Beautiful table, re upholstering the chairs and updating the area where they are would be a good start, add some colour to,the room and a floor rug. when I saw the first picture I thought paint it but not so sure once I saw the lovely carved legs I became stuck on the decision. I painted my traditional dining table and changed the area it was in but mine was nothing special, a reproduction made of rubber-wood, beautifully made table but no vintage piece of furniture .. I did a story on it in Houzz called painting a table if you wanted to have a look. Another option could be to paint the chairs as well reupholstering them but leave the table as is. Good luck, hard one

A rug under the table will cause problems when moving the chairs. To be safe and no nuisance, it has to be a huge rug. (A large round(!) floor cover....?) I like the street lamp. But I guess it is a STREET - lamp and makes the room rather sterile. It is kind of tallish in the corner and enhances to large distance to the ceiling. bring something else down from the ceiling. I guess you don't want a lamp because you have downlights. Do some search for some nice art, which does not move (shadows) in the light. Or use a beige old fashioned chandelier. Go bit by bit. And think about the carpet before you get it. Work on flow and lightness, delight, round parts, oval to balance the room. If I painted something, I would paint the stark white frames a little softer/toned. The white is a hard contrast. So is the black. (And I would probably paint a half wall white.) And the black ornament (light?) that comes down from the ceiling must come further down, should be larger. And then I would play with the room for dinner situations..... you can bring all the colour in you like. I wonder what the room looks like during the day. Try taking the (beautiful) mirror out and hang a canvas. The plant on the table looks forlorn. The Arabic lamp in the left corner looks lonely too. this would be a nice corner for a piece of furniture. An extra chair finds room in spots like this often. Do you have enough space when serving food? (Can you get light switches in a colour like the walls?) I would probably take 2 chairs out unless they are constantly needed and take the placemats off. Put a larger item.... maybe a plate of fruit in the middle. The repetition of chairs and placemats enhances the very formal atmosphere. I have just seen a cream coloured chandelier. Glass is too stark and black not suited to brighten the situation up. I love the room for its sheer size and uncluttered atmosphere!

Here's a couple of links: https://www.designerchandelier.com.au/ Owner Jon Warren - recently got a Linkedin message, might be a good one too https://www.chicchandeliers.com.au/ 

Those cornices are both gorgeous and look to be in excellent condition. When extending homes that have some original character and features, there is no need to gut the original rooms. Unless you would like to pretend that the original home never existed and that you have actually built an entirely new home, keeping the original rooms as intact as possible and then, working with your architect and builder to transition into the new rooms in the extension can often make for a more beautiful and original renovation/extension. often the more ‘different’ the two are, the better. Ie, ornate cornice and skirting with original polished boards transitioning to square set and polished concrete for example. if you are wanting an entire new and modern building then buying a beautiful old home would seem an odd choice.