I'd consider putting the corner sofa and TV stand in the dining room, moving the stand-alone chair and footstool and tall lamp near the stove as a "reading nook" and placing the dining table in the living room, leaving enough for a walkway from the entry to the current dining / possible living room. In terms of the actual furniture, everything other than the colour of the dining chair fabric looks pretty good. I would start by decluttering and removing anything that isn't functional or which you don't find aesthetically pleasing. I'd personally remove the mirror in the bar as I don't think it gels very well, the tiny framed art near the stove, the art on the wall near the TV as it's too small and hung too closely and the drum kit (unless the drum kit is used on a daily basis). I really like the Marimekko print and, IF you like it, then I would use it as inspiration for adding colour to each of the rooms, possibly even a "feature" wall using the bright blue from the print (although I'm not a huge fan of feature walls). A few minor changes may also help, like replacing the blown bulb in the wall sconce, storing the ironing board somewhere else and taking down the "hanging" glasses in the bar area as they're visual clutter right at eye line height.

HI Karladeo Lucky you to have a clean slate to work with! The building has strong, classic Palladian lines, so I would imagine something more Italianate than succulents & grasses. Classic Mediterranean plants such as oleander could work. They are easy care, grow very quickly & have various flower colours (red through to white).They develop a rounded shrub shape, which would give you the softness you desire. An informal hedge around the fence line would give structure & disguise the plumbing! A classic fountain in the centre would give a focal point & continue the theme. Have fun.

Nice @julie herbert i like how its formal without being overly formal. Here is a photo from yesterday as i was pulling out the yuccas. I just need to be able to get enough height so its visable above the hedge, or ill cut the hedge lower. It originally had a bird bath in this location but i had to remove it as it was too damaged. I think a water feature in this location and a square hedge in the other location with a chinese tallow in the center kind of like your water feature could work well. @Liz I haven't removed all of them i'll likely be keeping the ones closest to camera, just the very large weeping one was a nightmare to get around.

What sort of easement? You can plant on it but research first so you don't plant anything with aggressive roots. Our water utility used to have a list categorising plants which are safe, plants which should not be planted within x metres, etc. Check if there's anything like that available from your water utility or council. If the plan does not have indicative furniture placement for anything else I don't know why it would show a dining table. Solar HWS or solar panels? Plants as large as trees down the narrow space between your house and the boundary with your neighbours create potential problems with roots and with leaves in roof guttering for both of you. Double glazing is valuable, especially in your winters, but for summer you want to stop the sun from shining on the windows in the first place. It might not be the most chic solution but when we needed something temporary and economical we used the shadecloth screens from the hardware store.