I love your fire place I think it needs to be staged better. The books on the shelves look cluttered. The picture on the mantle doesn't work for me. Check out different staging on Houzz.

Hmmmm. Needs to be unified to look like one unit, not 3. Your dad's cabinets are lovely but look squashed. Can you remove the trim from the top of the cabinets, add a box on top of each that would go all the way to the ceiling, backlit by the windows, with crown molding unifying FP and built-ins? The large boxes would be a good place to display one or two larger items that you love. I will think more about the FP itself...perhaps Sheetrock the brick and buy a full mantle, paint to match cabinets?

Also remove a shelf from each cabinet to relieve the squashed look. Light shelves with low voltage led.

http://houzz.com/photos/2999430 here is a built-in around a window. Could be cool! I'd like to see the FP brought out to the level of the cabinets, too, so it is flush or more prominent.

Just get a longer shelf/mantel that goes from one cabinet to the other. Same height that it is now. It should tie it all together.

This is what I was Tallinn about for you: http://houzz.com/photos/4851858