Great art and I like the wall color and the chairs. It would be helpful to see other aspects of the room, for instance where that octagonal symbol is. It seems to me the entry *should* be there, otherwise why was that symbol put there. Some questions for you - how do you plan to use this living room? How much seating do you need? How much do you love the Barcelona chairs? How much do you love your dining room chairs? In other words what must stay and what could go? If you like everything you have and don't need a lot of seating in this room I suggest making it a library and putting a wall of built-in shelving on the wall across from the window. There's already a corner there so you could make the shelves that depth so that wall is then straight. Place the chairs in front of the shelves facing each other with a small round table between them. There will then be enough space to walk in front of the window to access the rest of the house. Do white wood slat blinds on the window for privacy and light control. As for rugs you *could* do an area rug under both chairs and/or a long 30-36" runner from the front door, across in front of the window to the dining room to show it is a corridor. Use masking tape on the floor to see how rugs would fit. If you do a runner then a 6'x9' area rug should fit in the seating area. Rugs may not be necessary so leave that until the rest of the room is done. If you do need more seating perhaps several matching small rectangular ottomans would work. They could be arranged under the window in a row when not in use. Not the most comfortable seating for day to day 'lounging' but acceptable for a party or casual use. Alternatively your dining chairs could be brought in as extra seating. If you need more comfortable seating for general day-to-day use then a loveseat the length of the 2 Barcelona chairs would work. If the B. chairs are pushed together with the loveseat opposite there will still be space for the 'corridor' next to the window. I would not be concerned with the window being the 'focal point' of the room. In fact focal points are very much over-rated and there can be more than one. Right now your art work certainly draws the eye and might be considered a focal point. If you do the wall of bookshelves, that could be a focal point. Filled with books, a few decorative items, small art work and it will be a major feature of the room.

cost of a new counter is about 80/square ft installed. Anything you do will be some new counters. 40-50 square feet in total, but you might be able to get away without replacing the entire countertop depending on where the seams are and the sizes of the pieces you have. Turn the peninsula 90 degrees and place it touching the empty side wall, 41-42 inches away from the countertop against the back wall and long side facing towards the living room. You would have to repair your floor where the downdraft, gas and electric come in through the slab. Looks like there is no downdraft? Maybe gas and electric come through the exterior wall instead of the slab. Remove the big window, close up that part of the wall, Install a venthood, electric, and gas from the exterior and reuse the existing cooktop. you might be able to rescue the counter above the peninsula by installing butcher block or something where the stove cutout was. If you are lucky you might be able to move the counter on the peninsula to the right side of the back wall. Eat your meals in the dining room This will be more than 5K (maybe less than 10k?) You would have a good work zone, a peninsula facing the living room that people can eat at and be served from close to the stove.

You will have to live with the duct, but if you do everything in an industrial style, you can make it work. For instance: These furnishing would be pretty easy to copy.

You could continue the tile all the way up and around the window. Or a framed piece of art.