Well - here is the update: I found out that the GC had already paid him - however, she (the GC) said that she would take the hit if he wouldn't fix the problem. He recoated the paint on the walls where the stain splashed. The splatters on the futon were minimal - even though I told him "I can spill stuff on my furniture, YOU CAN'T." The main issue was the finish in the den and the carpet. Here is the resolution - He said that he would rebuff, put down another coat of poly and repeat until I was happy. He offered to recarpet the foyer and dining room and the office so the carpet patch would not look so obvious. My husband and I decided that we would just bite the bullet and get the floors in rest of the house except the bedrooms (dining room, office, foyer and hall). We will be eating alot of mac and cheese for a while, but it is worth it to get it done before we start moving furniture in. He offered a pretty good discount to do the rest of the floors with the understanding that he would not get paid for the rest of the job unless I was supremely happy. We will see. He sanded Tue and Wed and is staining today. I have had to stay on his @ss. I will keep you guys updated and post pictures when he is done.

I would go with whatever you like for the island. The only thing I would personally stay away from is trying to match the floor to the island stain. But a dark stain you you show in the bottom picture would be great!

Just looked at some of the above posts and images. I love Boxerpups' stain, it's just lovely!!! I think the think that "bugs" me about the golden oak is the yellowish undertone, which is of course subjective. I think you could pull off lighter floors in a caramel colour, or nutmeg colour. If you do choose the golden oak,I noticed that many of the inspiration photos with golden oak floors have all white kitchens including a white island which helps keep everything feeling neutral since the gold of the floors provide a bit of a pop. If you do go with a stained island, as I mentioned, you have to make sure it goes with your hardwood stain...compliments it. One point - I think it's a misconception that dark floors make your house look smaller. I've read in some magazine that it actually makes your room look bigger especially if you have light walls and ceilings, as the dark floors make the floors look deep and the light ceilings and walls look expansive. I've also seen small condos with dark floors that look superb. I agree though, do what you like!

First off, can I say your avatar is adorable?! Love it. : ) I was looking back at the previous posts, and I think the minor tweak that Mama Goose suggested has some potential. I still vote for a door directly from the kitchen to the pantry. Please here me out... if you move the freezer into the pantry, then you can put a landing counter next to the fridge. Above it, you can put a standard MW that sits on a shelf, which would be very convenient. Even though you'd be paying a little bit more now to move a few studs, I'm guessing it would still be less expensive to do that + standard MW than the price of a fancy drawer MW. Just a thought. I'm not sure what you're planning for pantry storage, but a landing counter might be nice in there for things going in and out of the freezer. I'd love a counter in my pantry for some of the items I don't like on my counters: crocks of sauerkraut, fermenting kombucha, fermenting kefir, etc. I agree that setting this kitchen up and pretending to work in it is a good idea. One of the issues I've run into when the workings are on one side of the island, and the cleanup is on the other is that I end up playing ring around the island to get things. The prep sink does help with this somewhat. Picture making apple pie. The apples need to be washed. Would you rather wash them at the prep sink right by the fridge where they came from, or to run them around the island to the cleanup sink? I remember scenes like this from our old kitchen: What do you do when you go to bake at the island on the fridge side and you are missing measuring spoons. Where are they? In the DW. Run around the island, retrieve them from the DW. Go back to where I was working. Now I need to melt butter. Pull a stick out of the fridge. What shall I melt it in. A bowl? They're being stored on the other side of the island. Around the island I go to get a bowl, trot back and melt the butter in the MW. Then a child comes in and wants a drink, round the island again to help them get a glass, add your own scenarios ad infitum. By this point, cooking is starting to lose its thrill! I think this is why folks are trying to have you consider having the working side of the island so that it's on the same side as the cleanup sink. It helps reduce the circling around the island. I do like the fridge, freezer and pantry all in the same general location, if possible. This helps you to be able to retrieve the food items all from pretty much the same spot.