It's possible that the oils from the feet have eaten through the finish, but it may just be a reaction with the cleaners/oils that have been applied. First try cleaning off all the old polish and applying a good paste wax. If that doesn't help, you may well have to do a refinish job. Regular spray polish doesn't protect the wood finish as well as a good paste wax. An option after you fix the spots is to have a glass top made for the table if it is a valuable piece and you can't get people to stop putting their feet up on the table. You could also consider replacing the coffee table with an ottoman. Here is a link that might be useful: Wax/Polish/Oil Article

I have polished Absolute Black Premium stone and I love it! I would put it in again if I had it to do over. Yes, if you don't wipe down the counters daily you will gather & see dust. However, our counters are wiped down at least once a day (usually after dinner) and we don't seem to accumulate dust...if you live in the desert (or other dusty locale), though, you might have a different experience. As to fingerprints, water spots, crumbs, etc...yes, you do see them but... Crumbs...really only visible if there are a lot of them or they're large crumbs Water spots...visible only while wet! They look a little darker than the surrounding counter but once they're dry they blend in. You can see a faint outline and little bit less "shine" if you search for a dried water spot, but it's not obvious otherwise. Fingerprints...again, yes, they do show up if they're particularly greasy. However, "normal" fingerprints don't show much at all. If you're someone who likes a pristine/always perfect looking kitchen, you may not be happy with a polished dark stone. However, if you're OK with a somewhat lived-in look I think you'll be happy with it...like we are! BTW...we're also not "clean as you go" type of people. Sure, I'll wipe up a big spill or brush off a large volume of crumbs or dry a large water spot, but by and large, I let the crumbs, water, and spills stay until I get around to wiping the counters in the evening. If I'm having a party or want my counters to be extra-clean/shiny, I use a microfiber cloth plus Method Daily Granite Cleaner & Polish. Day-to-day, though, I just use a small amount of detergent on a dishcloth and wipe the counters down. Sometimes I dry them after (using circular motions), sometimes not. If I over-do it on the detergent, I sometimes get a very light haze...but I've learned pretty well by now how much is "just right' (through trial & error). Oh...some people use a 50/50 mix of water & alcohol on their counters...I keep meaning to try it b/c it's much less expensive and I could probably use it daily.

