Well, we thought that we were done, only to find an area on the island granite that looked unpolished. You could really only see it if the light was hitting it right, but it was fairly large (about 20" x 2"). Most of that was over a quartz vein. We had a bit of a hassle trying to get the fabricator to polish that area. I guess they don't check the polish of the top surface and then work on it while it is wet. They assume that the factory polished it perfectly. Fortunately, we had not yet paid the final balance, so we still had some leverage with them. Well, they came out to seal the perimeter counters, which they didn't do when they were installed, but the guy knew nothing about the island polishing. So, several phone calls and days later, even talking to the owner, before they sent out another person to resolve that problem. The first time polishing that area they tried to get my buy off. It was improved but still far too noticeable, so he went at it a 2nd time. The final result is that it is still a bit noticeable to DW and myself, but no one else will likely notice it. We can live with that. Any more polishing from these guys would probably have resulted in the surface being concave there.

I'll play around the the diagonal idea this weekend. I just did some quick trigonometry and that solution might work (unless I have overlooked something). If someone wants to check my math: The two walls leading into the corner are 60" long each. I'm working with a 30" range (which is about 28" deep). As Pythagoras would have it, my stove and the triangular corners leading up to the stove (as well as the wasted space in the back) would take up 33.82" of the wall space on each side of the corner. I'll round that to 34" for good measure. This would leave me 26" on either side to work with. That sounds like alot! I was expecting less. Does anybody see any glaringly obvious errors?

Designov, I visited your post regarding your gorgeous new kitchen and due to the recessed doors that I love since I have been wanting the cabinets that you bought and the crown molding and the overall look, I felt it looked beautiful just the way it was with the matching end panels that were just not door style panels. I felt it looked pretty and finished and gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.

Chisue: Thanks for your comments. I am not sure about the lengths that prefinsihed comes in. I need to work that out. Good point if we lay the hardwood across the hall (rather than the length of the hall) it will lnot look chopped up at the bedroom door, closets and living room as that direction would just continue in to these rooms. The other door ways (laundry and bath off the hall) switches to tile. Yes diagonal is more modern. Probably why DH likes it better than I do, as I prefer a more transitional than he does. Amberm: Hope you are enjoying your Ontario visit. I would love to see a photo of your hardwood transitions when you get back to AB (Calgary right?). Thanks for the guidance on joist strucuture if we have plywood (vs the subfloorless days of yore). Our old subfloor is only unlevel in a few points (a few sags). A 1/4 inch would make it taller than the new subfloor. It seems the framers lowered the new floor so it would be on the same plane as the old subfloor. It may be that DH can use 1/8 inch plywood in a few low points instead of the messy leveling compound. Thanks for that suggestion. Do you happen to have a vote on best hardwood direction in our floor plan? Carol