Can you post some pics of the rest of the kitchen? And a farther back shot of this space so we can see both sides at once.

You can look up "counter across low window" if you're interested in more creativity.

A lush plant. Pet food bowl. Wall-hung broom. Art wall. Indoor herb or orchid garden. It's kind of awkward due to the lovely window, but an indoor garden takes advantage of that.

A baker's rack can store cookbooks, pretty bakeware, and plants, either houseplants or kitchen herbs or both, and it won't block the light. But I'd put it between the fridge and the window, not backing up to the window. Then, if you have a simple round stool by the peninsula, you can pluck a cookbook from the baker's rack and peruse it at the counter, making your shopping list.

You can add glass to wire shelves for a more stable surface.

This white one is cute. It looks like it has a wine rack below the wood shelf, but you can use it to store rolled-up placemats, napkins, tablecloths, rolling pins. Wine wouldn't do well in front of the window.

This one, I'd probably store my mom's Le Creuset on the bottom shelf, maybe a flat box of flatware or serving stuff where they show placemats. I love how baker's racks can be for both useful and decorative items.

This one comers with basket drawers.

A wood rack might look nice, too. And you could add baskets or vintage bead boxes for things you want concealed.

Manipulate the window shape by putting a window blind panel on each side (overstock or IKEA) but leave middle open. You have a few options on plain white, earth tones or decorative patterns. Check out IKEA for a counter height storage system for next to frig. Don't limit yourself to just looking in the kitchen section. You could also do some open shelving above the counter height storage thingy. IKEA has shelves for $9.

Like this. Create fake wall space on each side of window with a stiff window panel. Then, add inexpensive IKEA stuff.

something like these two. The stainless steel one is from webstaurant store and the other is from wallmart