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.

Because there is a lot of timber and dark paint in the room ( which i like) and because it creates a neutral background you could easily takes some risks. The problem with fitted plain and very light fabrics is the risk of stains showing etc. so I would choose a mix and match red ( not a blue red) in leather if you have the money or a blue could be good to match the painted area. Another idea is to have fabric covers in natural fibres like washed linen that can be removed and washed easily. Look at beach house styles for inspiration. Add colour in a new rug!

From what you have said, I think smaller separate pieces such as couch and chair(s) rather than a large sectional is likely to work better in the space and still allow for traffic flow. However, if you still have lots to do then don't rush to make large purchases. In the meantime, if your current sectional looks better pulled away from the wall a bit, then perhaps you could rotate the side table so that the long side runs parallel with the sofa arm instead of the wall. Would that help to stop it blocking the doorway and resolve the 'not quite right' placement?

sorry, had to download the app to be able to comment with photo. 🤦 the photo finally worked