Depending upon the proportions of the furniture, you could put a small study desk in the corner with the shared kitchen wall. Or you may like to use that space for a bookshelf or a console table/credenza if you don't have room for one in the entry. If the TV is on the large, blank wall, then you could have two 2.5-3 seater sofas facing opposite one another with a coffee table in-between, but only if you're happy watching TV on an angle (or snuggling into the corner of the sofas). Kind of similar to these: Otherwise a modular sofa facing the TV may be better, although buying the right size will be important as you don't want to "block" traffic between the entry and dining room. Maybe something similar to this: You may also want to consider leaving enough room to place a trunk or small console table along the back of the sofa so that guests don't walk straight into/immediately view the back of the sofa when they enter the room. If the bay window doesn't have a built-in window seat, then that may be a good space for a small occasional chair and side table for reading or relaxing. Unless you really have absolutely no furniture, I would just move in. Once you've had an opportunity to get a sense of the space and how you move between the rooms, then I would consider going shopping for new furniture.

m_walker5, just from the 2 photos so far it seems to me the main first improvement to that space would be to remove the wall to the kitchen, so you need to find out if this is loadbearing or not. Stick your head up through the ceiling manhole to see how the structure is framed. If it is fully framed (rafters, ceiling joists, struts bearing down on internal walls) chances are that that wall is loadbearing. On the other hand if it is gangnail trusses (triangular frames with W braces held together with metal nail-plates) you are in luck. These typically span between outside walls and internal walls can usually be changed or removed easily. This is your staring point for deciding how far you want to go with this depending on budget, and is the point where you should involve an architect/designer to work out a comprehensive renovation plan. I have just completed a very similar project where the renovation was urgent (kitchen cabinets were falling off the walls!) but the budget was greatly reduced as the owner unexpectedly lost one source of income. We managed to do a full kitchen renovation, remove walls to create larger open-plan spaces, full re-sand and polish of floors, full internal repaint, all for about $80,000.

It's the landscaping I'd look at. The right (arched) side of your house is much prettier than the garage side, but is largely obscured by letter boxes and planting. The front path is an after-thoughty offshoot of the driveway. So from the street your focus is pulled to the wrong side. I'd demolish the mail box, and create a new pathway from the street to the front door, with pretty planting either side. Move the small tree in front of the door elsewhere, and keep the plantings in that bed low. Then paint the front door a bright colour, (yellow? turquoise?) to draw attention to it. Does the driveway need to be so wide, or could you curve in one side or another to expand your garden beds? Your lawn/existing beds are in fantastic condition btw. I don't love the driveway brick colour against your house bricks either. Don't really know the solution though.

The deck off the living room seems a good idea, particularly if it joins the two verandahs that are currently shown on each side of this room, and it would give the current carport a cover as well!! Win win. If you are going to gain ‘glimpses of the lake’ from either newly built deck, does this mean that you might be overlooking other houses or gardens? If so, this would require added council ‘hoops’ to jump through!!! The main bedroom could easily accommodate a hallway and if you extended the ensuite wall towards the built in wardrobe, probably with just a nib wall, this would allow your bed and bedsides to be placed in that position. Doing this would mean you would not have to lose any view of the outdoors from your bed and allow the external bedroom wall to become french doors or similar out to your ‘morning sunshine’ deck. Otherwise your bed would end up on this wall which at least partially defeats the purpose of opening things up to the morning sunlight. I read that you are not keen to undertake any major renovations at this point, but I hope you are aware of the $$$$ involved in having a deck built these days. Good luck.