I have a rug under my DR table. It's a nice wool rug I found on sale at a reasonable price. As others have noted, I made sure the dimensions allowed for all chairs to be pushed back without falling off the rug. (BTW, in the photo above with the zebra rug, I don't know how one would use the chairs at that table without catching the edges of the rug... that's the most impractical set-up I've ever seen, but, yes, I do like the rest of her blog. ;-) There are a number of economical sources for large area rugs--you don't have to spend thousands. My DR rug is no more difficult to keep clean than any other area of my home.

Marti- We went through that too. Thought about every possible potential use of the space and got discouraged by people who insisted we needed to have an island or nothing at all. I understand the sentiment, but different things work for different people. I mentioned it took us a year to go through the layout/design phase, right? We considered everything. I am going to try to attach a copy of an ideabook from houzz where I collected some photos to help me decide what to do with the beam/bar area. I liked some of the photos and disliked others, but kept them all to help me think it through... I have some other pictures, not on houzz that I will try to attach separately. Here is a link that might be useful: Houzz ideabook

I would go with the lighter. It's more timeless and would blend nicely with your existing oak.

Put your centerpiece on the chess table. Is the other ornate dining set for breakfast, gaming or could it be used here? Do you want to continue with the cow head/skin theme, leaning SW in your decor? They aren't really "cozy and elegant," IMO. Is a new chandy in the picture? That one misses the mark on elegance. You need a minimum of 36-42" from the table top to any baseboards or furniture surrounding the table to allow for chair sit/scoot space. I'd do that measurement first. I really wouldn't want the rug jammed up against the exterior wall. Maybe the smaller, round table would be a better choice for using a rug here.