I have to add my vote to timber. Glass, in my opinion, tend to leech spaces of warmth and with timber tables available to suit so many design styles and to suit a range of budgets, As Wild River Store rightly pointed out "Timber develops character" over time and so it begs the question why anyone would look further than timber?

Some of the Laura Ashley ceiling pendants/chandeliers could work. http://www.laura-ashley.com.au/homewares/category/lighting/ceiling-pendants.html?___SID=U

another idea if you had a plain pelmet that was within the alcove that came from the bottom of the picture rail to the top of the window and flush with the walls on both sides painted the same as the wall colour., you could then run your black curtain rod across the alcove pelmet which would look like the wall. When I had my Ferderation House we painted the bedroom walls up to and including the picture rail in the same colour. The wall above the picture rail and the ceiling were painted flat white, along with skirting boards, an old painter told me about this and it looks brilliant. A couple more photo's for you with different looks This is similar to what I have tried to explain by running a plain pelmet across the whole alcove and then the black rod running from either side outside the alcove with the curtains against the outer wall, the pelmet would look like part of the wall.

Thanks JE C , yes I know everyone likes odd numbers in design but in the case of a dining table I think 2 is the right option. I may just cut out some circles of paper and put them on the table to get a sense of the proportions. thanks again for your input.