We have color! I am in LOVE with the Pallmann's Magic Oil finish we put down. Because I was trying to avoid a strong odor during the refinishing since we would be staying in the house during the process (sleeping downstairs), I decided to go with a colored Pallmann's Magic Oil rather than staining using Minwax or DuraSeal first then using the clear Pallmann's. To find a color I liked, I ordered several samples of Pallmann's from the distributor that is closest to me, in Dallas, and the samples are called "pucks." I got black, dark brown, and red brown. Straight out of the can, the colors weren't what I was looking for, but when I started mixing them, I found a great combo. I just took a plastic solo cup and a plastic teaspoon and mixed in various ratios until I got what I wanted. First was 3 spoonfuls of dark-brown and 1 of black, but that was too dark, so I added 2 more spoonfuls of dark brown (for a 5:1 ratio) and that was perfect. I was also mindful of how much total finish I needed to buy (6 liters for my project) so tried to mix in ratios that would minimize waste, and 5:1 was perfect for that. We mixed all six of the Part A containers (colored oil) in a 5 gallon bucket and stirred thoroughly, then used a small measuring container (from the paint section of HD) to measure out a small amount of the colored oil to mix with the Part B (accelerant) which is what makes it harden to a very durable finish. I think the colored Pallmann's has a different ratio of Part A to Part B than the clear, but just follow the directions on the box. Ours was 4:1, I think, so I would fill the container up 16 ounces with color, then top off to 20 ounces with the accelerant, stir with a stir stick, then trowel apply per the directions and video UFloor (the distributor/mfr.) has on YouTube. To prep, we screened the entire floor upstairs at 100 screen (we'd sanded it previously with a sanding sequence of 60, 80, 120 but had a week's worth of foot traffic and moving the last bits of furniture out so wanted to make sure the wood fibers were all the same to accept the stain evenly. Perhaps overcautious, I don't know). Screening is MUCH harder than using the vibrating square buff sander - it took lots of muscle to figure out how to control the buffer. There were a few times initially where I didn't think we were going to be able to do it - mostly when the buffer was going airborne like an ice skater doing a triple Lutz. Eventually got it under control, but managed to leave lots of marks on our freshly painted walls from the buffer handle pushing us around. Got some touch up to do. It looks so easy on YouTube but it was HARD! Then, we swept up tons of sawdust. Then, we shopvacced all the dust we could, carefully carrying around our shop vac canister so it wouldn't leave wheel marks on the floor's fibers. (Again, overcautious much?) We tacked the floor with old towels misted with paint thinner. This was stinky but my husband did it while I was at Home Depot exchanging our buffer for a new one - the first one's wheel was messed up and it was really annoying to work with. All the prep work takes forever, but I figured it was better to do it now than spend two months installing the floors and messing them up in the final stretch. Before sanding and screening, we also had taped over all the light switches, electrical outlets, covered vents and air returns - and turned off the heat - taped plastic over the ceiling fans and lights, removed all the blinds, etc, and then removed all that stuff so that when we were doing the clean up, all the sawdust would be on the floor so we could get it up before we applied the finish. OK, still with me? We are back to applying the finish. We started with the side rooms so that if we had to stop, we could end along a doorway with a full plank of wood. The first room we trowel applied - I used the trowel (which was a 10" stainless steel drywall trowel that I just took a piece of sandpaper and rounded the edges on) for the majority of the floor and my husband took a piece of the buffer pad and did the edges - like cutting in when you are painting a room. We got about 1/3 through the room and needed to stop and buff (there is a time limit on how long the product is workable, we set our phone's alarm and stopped to buff whenever it was time). The first bit was frantic as I was really worried about hurrying and the time and everything, but I calmed down soon enough and figured out this is a marathon, not a sprint. We followed the buffing sequence the instructions specified and didn't have much problem, The first buff is really "grippy" and you need to use some muscle to control the buffer or it will throw you around. The final buffs with the white pads were pretty easy, and I did those to give my husband a break. Per the tip from the Pallmann rep, we applied two coats back-to-back before moving on to the next room. Trowel application: The second room, we thought we'd try the other application method, the buffer method instead of hand-troweling. Big mistake! Maybe if we were more experienced with the buffer we could have done better, but as it was, that buffer through us both around like a rodeo bull. Grabbing the liquid oil made it really careen around, no matter how carefully or lightly we dipped into the oil pool. I had the honor of putting the first hole in the drywall - at which point DH thought he'd better take over. He was doing better than me at first, but then the buffer got the best of him and he put two more holes in the drywall in the same room! We decided to finish that room using the buffer method but to go back to troweling after that. There is no real difference in how the finished product looks, and it really wasn't faster to do the buffer with the way it was flinging us around. The only thing was my wrist was practically crippled by the end of the project, as we did almost 1500 sf in a 10 or 12 hour marathon. I was switching from left to right hand, and DH even had to take a turn troweling, but I've had to wear my wrist brace all week to give my poor arm a chance to rest. This is reaching the length of a novel, so I will just post some more pictures of the final product. We still need to do the stairs (at 2:30am we called it quits because we needed to get up for work in four hours) and baseboards and shoe molding, so these aren't the final final product, but we are getting close. It's been an adventure! We did have a few problem areas that we need to address, I will come back and post about that soon. Buffer application: Back to troweling:

