You have a ton of questions and I will do my best to address them, I also have AADD so if I start to ramble and jump back and forth just overlook that :). We need to simplify this more because there are certain issues you can't change..... being on a slab and the weight issues. Any slab has to be reasonably flat and dry, but in your case it needs to be almost dead flat and dry. We are supposed to always check slabs for vapor emissions that can go unoticed when there is carpet over top that allows the slab to breath and release moisture without any problems. You have an 18yr. old glued down wood floor that has exhibited no problems, in my view that is as good an indicator one is going to get..... so we'll just say you are dry. I don't know how many sq.ft. is involved but it takes some space for an installer to check the slab for flatness and then take measures to correct it. Sometimes a low spot can be a few feet in diameter and with the feathering needed I may need 6', 8' or more to deal with it. If I don't have space I could be featuring up to a high spot underneath furniture. It is best to try and figure a way to go one room a time, clean it out, then go on to the next room. If you have your heart set on an engineered BC, then get it :), life is too short to fret over that as long as you know about this issue and are okay with it. On glued down floors the thickness does not really matter as much as opposed to floating. What does matter is the top wear layer thickness and using the right adhesive. A 3mm or 4mm thick wear layer is actually better in the long run as a 5mm thick . Going too thick with the wear layer can cause a phenomenon called "dry cupping" .... the NWFA and NOFMA are aware of this and it is being addressed. If you go with a glued down engineered wood floor and want to put on a sealer as "insurance" , then do it. In your case I would strongly consider using Stauf 960 which is a quality sealer and adhesive combined in one application. You pay alot more for the adhesive but you only have one labor issue. Imo you could also go with a floating floor. But to pull this off you must use a quality product and (here I go again)..... the concrete must be flat. There is a laminate out there that I have personally installed that is almost bullet proof. That would be Wilsonart , which is a high pressure laminate referred to as an HPL. Putting that down along with using their blue fusion glue in the joinery can take any weight you want to put on top of it. When I do that I recommend to the client upgrading the underlayment to a product Sound Solutions. You cannot walk on this type of install and tell that it floats. You could also go with a floating engineered wood... this is where thickness comes into play. I prefer to use nothing less than a 1/2" in thickness and a where the joints get glued up, or, choose a good reliable click-lock system like the valinge or Uniclic joinery systems. They both hold together well. The wood should also be waht is called balanced.... the top layer equals the bottom. You are very typical of alot of my clients. Quit stressing so much :).

kristinamaria and teacats, you are on the same wavelength. I think I will do that... find the fabric first. And teacats, I absolutely LOVE THAT FABRIC. Seriously, I LOVE it!! I am going to go back to that site in a minute and see about a sample. Thanks for linking that. I luv my GW friends. :o) You all are so helpful. Each person has something to share that I had not thought of/had not realized. Thanks for sharing all of your advice. I'm going to find the fabric and see if I can get my green in the fabric, and then I think I'll go with whatever blue the "experts" have put in the fabric. I'm just not the best with paint colors. Thanks! ;o) mrsrose, I am headed out the door in a few minutes, but will post a few kitchen shots on here later today for you to see. Thanks for the compliments from you and lindybarts too. ;o)

An update for y’all: So, I wasn’t quite ready to pull the trigger on painting the entire room blue, but I did go ahead and have custom bookshelves built and installed, in the same shade of blue. I figured I could paint the rest of the room afterwards, if I wanted to. Here’s that wall, just finished — I’m elated. The shelves are fully adjustable, so I can remove one if I want to hang a piece of artwork there. I purposely did not want any drawers or cabinets, just shelves.

So my husband agreed and decided on Gauntlet Gray for the cabinets. I want to paint that triangular wall above the cabinets also the Gauntlet Gray so we have one whole wall of this dark color. The painter and I convinced my husband to paint the ceiling, baseboard, and window trim, plus back of the glass French doors white. The designer says all dark gray trim, but the baseboards are skimpy for these large rooms and high ceilings. I know I’ve hurt my hubby’s feelings because he was set on all gray trim for re-sale. We are trying to tell him that he is seeing what builders are doing in model homes and the painter is telling him what he paints the most which is what customers are asking for. Now, what to put on the walls with the SW Gauntlet Gray? The designer says Accessible beige. And he wants to put Agreeable Gray throughout the house, with Accessible beige in the first floor master and tiny dining room. I’m struggling with these two color tones, Accessible beige and Agreeable Gray. The center is the cabinet color. I’ve never seen it or sampled it. Scares me but painter and designer say it’s a great color. Bottom left little sample is SW Accessible beige. The one above it is BM Edgecomb Gray, the little center strip is BM pale oak. And the far right is SW Agreeable Gray.