thanks all, ajsmama, yes I said Ididn't like the rug and I didn't, but this is the best pattern for that space andnow that I see it I see that dh and others here were correct. I know too funny, I now have what I didn't like and now like what i didn't like, strange process for me.

natal, can you post a photo or link of your foot-operated trash/recycle cabs, muspic, can I see your cork floor? We're doing cork as well. The telling sign for me was when I went into a "wood flooring" showroom. When I asked where their cork display was (the whole floor was covered in the different wood flooring), I expected them to say they didn't have one (like most stores). Instead, they took me to the area where the employees stood all day. All cork. No wood. Enough said. Alabamamommy, our current house has white Corian counters. They were here when we bought the house and were afraid of them at first, but now we love them. I cook every day and never had any problem getting anything off them, including red white and tumeric. I spilled about 4 t. of tumeric on the counter when I was making keema yesterday. I got most of it right away. After I was done cooking, I saw that I missed a spot. I sprayed the spot with 409, let it sit a few minutes while I cleaned up then came back and it came right off. We've also had success with set stains using Soft Scrub, and even a baking soda paste. For the kitchen in the house we're building, my must haves were: * cork floors (I need the sound proofing for living with a brain injury and active boy!) * walk in pantry (that it is 9'x9'11" is a bonus) * all base drawers * wide aisles * pulls instead of knobs * dropped baking center so I don't have to stand on my tippy toes while kneading bread, and open on two sides so my son can help. * foot pulls for trash * hands free water faucet * island (I ended up with two. WIth my TBI, I can't go out to socialize much, so two islands give me a "little kitchen" where I can focus and not be distracted (aka, burn the house down). The second island allows others to be "in the kitchen" to help prep, socialize, clean up, etc. without being in my space. I can't wait! *desk area for printing recipes, menu planning, etc. * side by side frig. It just works best for the way we live. Funny story, when we bought our current frig, the deciding factor was the one that fix a pizza box. In the last four years, there have been less than 5 pizza boxes in there! We cut out most processed foods. So we love the side-by-side because when I cook dinner, I always make larger portions so we can get 2-4 leftovers out of it. There are packaged in lunch size containers in frozen. Everything is easy to see in the morning, when DH grabs his lunch. * Full size freezer in pantry. We currently have a chest freezer, but we'd like to be able to buy a part of a cow from a local farm, so we're getting a side by side freezer to store our meat and extra bulk goods. DH's must have, beyond what's above: * deep single sink for washing pans (Usually I clean up as I go, but often I run out of steam by the time dinner is done, so he'll do clean up. I figured if I give him the sink he wants, he'll do it even more!) * energy star appliances * water sense sinks * Sharp microwave...

I thought I would update what we actually ending up doing. When I first posted I thought we would be in the house a few more years. But, we decided to go ahead and sell. Before listing, we met with a real estate agent who was very familiar with the specific area, then we met with a stager, and finally with a contractor. For the kitchen, the primary advice was to paint the stained cabinets white. The island was to painted a color darker than the walls. Also, to remove the wine rack on the island and put in shelves. For the bathroom, remove the upper linen cabinet between the vanity and the tub (see my pics above of how it originally looked) and replace the cultured marble with some sort of stone. Additionally it was suggested to paint the interior of the house gray. We ended up doing all of this. We painted all of the stained cabinets in the house white (the island we painted dark gray). We placed the cultured marble counters in all bathrooms with marble (we endeavored to make it where it would go well with the tub surround in the master bath. While we were still completing the work - most of the painting and other work had been done inside - we were asked if we wanted to show our house to someone. We frantically got the house presentable to do this and showed the house and sold it. Anyway, since so many commented on my original pictures (which are above in an earlier post) I thought I would post pictures of how the rooms looked after the work was done. I must admit that I had never really considered painting the stained cabinets. We ended up painting them all and it was one of the things that the buyers liked best about the house. They felt that the house was very move in ready. And, honestly, once the work was done I loved it and wished I had done it a long time ago (ironically we are now under contract to buy a house which has stained cabinets that we don't like...I think we have white painted cabinets in our future...)

I’m pretty sure you have now satisfied the construction law (in most states) That says you have to give the contractor at least one chance to remedy the situation. It sounds like you’ve given him that chance, because he agreed to fix things. And then the shower proceeded. That is you giving him the chance to fix things. So now you can legally fire him and withhold all funds. If you decide to do that, it is very very important that all your communication is in writing. Anything verbal you need to confirm by sending an email So that there is a written documentation of your verbal agreements. If you haven’t done that kind of documentation so far, start now. Send an email confirming that he agreed to fix things, and then site all the dates or approximate dates and the problems he agreed to fix. And then write some sentences about the fixes that he attempted, if any. This lays out the timeline in writing of his attempts to fix, that’s showing that you gave him a chance to fix it. Then wait for his reply by email, always assuming that your words may end up in the public record someday, so keep them very professional and clear.After this back-and-forth a couple of emails occurs you should have the paper trail needed to show that you gave him a chance to fix things, and he failed again. Then you can fire him. Remember when you’re writing these emails that your only goal is to create that paper trail. You’re not really trying to communicate or negotiate with the contractor at that point. Your only goal of these messages are to create that paper trail. A business meeting might not even be needed at this point. Sounds like you already: - raised issues - gotten Contractors agreement to fix - made work site available - not interfered with attempt to fix (put grout back!) If you have a paper trail showing that you have satisfied all 4 of those elements, you can fire him and withhold payment (and ask for refund of anything you paid so far). If there is any one of those elements above that you cannot prove with a paper trail, start creating that documentation now. Really awesome contractors are out there. After this chapter is over, you’ll need to find a real pro. First, work to close this chapter, and then take a breather to de-stress before proceeding.