I live in Florida and I too have a contractor designed "entertainment" area so I feel your pain. My first question is will your television fit into the shelf or below of the system as it is now. If not that's a terrific reason to remove it and start from scratch.

Congratulations on your new home~ I think you can definitely make this entertainment center work. First I would paint the back wall of it an accent color that will compliment your cream walls. You may want to consider interior lighting ( recessed spots) inside the entertainment center to illuminate and add ambience in the evening. I actually think you can make the birch cabinets work if you can't take them out . They don't look out of place but the gray top to those cabinets don't feel right / feel dark. If you could rip them out and do a simple painted white wood top that would feel better ...let me know your thought

Thanks Madeline & Dajana- the width of the middle section is 46.5 inches wide, which just handles our flat screen. The previous owners had an older model TV on the bottom. I like the idea of lighting for some ambiance. We are putting granite in the kitchen and I was thinking of having the gray shelves above the 2 cabinets removed and replaced also with the granite. The granite is on the lighter side. I believe the TV would look better on the top shelf, but then how do you decorate the bottom half? Madeline, we're moving to Jupiter; where are you in Florida?

I like your idea of replacing the gray top with a new granite - especially because you are going lighter ~ great solution.

Without knowing the height of the unit my first instinct is that the tv should be higher and set on the second shelf. It could even be wall- mounted (Best Buy sells tv mounts so the tv can pull forward or angle down ) I see the outlet and cable jack is down low.We don't want to see cords so there are 2 things you can do
1. Have an electrician raise the outlets higher so the cords would be hidden be behind tv. It would require him/ her to snake through the wall and a few holes may need to be made ( assuming the wall is Sheetrock ). Sheet rock is easy to patch and paint. This should not be too expensive of a project but you want to do this before you paint.
Option 2 if you don't want to spend money on the electrical changes:
Place an oversized decorative basket / cool chest or large vases on the bottom and run the cords along the side and up to the Tv. You'd have to see if the tv cord is long enough. I wouldn't use an extension cord for the tv without checking with the manufacturer recommendations. Hope this helps ~

I'd seriously consider tearing it out and starting over. Can you replace the floor tile if there is none under the built-in?

Just a few more tips ~ before I go to sleep and wake up to a snowy commute. You mentioned that you have a budget for your projects and ripping out the entertainment center is not in it. It's always good to stay in tune with your budget . Be aware that a project may start with one number and then end in a higher number ( due to unforeseen issues) especially if you are contracting out the work. Keep in mind if you are doing many updates in the house try and start with the most important ones. Assuming your projects are all aesthetic updates ~put your money and your focus in your kitchen ,bath or curb appeal projects first. Investing and upgrading your kitchen and bath will always yield the most return in your investment.
And often times gets the most wow factor. The entertainment center probably is a tertiary project for you. You'd be surprised what the right propping and styling can do to enhance the entertainment center without spending a lot of money ...

I recently remodeled a home and did the following updates in this order:
Hardwood floors
Kitchen
Bathrooms
Landscaping
Fireplace redo
Built- in bookcases

The first 3 projects were the most expensive and yet the most rewarding in terms of visual and functional impact
Best wishes~

I would change the arch and square it off. Then I'd put decorative panel doors on the lower half of the side shelves. And, I wouldn't paint the whole unit one colour.

@emjfla. Those pesky little things called "budgets." I am not a designer but something keeps saying paint it black. Paint the backs the same as the walls or a tad deeper and then paint the unit itself matt black. It'll already have the big black monster (our beloved televisions) dead center anyway. You will have to put the electronics somewhere and maybe it can be in the enclosed units. Maybe below the television you could find and install one of the new modern fireplaces that seem to come in many different widths. In the top niches then have matching very light colored empty vases. Of course since you're moving to Jupiter I don't understand why you are bothering to worry yourself with this decorating dilemma. Or is this in the house you're updating...which is in Jupiter? We are in the NE corner of Florida, in a town called Ponte Vedra Beach (we have a sister city in Spain) that is between Jacksonville and St. Augustine and is the home of the TPC Golf Championship. We do not play golf and we miss our beloved California a great deal. If my husband's medical situation, and the local real estate values, would allow, we'd have our house on the market and be in Napa in a heartbeat. It's funny but it was at an Inn in Napa that we met a sweet gentleman from Jupiter Florida and that's the first time I ever heard of it (that was before we moved to Florida). I know now it's a very very beautiful special place to call home. Good luck to you there!

A budget can deal with partial demo - if you leave the walls on either side of the built in maple cabinetss, but tear out above the height of the counter tops - you will jigsaw through the drywall and wood studs just above there - then you can adjust the height to be perfect.

Then you will just have two issues that are cheap - one, patching the finish on the rear wall where there will still be a full sheet of drywall that was there before they built this in front. Two, what to do on the top of the new 4 short "pony walls. You can just put drywall caps across for now, this should not be a budget issue as it is mostly demo that even you could do. If you want it to look brand new, take the stone tops out and put a new wood top across the tops of walls and cabinets to unify it. Those arches are going to bug you otherwise.

several ideas afloat:

agree with Darzy, that whatever you do will make it look modified. which it almost does already..

One, you could start anew..
Two, I honestly cannot digest the idea of stone/tile topped cabinets in a family room without it being part of the kitchen directly. those cabinets need to go, you can add more shelves the way there is one already above them and showcase your decorative items on them..
OR you could bring the sides of the centre completely in flush with the middle section of the entertainment centre (it'll give uniformity)..
ALSO, i wonder if you have ANY arched windows or doors etc in the house as this entertainment center does (that arch could look weird above the TV (try it).. after flushing the cabinets you add an overhang to finish the arch..

OR easy way out, you can simply remove the division in all sections as well as the cabinets.. you have a simpler look to work with then (achieving that without even bringing the sides of the e. centre in flush with middle).. you can then decorate it using 3d decor items like clay painted plates etc on the wall.....
the idea of placing a large vase under the TV portion is great.........
AS for lighting, since am recommending removing the shelves, one down light in each portion would be dramatic n serve the purpose (arches can stay)..
I would suggest painting entertainment centre all one colour (note: how unimposing the window treatment became ).. maybe giving the entertainment center slight accents. or giving it a wooden finish, matching your kitchen cabinets (i believe your fan blades are a similar colour).. and you can divert attention to adjacent wall painting it a brighter colour like ocre or installing a large painting there with sconce on both sides.......

OR i liek Naomi's idea of installing decorative panel doors on the lower halves of the side shelves, in such a way that it creates unfiormity by touching the floor.. just like the middle does.. in doing so, you can install an electric fire place in the middle lower part.. so that middle gives a fireplace look, n sides fall away to look like just shelves/cabinetry.. (this will address the extruded look without doing much)

You could take inspiration from here for the e.centre, if you're installing darker granites in the kitchen:

BTW...I agree a wood top on the cabinet would look better than granite in a living space.

Thanks so much for everyone's ideas/suggestions. I love the "Portfolio 1" picture. As for Jupiter, Fl... we're moving from Texas to retire there. My husband worked most of his career in Florida - we're happy to return there and help our son start a small business. Once this is complete; we'll post an "after" pic.