The first thing that bothered me in this room is the distance between the seating area and the tv area and that both seem unrelated in everything. I think what you should do to pull everything together is the following: 1) Move that sectional away from the back wall and the curtains (placing couches against the wall is outdated now) and closer to the tv 2) Center the coffee table under the chandelier with the sectional placed 16 inches away from it 3) get a console table of a height equal to the sectional's back 4) place few decorative items, stacks of books, candles, lamp shades whatever you find suitable on the console 5) someone mentioned that the two accent chairs are not in scale with the room. I totally agree with that. You need wider chairs with a low back 6) A rug is a must and two are better than one, layered of course !! But make sure the biggest one is big enough to place all the seating on it. 7) pillows and a throw will add warmth and texture too...

Eventually when you come to resell, a pool is an added plus. But for your own purposes, emptying the pool and adding a deck over it with a hinged door and steps placed below would be great for storage (as per option b but bearing in mind you could revert). All the best for your lovely new home.

Just a little ceramic information to share as a potter. Vitrified simply means the clay has become glass like by being fired to its proper maturing temperature. Usually ceramic tile means it is a lower temperature clay like earthenware or terra cotta. Porcelain is fired to the highest temperature and is more vitrified if you will. This usually means it is less porous to to absorb water and harder. Low fired ceramics with glazes much darker or lighter than the clay body will show chips easier. Rectified has to do with making the edges precise enough to fit smoothly together for less grout lines. So porcelain cost more to produce but it is more sturdy. All clay tiles should be vitrified.

that's what I meant. The cabinets below and above the counter can be finished with a light toned wood grained laminate. if you feel that is too plain, another option would be to go with light wood grain below and plain off white above. Maybe add a couple of wood grained shutters above also to break the monotony