Hi Marcolo, We believe the beam is a support beam. It runs across the whole house. There is only one other support beam that runs across the house in that direction. The duct work runs through the work zone to make it possible to have an HVAC vent in the dining/great room. There are only two cents in that room, the one in the dining room, and one inthe center of the main room (coming from the hallway). The back office area has a vaulted ceiling and no vents. We keep ceiling fans running 24/7 in that room to keep the air moving through there. We can't get a vent to that room without dropped the ceiling in the master bedroom to 7'. The cabinets are a hybrid. The base cabinets are continuous face frame, but some of the wall cabinets are boxes. The cabinet above the refrigerator is separate from the neighboring cabinets, and the cabinets on the sink wall are three separate units, and are not connected to the wall cabinets on the adjoining range wall. We are hoping to remove the cabinets from the sink wall and build out the refrigerator box. The opening for the refrigerator will fit a counter-depth non-built in, and we can use the boxes that we remove to build up that box.

Originally I thought Roman shades, but when I read "lightweight, whimsical sheers", I thought of Urban Outfitters, https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/shop/draped-shade-curtain?category=window-curtains-panels&color=004 and because all of their curtains are on the more whimsical side, I think you could pick any to use with a tension rod, because you don't have room for proper curtain rods, https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/window-curtains-panels

The other place I was considering putting the wood chair is here in this super awkward nook which needs to completely change. I was thinking it would be kind of hidden here in the corner though. If I bring the blue chair down here I would have 3 separate pieces of different colored microfiber furniture though. (Gotta love easy cleaning with 9 and 3 year old boys!)

That bathroom is gorgeous. Someone put a lot of thought and love into it when it was done. I wouldnt change a thing. I dont mind the deep blue color, but, I do prefer it just as it is. Freshen it up with a new coat of same paint, if you need to, but, I would never change that bathroom.