To answer the original question, yes... we start most tables off at 1000 with the understanding that 0 through 10 are typically reserved for "very special use" and 11 through 1000 are reserved for "other things that may come up".

I've also had to do things like what JasonA and Steve Thompson had to go through (although I fought tooth and nail to not have it so).

I've also reseeded an IDENTITY PK back to the beginning to "freeze" inserts on a table without the use of a trigger.