Quick update. The painters are finishing up today. The electricians, plumber and carpenter all showed up as promised. The carpenter installed a routed board that goes over the sink to create a soffit that contains two lights. He had delayed because he wanted to make sure the electricians could access the wiring. He also helped the electricians install our 12 year old Thermador double wall oven. Man than thing is heavy. It's a double convection oven with a small microwave. I'll keep it as long as it keeps on working. It's dirty because I don't run the self-clean cycle. The outside is stainless and in good shape. Every year that I don't have to replace it is a victory. The electricians wired up the Vent-A-Hood. I confess there was a moment of female superiority with this installation. They were complaining about the small amount of wire that was protruding from the hood. I realized they had no idea how to install it. So, I handed them our socket tool, told them to take off the black motor and wire it from that side. Nice guys, but a little red in the face for a minute or two. Chalk one up for the little lady. They also finished wiring all of the outlets and switches. We have to wait to the painters to finish the ceiling before we can install the ceiling lights. The LED can lights were considered a fixture. That meant I needed to go get them. Home Depot had what I needed. The LED under cabinet lighting was delayed, also. We had another miscommunication. I thought the electricians were providing all of the necessary equipment for installation. We had a discussion three months ago. Who can remember three months ago? None of us. They thought I was providing it. Therefore, no supplies or equipment was available. I got on the horn to InspiredLED (Thank you GW) and Garrett hooked me up with everything we need. The components should arrive Friday. The plumber did his magic. He installed our old Bosch dishwasher. It's over 10 years old and was the top of the line in it's day. It still works beautifully. It will work even better now that it is properly installed. He installed all of the faucets. Unfortunately, the Hansgrohe pull-down faucet at the main sink has a leak in the sprayer unit. One call to Hangrohe and a replacement hose is on the way. He hooked up our new Insinkerator garbage disposals. We hooked up the Forever_MT soap dispensers. (Thanks GW, again.) We had to call back the back splash installers. Two of the boxes for light switches and outlets were too small. We couldn't get the covers on them. Even thought we could have done it ourselves, we didn't want to damage the tile. Their boss insisted on sending them out to make the fix. We started moving back into the kitchen. I've started cleaning house. We washed and cleaned off the back porch where everyone worked and all the supplies were stored. I can cook in the kitchen. We are still camping out in the temporary area waiting for the painters to finish. The painters started working on the final touches yesterday and will be finished today. It looks great. We will need to let things dry for a few days. Now, we find ourselves with a small to do list. It never ends. We need to install the under cabinet lights and ceiling can lights. We have the replacement hose for the Hansgrohe faucet. I've looked at it and I'm going to get the plumber back out to install it. I'm sure it's a simple fix, but it's not obvious to me. We also need to fasten the HVAC vents to the cabinet toe kicks. I think that's about it. Pictures next. I'll do the big reveal at the end of the week. Thanks for all the encouragement.

Thanks Amanda (huango) and numbersjunkie and rebunky! shifting the sink is a great idea and completely do-able. I agree, get it out of the corner. Most of the collisions happen there. :-| with a single level peninsula, I thought the that the tall skinny faucet would look odd, sticking up all by it's lonesome. Do you find that the extra counter space makes up for the not being able to hide stuff behind the second level ? good idea for more cabinet space over the fridge. that's a blind corner base cabinet to the left of the range I never thought of turning the cabinets to face out the other direction! Nope...no formal dining room. Some neighbors use the formal living room as a dining room or put a larger dining table in front of the patio door, as benjesbride suggested. the consensus is that the shorter pony wall must go. I agree! Thanks! - Mal

Well....that depends on the SUBFLOOR prep required (are you talking about in the kitchen?) and the TYPE of installation you are willing to pay for. Again, concrete must be flat/even (prefer level but don't always need it) and free of any contaminants. The preparation is the key. Did I mention the preparation? Right. That's the fist step that people want to go cheap on because no one can see the results. Yet it is the FIRST thing we, flooring professionals, POINT TO if the homeowner is upset about how a floor PERFORMS (ie. feels underfoot or is ruined by moisture coming up through the slab, etc). *Technically a wood floor can be FLOATED over the old tile in the kitchen BUT it requires flat substrate = work. Work = Time. Time = money. Carpets HIDE some wonky concrete. That's why they were used. The builders HID their AWFUL concrete underneath flexible products like sheet/glue down vinyl OR carpet. The only way to get an ACCURATE quote is to rip up the carpet and have a wood flooring professional come out and offer their quote. Even then, they will be offering a PRICE RANGE for the concrete preparation. A floating wood floor normally requires engineered wood (you can get expensive solid hardwoods that are allowed to be floated...but they are hard to find). Engineered hardwoods tend to be more expensive to purchase. A floating floor is a 'mid-price' range install. The cheapest install for wood is nail/cleat/staple down but that isn't an option because you are on concrete. A floating hardwood is the next in price (takes a bit more time and requires the use of adhesive on the edges). The MOST EXPENSIVE wood install is a GLUE DOWN OVER OLD CONCRETE. The adhesives themselves (and this is NOT included in the subfloor preparation) can range between $2-$4/sf. That's because they are used as 100% moisture barrier. These are EXPENSIVE adhesives. They can be $300 for 5 gallons and a gallon offers 30sf of floor coverage (it needs to be laid THICK to create the 100% moisture barrier). The glue down method requires a VERY knowledgeable wood flooring expert who UNDERSTANDS the adhesive, the trowel sizes, the spread rates, the 'tack up' time, etc etc etc. The adhesive can still be mucked up (and you can still have issues with moisture intrusion) by the INSTALLER if s/he doesn't get it right! And THAT'S when the REAL problems begin. A tile floor can be very expensive. A wood floor can be equally expensive. It all depends on the work needed to be done BEFORE the floors are installed. And the value you pay for in a high-quality craftsman is where you find the most money will be spent. Human sweat has a price. TALENTED sweat can be double that price.

Not sure how to respond directly... but @MaxHallmark, it is a type of calacatta marble. I fell in love with a Cristallo quartzite too, such a hard decision!