Hollysprings, I just realized I forgot to crosspost to the Kitchen Forum. Thank goodness I got your post. I told the installer after 5 PM when he called on Saturday that he could start on Monday but now I am getting so nervous as I want a floor easy to keep clean. He says the Power Grout still stains and is not worth the cost and is more difficult to use. I did do some research on it and in 2010, many installers were having so many problems with the Power Grout coming out when showering and staining feet. Maybe it has been improved? The first installer wanted me to pick up the Power Grout myself making his price $700 more. Also I am looking over the other estimate I got a few hours earlier before this installer called and it says that this other installer would prime the floor and supply the primer before installing the tile so maybe that is why the estimate is $300 more. This other installer says I am to buy my own grout. I did not consider him as his reply on when I asked what the grout width would be was that it would not be more than 1/4". I want a think grout line. The other two installers told me they would try to get as thin of a grout line as they can ONCE they assess the situation after they remove the Linoleum floor and see how flat the surface is and how the tiles are when they are placed on the floor in the running bond position. Now I am getting confused as I did say he could start and I felt so comfortable with the installer but I wonder if my floor needs to have a primer on it and I wonder if the other guy could install the Epoxy grout also without charging me more than the $300 more IF I buy the grout which I know is expensive. He would have to tell me how much to buy. The guy that is coming on Monday is supplying the TEC grout with the job and was one of the installers given to me by the store. My Spectralock grout has never turned colors and the front foyer still looks almost new since installed at the end of December 2008. The middle foyer where I keep the puppy pads is staining from the pee from my little dogs and it is difficult to keep clean but never turns black like I see in so many houses with light grout.

OP here...to keep you all updated: we have decided to go with BM Natura paint which is zero VOC and odorless. Using eggshell finish on walls and flat on ceiling. Ceiling color will match Kelly Moore Swiss Coffee since that is what is on the rest of house's ceilings. Two walls will be BM Ladyfinger and the central wall will be BM Mascarpone...color names seem appropriate given its the kitchen:) Paint goes on tomorrow (Sunday) so I will let you all know how things go and what we think of the BM Natura paint. Stay tuned for photos!

One thing to remember about the displays is that they are abused. Seriously abused. Hundreds of people day in and day out opening and closing drawers/cabinets, running into them with strollers, carts, whacking them with purses on the way by - and some being purposely "stress tested" by customers trying to see how tough they really are. Search this forum for IKEA reviews/users and you'll find the vast majority are very happy with their choices. ETA: One caveat to this is the Knoxhult "Instant kitchen" cabinets - those are cheap and should be avoided. The comments above refer to the regular Sektion cabinets.