THANK YOU so much for all the wonderful feedback! I'm sorry I've dropped off the face of the earth but btwn going back to work after 2 weeks off and having a sick kid at home I feel like I've been hit by a fast moving train... I wish I knew how to hyperlink back to specific people so I can respond directly but I will try to address a few questions that I've seen! Table -- we definitely had to replace that sucker! It was Pottery Barn circa the mid-90's, and was very "well loved"!! We did have a smart idea that actually my PAINTER suggested -- we painted it (the same color as the island, b/c we had a lot of it left over and loved the color - Black Fox), and moved it up to our playroom to use as a game table (took the leaves out). It looks like a million bucks, and it's so nice to be able to reuse it! I do love our new table (which was the last thing to arrive, just last week!). I definitely wanted round so we had more space to navigate, but we were torn btwn 60 and 54"... Went with the smaller one which is perfect for five, but might be tight for more people! But, I do think any bigger would have been a little crowded down at that end of the room. I had to keep reminding myself to think about our day to day needs as opposed to much more infrequent entertaining or hosting situations. Day to day it is perfect!! And yes we did just keep our existing chairs and reupholster. Tried to tie in a couple of "pop" colors (turquoise and orange) so it was not so monotone. We also had considered painting the chairs to match the table more closely, but I like the contrast of the wood! Here is a close up picture (with one chair removed): Hutch -- definitely was a great idea to hide clutter! Funny story: My 11 yr old took one look at it once the glass was installed and was horrified! "Mommy did you actually PAY for it to look that way? It's all spotty!" :) Very funny to see things through the eyes of a child!! Here's a close up of the mirror: Oven/Range -- I hope I love my griddle some day! I'm really intimidated by it. I actually bought steaks to make on it tonight. I wish I could find a griddle cookbook!! Please lmk if anyone knows of such a thing! I need to just keep trying and hopefully the love will grow... :) My husband uses it for breakfasts but that's about it so far! Outlets - we did include just one pair of outlets at the hutch, and tbh we have not really plugged anything in except the phone. So we have an outlet and a phone connection in there. Otherwise, we put an outlet on each end of the island (facing the window wall). We do not have any outlets on the other side (facing the pantry wall), which sometimes is annoying but mostly I would use it for my laptop, and I can just reach around. Aesthetically it would not have been the best. Also, for some reason my GC was very down on installing plug mold under the cabinets. He did not want to put it in, and I did not want outlets on the backsplash. Ultimately he put regular 2-gang outlets (?) up under the lip of the cabinets, mounted against the bottom of each cabinet -- genius idea. So now I have two plugs (if that makes sense) under each of the three cabinets. Definitely more than I need! And we put a couple of outlets in the coffee bar, and had a couple on the walls. So far so good! Floors - One more thing I'm really glad we did while we were redoing the floors, which I never would have thought of, is to replace our old metal A/C registers with wood ones that are flush with the floor. My GC suggested it, and I think they were like $10 a piece -- another genius idea!! They look SO great compared to the old ones! I love the small updates that end up making a big difference! Microwave - this was a tough decision as well. We were going to put it in the island, but I was worried about it being too crowded wherever it went. We really only use it for popcorn and an occasional reheat. It's definitely not a super convenient location, but I thought it was the lesser of two evils! (ie in the way, or out of the way!!). It is also nice to be able to close those doors and not look at it, too. TV over fridge -- someone on this site gave me that suggestion, literally at the very last minute, and I'm really glad we did it! Funnily enough, my husband wanted to put it between the two windows by the table, but then I realized we would not be able to see it b/c of the light fixture. So then he wanted to put in recessed cans, which I briefly considered, but I really like having a hanging fixture there. So over the Refrigerator it went. Here is a picture of it taken from the family room with the TV cabinet open. A great side benefit, which we did not plan for, is that apparently my husband can sit on the sofa and watch two football games at once, since we arched that doorway -- he can clearly see it from the other room! While I'm at it, here is a pic of the kitchen from the Dining Room (other doorway). I was hesitant to put the oven against the wall b/c this is literally the view you have as you walk into my front door -- you can see through the dining room and into the kitchen. But, I figured, it's a beautiful appliance, and at some point you just have to make the best decision you can with what you have. It was either on the island (I was not crazy about having a ceiling-mounted hood), or against the wall, so the wall is where it ended up. Last thing -- this is pretty much off topic, but I wanted to share my favorite "score" during our reno!! Unfortunately we had some scope creep, and since we were redoing the floors, we ended up redoing a couple of bathrooms and the laundry room - partially... Husband did not want to rip and replace cabinets b/c after all it's just a laundry room! So we kept the boxes, replaced the ugly doors, repainted inside and out, installed new floor tile that we found at Home Depot (previously had been linoleum), got new sink/faucet, and then I was left with what to do about countertops. I looked and looked at builder-grade granite, but it was all speckly and just not what I wanted. There were so many great options but all were more than I wanted to spend. One day at Home Depot I happened upon the laminate area, and lo and behold, there was a laminate in the SAME PATTERN as my quartzite - Mother of Pearl! I ended up spending $325 on the countertops, which I think look AWESOME, and coordinate w/the rest of the house really well! I'm afraid that if there is such a thing as over sharing, I crossed that boundary LONG ago... Sorry for such a long post!!!!!! Oh and the pig - I do love that guy! He is a pitcher actually. Still need to do some work on "accessorizing" a rather monotone kitchen... I admit that I had to google towel pig and now I must try to find one!!! :)

Yesterday I filled out my visa application on-line (as required by the Consulate), and it took about an hour. They require you to scan and upload a 2"x2" passport type photo (and I had to get a new one made) that is less than 6 months old, and this must be uploaded to the application, along with a scanned signature, plus a scan of your passport and airline ticket. The last two are optional, but I included them anyway. I had to reinstall my scanner in order to do this, and it took me a while to get it working properly. They also ask for all of your names and names of your parents. My birth certificate name is different from my passport name, and so I had to include both. Next I will have to make an appointment with the Consulate in Beverly Hills, and they are open only two hours a day. I also have to glue a copy of the 2"x2" photo to my application, and we are going to get some rubber cement for that, which we currently do not have. We also have to get U.S. postal money orders for $160 for each application - no other type of payment is accepted. The reason for this price is retribution for the price that the U.S. charges Brazilian citizens. I think there will also be an exit fee when we try to leave Brazil, like the $20 we had to pay to leave Costa Rica, and I will need to find out what that will be ahead of time. We're going in the "off" season, and so I haven't made hotel reservations yet, but there should be plenty of options. However, some hotels are closed in June, due to lack of activity.