For starters, I'd suggest that you get a 1/2 sheet pad sander. Having a collection of sanders...belt, 1/2 sheet, 1/3 sheet, 1/4 sheet & a Porter Cable round pad oscillating sander (uses round disc Velcro backed discs--I bought it almost new & really cheap at a garage sale), the one that I reach for most is the 1/2 sheet vintage Ryobi. When I have to replace it, I'll get another Ryobi (very scarce) or a Porter-Cable 505 or it's Rockwell equivalent (much more common). You'll have to shop used (eBay) because none of them--Ryobi, Rockwell or Porter Cable are being made anymore. The 1/2 sheet sander is ideal for large surfaces--covers the area quickly & fewer stops for paper changes. With the smaller 1/4 & 1/3 sheet sanders that I have (Makitas), I seem to spend more time changing paper than I do actually sanding. Note: I hate the sandpaper clamping on the Makitas so I will not suggest any of their sanders. Buy aluminum oxide sandpaper. Sandpaper is sold in at least a couple of weights--Cabinet or 'C' weight and Finishing or 'A' weight. Cabinet weight is what you want for the machine. Finishing weight has lighter paper & is more flexible for hand sanding. (You can use the A weight on the sander by simply folding the sheet in half & clamping on the sander.) Now, about the round pad oscillating sanders. They're really quite aggressive but not as much so as a belt sander. At some point, you'll probably want one but I'd stick with the 1/2 sheet sander, esp. for a newbie. Don't be afraid of the weight. For the most part, looking at your projects, you'll be using the sander on the horizontal where the weight of the sander is an advantage. I manage it on the vertical OK & I'm just a girl. :-) You'll be needing more frequent breaks when running it vertically. I usually start w/ 100 grit paper & work my way up w/ 150-180 wt, then 220 weight. After 220, I wet the wood to raise the grain & sand the nubs off w/ 330 or 400 weight paper, wet, sand, wet, sand. (That's for furniture--I don't go so far w/ stuff like closet doors, etc.) Including a sandpaper source link. I've been buying from them for years. Here is a link that might be useful: Industrial Abrasives

Thank you for the suggestions! May I ask why you would recommend round and glass? Given that round tables are 32"-36" I thought that it may impede the walking area and perhaps look a bit small with the couch. If considering round, I was considering these two: Coffee Table 1 Coffee Table 2

Looks great..no need for one unless you want something to be softer on your feet! It would have to be large enough to have front legs of sofa on it....so Most likely would need a 8x10.

Lovely room, and I like that you’re considering a traditional rug. I’m not sure if you’ve looked on the eSaleRugs site, but I found pages of beautiful (real) Persian rugs for under $1000. Most have the option of seeing it in your room, as I did below, so you can play around with sizes, colors, and patterns. These are antiques and semi-antiques, but the rest of the site has new rugs if that doesn’t appeal. https://esalerugs.com/persian-oriental-rugs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Examples: https://esalerugs.com/red-9x12-tabriz-persian-rug-22420989?pos=12&rt=aisle Love the colors .... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ https://esalerugs.com/red-9x12-shahrbaft-persian-rug-22461083?pos=58&rt=aisle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ https://esalerugs.com/beige-7x10-meshkabad-persian-rug-22452938?pos=71&rt=aisle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ https://esalerugs.com/peach-7x10-farahan-persian-rug-22471130?pos=21&rt=aisle