and could look pretty good fixed up. That got me thinking perhaps I can do that! Remove the dents, give it fresh paint, and maybe do the floors and backsplash with a little bit of retro style (nothing too outrageous though).

I’m wondering what people think of this idea. On one hand, it would save money to replace it, I’m keeping a rare piece of history, and I’m creating a fairly unique kitchen. On the other hand, I’m not sure how this would appraise, and I’m not sure how the unique look will fair as a rental. Any advice is appreciated, thanks!