I have strategically arranged my desk to face one of the two sliding glass doors that go out to it. There are many gardens, marinas, parks, seafood restaurants, and an international volley ball club as well as history. Across the street is a neutral ground of wonderful old oak trees that become Fleur de Lis park, a heavily wooded area that is out of an old storybook especially at dusk and sunrise. The space is completely private to me, that is we don't share it with others in the complex and it is one of the only apartments with such a great space 40 x 10'. However, the first thing that I did was put windowboxes of tall plants and vines up on the wall which is about 7' because it faces neighbors' windows and looked downright stark.
Plants absorb sounds too so consider trellises and vines for privacy screens.
The best ones I found are at Gardens Alive. Of course I will make a few from whatever I can find too. The plants made the transition beautifully considering they were scrunched into an alley for several weeks. For now I have created 3 or 4 areas or rooms and using my favorite milk cartons and recycle bin tables for levels and dividers. This creates interest.