Peg board is a good idea and I'm not really sure what kind of hooks are out there either, so I'd have to look into it further. I looked at pegboard today, the very heavy duty ones are kinda spendy for a 4 x 8 sheet. I'd probably go with the 1/8 inch material and reinforce with a 2x4 frame. I had actually considered using wooden doors securred together. I found a bunch of louvered bifold doors today at a local salvage place. (habitat for humanity resale store)and I thought I could attach a shelving track to the doors for adjustable shelves. So where the chairs would go, I could use some type of utility hook screwed into the door. I think even though the space is small that with creative use of space and organization of the items in there, it should work. Keeping in mind that this is a trial run and I can always take a bigger space if need be.

I think I've figured out that the red tile is your floor? And the gray stone is a SS? If so, I'm a little confused... you said those were things you've ordered. Are you using SS somewhere, or is that just what you would use if you could? It's beautiful; I love any SS but didn't use it for the same reason. I have heard here that leathered engineered quartz is difficult to maintain. Leathered granite, OTOH... For a long time I really thought we'd be going with quartz, but once I started looking at some of the granites, I knew that's what would work best for us. By that time I had also decided that I didn't like the polished look and wanted honed or leathered or whatever. We ended up with Impala Black leathered, which was about the same as the quote we got for Hanstone. Silestone was more, and Cambria probably would have been even more. It doesn't have any cream, just dark gray overall effect, probably in the same color family as a gray SS or JM, though I never saw that in person. If you take away the cream color of your 1st Cambria pic, that's about what you would have. It has been mistaken for SS in a photo. Overall it has been a breeze to keep looking nice (about two months). We did crack it this weekend by running the crock pot directly on it (fabricator didn't give us any hints about what to do and not to do, but they will fix it and bring us some trivets to put the crock pot on in the future). Otherwise, it seems pretty hardy, and definitely does not show stains from those things you listed. Not sure if that helps or if you are looking for suggestions of stones with some cream along with gray, but from what you said, it might fit.

I have a similar dining room set up except mine is closed on the other end too. Do you need any type of sideboard in the dining area? I have a small dresser I put in my dining room to use as a siderboard, and put some candlesticks on it, which added a more "cozy" feel to the room. I also put all the chairs in the middle of the table, none on the end. I did it mostly because of space being short on the ends of the room, but it also just looks better in a small dining space. And I put out colorful placemats and colorful runner and a nice big centerpiece. I can't quite make out the design of your table but it doesn't look like it is made for placemats. To be honest, if I had your table I would put a tablecloth on it. I actually had a table very similar with white tile mixed with pine wood. It had been in my apt. and it was more of a kitchen table style, so when I started using it in the dining room, I put a classy tablecloth on it. Tablecoths allow you to change the look of a room very simply. I inherited a lot of them from my mom, along with various placemats and centerpieces. I have to admit I'm having a lot of fun changing out the look of the dining room from season to season. At my last house, I had one look, all the time. YMMV. Also, you might consider drapes on the window at the end of the room. It would balance out the space and add color. Normally I am not a fan of drapes but I found in my dining room that at night with the blinds closed, it was just a big boring blank space of blue (the blind color) so I am in the process of getting a rich looking drapery fabric for that end of the room. One other thing you might consider is adding wall candle sconces. I am not a fan of candle sconces unless you would actually USE the candles though. I would move the arches out and put candle sconces next to the clock on either side. I love dining by candlelight. Again, just some ideas, YMMV.

Hire a tile PRO. Tile meets in corners all the time! Take a look in your own shower. Don't use a contrasting grout.