I can only comment about the cowhide rug idea as that's my area of expertise. Cowhide are still going very strong as a design trend, they haven't been overdone in my opinion. Also cowhide rugs break all the normal rules of standard rugs because they are an organic shape. So they visually take up more room than they physically occupy. So you don't need a cowhide rug to be as large as a wool rug. They also look better on a 45 degree angle to furniture and it is OK for one or several legs to go underneath furniture as this can anchor a group of furniture. For how to clean a cowhide rug there is some great info on my website plus a video that is really interesting.

Declaration - I am a rug business owner. The pros for having a rug - subfloor protection, noise suppression and atmosphere outweigh the cons - scratched floors (we all have a friend who comes for dinner and tips on their chair) noise (my kids constantly scrape the chairs) and cold bare atmosphere. Rugs complete rooms. Maybe the issue with young kids who are messy eaters could be the only reason you hold back. The issue relating to timber fading is another matter - timber floors darken with UV exposure, so your rug should always be moved around to make sure the fade lines are not obvious. Even if it just 10cm here and there to mix up the exposed area.

The most kid and pet friendly couch material is leather. So far our blue leather couch has coped with 18 years of toddlers falling asleep and weeing on it, cat vomit, Easter eggs melting between the cushions, spilt milk, spilt orange juice, spilt red wine, spilt coffee, and muddy dog paws. It just wipes clean. Our white leather chair is just as durable and is now 24 years old and just starting to look grubby. So go with beige or cream if you want. It would be a lovely choice, just make sure it is leather. Black or mid or dark brown would also look lovely with that beautiful rug but I think lighter colours would look fresher. Don't be at all scared to use light coloured leather.

OK peeps here are a couple of pics of the new rug. Can you believe I went with my original choice. It's difficult to represent this room and the rug in pics, colours rarely look true and room always look elongated. This rug is 3 metres long and 2.5 mtrs wide but it doesn't look it. Very happy with my choice and thanks again for your help.