Maybe white since it is already painted and some new chairs and a rug the right size

I agree with the rug. It's just what we have at the moment---we move quite a bit, so sometimes we just have to "make do" :) I do like the idea of white. We have to keep the chairs as well. Would you paint those white or leave them?

Another design challenge is that we rent, so we can't paint the walls :( However, I can get another rug---I definitely agree with both of you on that! Any suggestions as to a type since it's under the dining table? Lastly, there are walls on each side of the buffet ( I love our teal buffet!--thank you!) so I can't add the floor lamps. Would you remove the small lamp anyway? Thanks so much!

Understand that you can’t paint the walls - in this case I would paint the table and chairs white. Remove the table lamp from the buffet.

For rugs- Check out chilwich. They have rugs that they make out of the same material as their table mats... so they wipe and clean and hence work well for dining rooms. Do you have a budget?

I also noticed that you have a black piece of furniture in the adjoining alcove... so the black mirror has a buddy if we paint the chairs white.

Actually it just depends. Because we move so often, I try not to invest too much money in items that may not fit well in our next home. However, if it's timeless or likely that it can be used in any setting, we will invest more knowing that, when we do have our own home, we can use it and love it. We are slowly replacing pieces with our ideal items, but some we must keep (family items). Yes, the other pieces of furniture are black and antique white! :)

Lamp removed :)