A professional floor finisher can look at your floor and make a good guess at how many coats were applied. The limit for coats of anything per day is two (2), so it is a reasonable guess that you have two coats, if more than just one. Any wood floor finish coat takes days to harden and cure. Typically, waterborne finishes cure in about seven days. Oilbase finishes can take up to 28 days or more to cure. Before they are cured, they are susceptible to marring. Another possibility here is problems encountered when rushing a refinish by "hot coating" a floor, which is throwing successive coats of anything over a previous coat. There is not had enough time allowed for the solvents (be they water or spirits) to flash out of the product. The volatiles get trapped by the successive coat and can result in a soft finish and an extended cure time overall. And...during that cure time the floor is susceptible to marring. Four or five days to complete a sand and refinish of anything is reasonable...two is not, in my professional opinion. However, since I don't know what finish was used and how long the work days were, temperature and humidity levels and all that...this answer is purely speculation and should be considered just that.

Thanks everyone for the replies! So I'll start shopping around for stone remnants and see what I can come up with for a remnant. Pal- there is no box behind that light fixture. I just switched out the same light fixture in the upstairs bathroom and there is no box; just wires coming out of the wall behind that fixture. I checked with the folks over in the home remodeling forum and they said that the way my wires are set up is consistent with code and is fine. I just don't have as many options when it comes to light fixtures because I'll need one with a significant backplate on it. What do you think of these as possible light fixtures? (the first light fixture is Dolce by Corbett lighting. I've tried to upsize the photo with not much success). Also, what do you think of framing the mirror in a thin piece of moulding, then doing a tile inset, surrounded by another piece of moulding, like this on houzz.com. [contemporary bathroom design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2103) by sacramento interior designer Kerrie L. Kelly

I think you have done a beautiful job. You are obviously not a lost design soul! For 2k, I wouldn't try to do a lot of little things, or the quality of each will suffer. It is also an issue of focus. I think you had it right with the counters. If you like granite, that's great, as others have said, maybe a marble remnant for the island. But even a plain laminate would be an improvement. It's become too much now that you have the textures of the tin backsplash and the curtains, which are nicer. I would also consider lighting. Not just "more" but considering the overall lighting scheme and the quality of light. Having all the light way overhead means you make big, harsh cones of light. So when you lean your head over, you cast a shadow, like an eclipse. Then people say "This kitchen is so dark, I can't see anything!" and keep upping the wattage, til they come on here asking where to find 200 watt bulbs, when it's really because they're blocking the light with their own heads! Too much overhead light also really unflattering -- it casts shadows in peoples eye sockets and makes tiny shadows out of every wrinkle. I'm serious! So having light at different levels is the way to go. You might try this right now by plugging in a lamp (somewhere away from the stove or sink) and see if that improves things. Then I would suggest a pendant in the place of the can you have over the island, to bring the light down to a more human level. But what you've done already is really beautiful.

Hey Laurasreed47, I'm actually getting our floors slightly refinished. We've had them now for about a year and while they look great, they are slightly prone to absorption of liquids. So, out of an abundance of caution, I figured I'd call in a Loba specialist to have them looked at. Sure enough, he said that this was the result of the floors not having been sanded between the final coats. Thankfully we don't need to have them completely redone - they're just lightly sanding our current finish and then applying a final top coat. He said this should do the trick and that this finish is 'one of the best and most durable on the market' so I feel good about it. As I mentioned in the original post, I did everything within my power to try and guide the floor guy our contractor used to the proper application method but was ignored. I think it's been mentioned in a thread somewhere else, but I should have just trusted my gut and found a Loba specialist to begin with. I'm glad we don't have to completely refinish the floors in the end, but it's still a frustration. Also, 'stopping all work' and 'sitting down with contractors to make them make amends' isn't always a viable option. Renovating a co-op apartment in NYC is generally an exercise in constantly making peace with disappointments. Oh, and lastly - the photos I included above aren't really accurate of the final look of the floors. We were still deep in the construction phase (of course I would have liked to have the floors done as the final item but our NYC renovation has been a real nightmare so I took what I could get) so it doesn't really reflect their final look. The floor LOOKS fantastic (I don't know what SJ Mcarthy was referring to with seeing the 'cardboard indentations', to be honest). We did stop work and allow it to cure to a full week when it was first applied but, as mentioned, three coats on top of one another just wasn't enough - the intermediary sanding is crucial. So that's it. Sorry for the long response but wanted to make sure you had all the info. Hope it helps.