You always start with the top in any reno. Get the roof dry and then you can fix the foundation issues, etc. That's why I'd start with the master bath first since that is on top of the other bath. If there are any problems with it, they will extend downhill and potentially damage the lower bath's ceiling and walls. No point in doing the lower bath only to have it damaged from a problem from above. There are several topical acrylic coatings that can give you a temp protection for your floors if the problem there isn't in danger of becoming worse from some underlying reason. Holloway House sells one that I used for several years in my old Foursquare. I never did get around to refinishing it but periodically coating made it look great right through resale.

I would paint it a crisp clear white then do white lamps and curtains and of course add the red....remove the curtains, I have them in my family room and love them but they are cream, grey, brown, and yellow with a faint blue that is nonexistent visually. Love the size and feel of this room....it can be a guide for your design. I know you do not have a red sofa, but note the red in the large art work and the two types of art to add interest and color to the room....simple shades on the windows add a feeling of indoor outdoor space. Whie lamps white mats, round cocktail table to add rhythm to the room too. Add a pair of fun small chairs to shake it up a bit.....you are off to a good start and feel for your room.

In building/construction law, the rule of thumb is: The original contractor must be allowed ONE attempt to "fix" a problem. After that, the homeowner is then allowed to bring in another contract (at the original's expense) to "fix" the problem. You have to check your state/provincial laws to confirm this approach. Assuming this is the case, the contractor has officially used up his/her SINGLE kick at the "redo" can. Now you are free to go elsewhere. I would not pay them anymore money at this point. If they want the TOTAL amount, they will have to give you a PROPERLY FINISHED floor. This is not properly finished. This is a redo. That's a full sand/refinish. The amount of times a floor can be resanded (completely) will be determined by the original thickness of the wood itself. To complete a resanding, there must be a MINIMUM of 3mm of wood ABOVE the tongue. Normally the "wood" can offer 60-80 years worth of service...depending on plenty of factors. A hardwood floor from the 80's probably experienced ONE sand/refinish event before you started your project. A hardwood finish lasts around 25 years. Some can push 30 years but then it looks like HELL. If you do the math, the 1980's build probably had ONE refinish sometime in the early 2000's. Your project is *probably the second event. The "second" time these guys sanded, probably wasn't a full event. They merely removed the stain (a light sanding event) and then tried to start over. I would guess this caused 1.5 sanding events...not 2. It is easy enough to figure out. Simply find a flooring vent and pop the vent off. Look at the cross section of the wood floor. Measure the amount of wood left ABOVE the tongue. So long as it is MORE than 3mm, you can go again with a FULL sand/refinish. I would reach out to the flooring company that recommended these guys and let them know that the work was subpar and that you would suggest "removing" this company from their recommendation list. That's all you can do with the flooring company. The next contractor you want to work with will be an NWFA Certified Wood Sanding/Refinisher. You can find a list of local professionals from the NWFA website: www.nwfa.org If you want stuff that "stands up in court" you would ALSO contact an NWFA Certified Wood Flooring INSPECTOR (at your expense...which could then be charged back to the original company in small claims court). The same website will offer the professional nearest you. If you want to go this route, make sure the floor is inspected BEFORE the refinish occurs. Once you have contacted the NWFA professional(s) of your choice, you then need to INFORM the original company (in writing) that: 1. The Floor is not properly finished as per industry standards 2. Another flooring professional/inspector has been engaged to help correct THEIR mistake 3. The final payment is "not owing" because the job was not completed to INDUSTRY STANDARDS 4. You reserve the right to recoup financial losses due to their poor workmanship (you may or may not want to add this...it depends on how nasty you want this to get). And leave it at that. Do NOT share the "full report" with the flooring company until ONE of TWO things occur: 1. They PAY you for the report (ie. they pay your out-of-pocket costs for the report); or 2. The courts direct you to disclose documents for your day in court. S/He who pays for the report, OWNS the report. You can "quote" from it, but you have no obligation to share the report in it's entirety. Good luck.

In my opinion, never use a time and materials contract for anything other than small jobs. They are outlawed for remodeling projects in some states because they are so likely to be abused (unfortunately Washington allows them). It is difficult to advise on the next step. Generally, in a time and materials contract the charged time must be reasonable, which means the contractor can charge for the time it takes for a reasonable contractor to complete the work correctly. They still can't charge time or materials for things like correcting their mistakes. If you believe the contractor billed a reasonable amount for the items they finished then you will simply need to find another contractor to take over the job. If you feel the contractor overbilled for the work, then that is a whole other mess and you will need to consider whether it is worth your effort to attempt to recover some of that loss, it typically isn't, but sometimes it can be worth a bit of effort to get some partial recovery. At any rate, sticking with this contractor should not be your preferred option.