Interesting. Ashawa's website states their products are made in the USA. "produced by Hill Wood Products, Inc. located in the heart of Minnesota’s Northwoods" As stated on their website. Hill Wood Product's website states that all of their products are manufactured in the USA. So the question is.. What's coming from overseas? Or did someone all Gallaher Flooring drop the ball?

This is a stunning kitchen. I would hate to disturb it if you don't have to. The backsplash is BEAUTIFULLY married to the flooring! The cabinets are well coupled with the cabinets and the cabinets are very happily coordinated with the parquet. My fear is this: if you disturb ONE ELEMENT you then must disturb its counterpart. That means the backsplash will need updating to match the flooring you are looking to use. If you change the countertops you will disturb the harmony between the cabinets and the counter top. And you will also disturb the backsplash when the counters are taken out (this always happens). If you run new hardwood in the rest of the condo, you will be disturbing the balance between the cabinets and the flooring of the living room/living space. Whew. That's A LOT of changes because of one little concern (the kitchen flooring). Personally that little bit of tile that is peeking out beyond the island does NOT bother me. Not in the slightest. I would HATE to see you disrupt this ENTIRE space just because of a few inches of "peek-a-boo" tile that is visible from the living room. Please be aware that a change of one element can and will disturb the other 6 elements that go into a kitchen (total of 7 elements exist in a kitchen). And because this is open concept with coordinating cabinets to the parquet flooring in the living space, this could turn into the BIGGEST FULL GUT RENOVATION you could imagine. Your condo is STUNNING. It shows how HIGH END it is just the way it is. I would live with it for at least 6 months before doing anything to it.

A two story home should take 3-5 days (depending). The floors in the home look to be red oak. They will have a natural tendency to have peach/salmon tones when 'raw'. The look you are after is 'raw'. Do not use the word 'natural'. It is confusing because in the wood world 'natural' is the colour of wood with oil based poly on it = orange colouring. By using the words "raw look" you will make it clear that you want a wood floor that looks sanded down with nothing on it. Now for the finishes: DuraSeal = low-grade (ie cheap) finish that is rated as professional...but just barely. Bona is a true professional grade brand. It ranges in price (low price = Mega = 1 part cheaper product = turns yellow/orange). The highest price finish = Bona Traffic HD. The HD is the TOUGHEST finish on the market. It comes in 'commercial extra matte'. It gives the look of raw. The oil based products = HUGE odour issues. Which means you will need more than a few days before you move in. The odour is enough to cause migraines and nose bleeds. And it takes as much as 30 days to cure....which can cause BIG delays when moving in. Water based products (the real water based...not waterborne) are clear and have very low odour. The big guns, like Bona Traffic HD or Loba 2K Supra AT have odours that dissipate inside of a day. They take 5-7 days to cure...which means you can move in 7 days after the floors have been finished. You are looking for a raw look finish. You are looking for professionals who KNOW how to work with the expensive 2 part products like Bona HD Traffic. You are looking for refinishers who are willing to spend money on the high end finishes (which means you are willing to spend money on the high end finishes). And it traditionally takes 1 day to sand down everything, tack cloth it and then let it dry. It takes 2 days to properly coat the floors in a total of 3 coats (two coats per day = maximum amount). I think you can kick the 1 day dude to the curb. A single day is ONLY possible if he gives 2 coats = going cheap. Do you LIKE the heavy orange tones??? If you do NOT like ORANGE then you want to stay away from oil based finishes. Remember: 'O' is for "Orange" and "Oil based".

Pics for sure and find a stair person to do this right .