Since the lot you describe is smaller than my open living area, I would suggest looking at some of the "shotgun" house plans around New Orleans,LA. I think you can build up and back and get an interesting home with a loft for space. It can be done, A porch with an entry to a narrow hall at the back might work best for you. Will you plan a courtyard (closed)? or what? What part of the country are you in? What are your local codes?

I like the wardrobe/divan idea.Put it flat on its back with open shelves facing up .And put wooden covers with handles,so that it becomes a makeshift bed/divan with storage.It could be a cupboard with long divisions.You could put shelves there.Flat on its back(divan), standing the way it is(dresser) or standing up on its height by width side(wardrobe),any which way it is eminently usable.I do not go by the name"interior designer/architect"

One of my clients had no designated space for puja in their home, and they would have had to squeeze it into a passage somewhere. So when they came to me for ideas, I noticed in the floor plan that they had a beautiful covered verandah overlooking a private garden. The wall of that verandah was towards the east side of the garden. So I thought- why not carve out a rustic simple puja space here? Outdoors? The client was game. And this was the result- a 2'-0" x 2'-6" wood panelled niche in the wall, with a simple clay Krishna placed on a wooden bracket with a delicate hanging brass lamp

I feel partitions are not needed. You already have too much for the space. Adding a partition will shrink the space further. The simplistic solution, you do not wish to discard any furniture would be to paint all the walls in lighter pastles. And use some wall painting frames to highlight certain walls.