From a distance the wood looks like White Oak, based on the amount of color variation. In the closeup it look more like Red Oak. Dura Seal Golden Oak or Chestnut would look nice. Freshly finished Red Oak looks nice in natural color. If you use oil poly, I'm not crazy about how Red Oak turns orange/yellow with age. If you're curious whether it ever had carpet over it, look for tack strip holes on the perimeter. It looks like a very nice floor but it would be best to resand it while you're not living there. I am a bit worried about the splintered edge at the corner in picture 5 and whether the stained areas in the dining room (?) would sand out. You might want to see if you can get some carpenters glue under that splinter before sanding. If the stains don't sand out, staining the floor might help obscure them. Once the furniture is in place, it will be a minor issue overall.

I agree that sound deadening materials are the answer. BTW, if you don't like the idea of hanging a rug on a wall, maybe hanging a nice quilt would fit in better with your decor. If echoes are a big problem, that suggests you have certain surfaces off which the sound is bouncing. I would try to experiment to figure out which walls are contributing the most to that effect. First, get everyone to be quiet -- for just a few minutes. Then, make one loud sound while people are in different places in the room. The sound can be just the clapping of hands, one person clapping just once or a few times, or maybe two glasses touching as in a toast. Listen closely. If you're lucky, you might be able to identify the primary surface or surfaces that contribute to the echo problem. Then you can concentrate on putting sound deadening material on those surfaces. That might save you the trouble and expense of putting up sound deadening material all over the place.

LOL, what have you done to me!?! I love kitchen gadgets just as long as I know I'll be using it. So, when I saw your question/thread, I went shopping for one. It would help me when making rice porridge. As a habit, when I shop for something, I open up my mind and do quite a bit of research before buying the product. This can be effective but can also be damaging to my pocket :/ This time, it went from a risotto spoon to this https://www.amazon.com/Gourmia-Stiriffic-Adjustable-Automatic-Stirrer/dp/B01GSLYSRK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1507068355&sr=8-2&keywords=auto+stirrer. I actually did buy one of these instead of the spoon. Here's a video of a similar product: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mALlIq3wCnQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMg1hqllYeI. And also ended up buying one of these as well! https://www.walmart.com/ip/Crock-Pot-6-quart-iStir-Automatic-Stirring-Slow-Cooker/35074957 (current price is better than Amazon) LOL....

Wooden spoons are at most estate sales. I love using them, but I'm down to just one. My other one, (ahem, cheeks turning red), caught on fire when I accidentally laid it in the spoon rest with the handle pointing into the fire. Oops. Alas, it wasn't salvageable. I do have a wooden spatula I like. $25 is a little steep for a wooden spoon, me thinks. Sally