Hi both - so sorry but this is a really old post (at least a year ago now! Lol) so we have already finished all the flooring. We ended up wimping out after sanding the kitchen and dining room and ended up putting wood flooring down. The wood was just too soft and we would have needed to fill in all the gaps as there was a draft through to the ground. However we did paint the main bedroom floor in white which I LOVE. Except .. on all the instructions I read online, no one mentioned priming with a knot blocker so I have to go over it all again as they are showing through and it looks grubby

We will be re-staining these floors - to erase some damaged areas and change the color. Prefer Duraseal. Would love any suggestions!

Sharpies stain - you can clean most of it out and make like it's part of the marble-effect veining if it's just one small-ish mark....but you'll always see it and know. And then you can be very grateful that the island worktop is being replaced due to a manufacturing defect that you'd already complained to the supplier about. Just for example, not saying this ever actually happened.

Get a sample in the colour you are planning and do your own red wine, tea, coffee and lemon juice test patches. Suppliers can be very economical with the truth. Some people have more spills and damage than others. Make the choice based on your lifestyle.