im thinking of going greenhouse storage kitchen for my survivalist frostfall hunter/ thief. i might want to get the armory though so i can store the cool weapons and items i steal
Whatever you choose to do in your current house, you can also build two other houses with different rooms if you want.
I don't really use the kitchen, so I generally build an armory in my main house and a library in another one to have a place to stock my books.
One thing I don't think anybody mentioned is that the kitchen respawns some alchemical ingredients that you can't grow in the greenhouse: Elves ear, garlic, frost mirriam and (from memory) salt pile. When I was playing an alchemy-based character I found that useful - and I still had an armory in the basement...
Irrevenant wrote: >the kitchen respawns some alchemical ingredients that you can't grow in the greenhouse: Elves ear, garlic, frost mirriam and (from memory) salt pile.
Wow, that is a great point if it is true for everyone. Definitely a kitchen, then, in preference to an armory. The third possibility is a library, which offers some additional functionality in being able to organize your books. I like the idea of having two towers for reasons of defense. Alchemy tower would be the other tower for me. Although the alchemy lab in it is a luxury in that the main hall also has one, the other north wing candidates do not appeal to me at all. Bedroom and Greenhouse are both so desirable that I'll probably never build an enchanter's tower despite liking the idea of a tower itself. The complete smithing facilities in the cellar are quite sufficient for me, and storage space is abundant everywhere.
I chose an armory for my third homestead, just to see what it offered. My verdict: never again, I'll go with kitchen or possibly library every time. It doesn't even have a whole suite of smithing equipment. You still must go into the cellar or outdoors for a smelter, and around to the back room for an anvil. In future games, I might investigate a mod that offers more options for homesteads, even though some of them are far more Hollywood than Skyrim. It's about functionality.
I agree with you on the armory, but I still like it better than a kitchen because I'm OCD and I never use the kitchen. I'm good with the cauldron near the fire, I don't need more.
I've just recently realized, and I've never seen it mentioned, that with the Armory, you have the option of having all of the crafting stations available in one zone. The Armory has a workbench, grindstone and tanning rack, while the main hall has an anvil (i.e., a forge), enchanting table and alchemist table. The only thing missing is a smelter, but that's a minor inconvenience that can be built outside or in the cellar. I don't know about anyone else, but the ability to go from forge (or in this case, anvil) to workbench/grindstone to enchanting table with safe storage available and without having to deal with loading screens is HUGE and I *REALLY* wish I had known this earlier. It seemed like I was always running up and down from the main hall to the cellar and back because I was forgetting something in the other zone or I miscounted or something. The only other place in the game I can think of that has that is Severin Manor (although it does have the small advantage of adding a smelter).
The kitchen is great for role playing a family home. If you are playing an alchemist, the kitchen respawns some salmon roe, which is a rare ingredient that can otherwise only be found in jumping salmon. You can also make some unique items in the oven, but most of them aren't really worth it. The library seems great for book collectors, but I had an issue with books vanishing off book shelves, so I don't trust the shelves for any important books anymore, just for decoration.
It really depends on your character build. If you're an Alchemist, the kitchen contains a respawning source of garlic, frost mirriam, and elves ear. On the other hand, if you're into Smithing you might be better off with an armoury.
If you want both, you're probably better off going with the Kitchen because you always have the option of building a workshop in the cellar...