most professionals will tell you that you most likely would have to sand and refinish the entire area. One possiblility is to use prefinished on the new section, but doubt you'd be happy with the result. When I replaced my kitchen floor with wood it had to blend with the 50 yr old wood in lr. When I sanded the whole area the two areas blend very well.

Speaking purely about clearances, if there is at least 5' (60") b/w the edge of the peninsula seating and the table edge, then you can probably fit stools there. As to whether you need stools with the table so close, that's a personal decision. While table seating is different than counter seating (table being more comfortable in general), sometimes both can be useful. We have two seats at our peninsula...with only 50" b/w the peninsula and table. I can tell you those 50" are not enough if someone is sitting at both. Even moving the table so the chandelier is off-center only gains us 5"...still not enough. Because of this issue, we don't use both seats at the same time. However, when we're not using the table, the peninsula is convenient for breakfast, homework, projects, etc....and it's nice to have seating there at those times. [Our mistake was not moving the chandelier when we took a few inches from the DR for the kitchen...if we had re-centered the chandelier, we could have placed the table so we had 60" between peninsula & table. Live and learn!]

Lilac, welcome to the group. If that doorway is 70 inches WIDE, that will be too wide for a tension rod to span. However, you might think about getting a SHOWER ROD, WHICH IS ABOUT 6 FEET LONG, and a diameter of more than one inch. You could even put a sexy shower curtain on that rod and also hang the canvas drop cloths on the same rod. Shower hooks are great, or even the set of shower rings. I have used the 9 strand 100 pound stainless steel picture hanging wire to hang curtains. In my case, I bought a 100 foot roll of it, but you can get it in lengths. OR, you might go to a place like RESTORE which is a Habitat for Humanity resale place. They have many many doors that came off closets, like the bifold shutter doors. I've found many nice doors that way. If you cannot screw them to the woodwork, and you want to take any purchased items with you when you go, think about attaching the doors to a bookcase or entertainment center at the side so you can open/close the bifolds. It is possible, depending on the size of the room and the location of that wide doorway in it, that you could position an entertainment center in front of the opening, and leave only enough space to have a 28 inch entry to your bedroom. I'm assuming that closing the passage to the kitchen from the dining room will still give you another entry to your kitchen? Quite an interesting question, and you can definitely make your choice attractive. Also note, I use the regular canvas painter drop cloths, available in all sizes, very washable and quite durable, as slip cover for my furniture, bird cages, curtains, pillow covers, bed throws, and I can paint on them and make them tough and hard for small rugs at the doors. Very washable, very durable, and the cheapest thing you can buy. Sort of the color of oatmeal denim, and as durable as a canvas bag.

Thanks to all for the input! Msjee, can you explain how the sample to go would be different in color than a quart? Still trying to understand the complexities of paint! Sailorgirl, your room was one of many I've seen that helped me decide on Revere Pewter! Thanks for sharing--love them! AutumnGal, that's good to hear. I called my SW and they said the colors in RP are black, gold and maroon...and that they could match it from some formula (no swatch). dlm, there are different, youngish people working in the SW store every time I go--not sure who has the good eye! Thanks again, everyone!