I wouldn't drywall over the window. Take a look at the options for recycled brick, they may match better than you think.

I always think it looks like you're too poor to afford cupboards to store and protect your stuff in... and where I live they'd have instant-mudpie-mix combined with that fuzz flocking in under a week. Add water and make your own mudpies. After two weeks that greasy grime starts showing that takes massive amounts of Dawn dishsoap and elbow grease to banish. I'd rather not have to go to the work of having to clean all that weekly and wash it before I used it anyways. Pretty to take a picture of, highly impractical in real life.

We have been renovating an 80's home with a vaulted roof in the living/kitchen/dining area, something like your picture. We needed to make the space look bigger so we opted to hang our tv from the roof using an Adtec tv bracket in white, pretty nifty unit, all wiring, aerials etc go up the mounting pole and through the roof. The unit also swivels 360 degrees which is great for any view point in the room, including our outside area. We had a tv unit custom built by Jarramar Furniture which is like a rather large floating cupboard. The unit has 2 draws and one cupboard. All the cords etc come down the wall in the adjoining room behind the door, neatly packed into duct and back into the back of the floating cupboard. It's very neat and tidy, keeps everything off the ground and makes your space look bigger. Both Adtec and Jarramar have websites where you can check out their stuff. You just need to ensure your tv weights are ok for the Adtec unit your wish to purchase. Good luck with your design.

I'm doing up a bedroom and have seen this gorgeous bed end on a website - see attached photo. Does anyone know where I could get one from in NZ? Thanks!