Photos?
I have had both types of kitchens and I like an enclosed kitchen as well as or better than an open concept kitchen. I spend a lot of time in kitchen, too. A few good points to enclosed kitchens: your mess is contained in the small kitchen and the room & cooking becomes a peaceful Zen meditative experience.
I would not modernize a period house, too much. What we think is modern and up-to-date today (open kitchen concept for instance) may be considered dated tomorrow.

Thank you so much for your thoughts. Just what I was hoping to hear. Working on getting the photos. Thank you again and I appreciate your input!