I think your idea of updating the family room is a good one. Your book shelf units look like they are wall to wall between two doorways to other areas. (A bit heavy perhaps). Is it possible to only remove the top book shelves and leave the cabinets below? The first thing I would do is remove all your knick knacks , stand back and take a good look at what you have. (including the large piece of Art and everything on the hearth). If you decide to keep the top units I would paint the back of them a lighter color and scale down the knick knacks. Painting out the fireplace in a wash is a good idea. If you remove the top shelves I would replace with a nice piece of art on both sides. Yes, you can mount the tv over the fireplace. I'm sure an electician can advise you. Send photo's when you have made some changes. Good Luck

PS - And remove the mantle - the scale is small for the size of fireplace you have

You are right - it is too busy. I am posting pic of the overall space which I should have done in the first place.

Thanks for the pic LisaSadie N - makes things a lot easier to see the full room. You have a big room with tall ceilings. I still stand by my first comments with one addition. If you were to keep the bookcases I think they should not be taller than the door frames. Things just look too unbalanced and heavy. Do I see 2 or 3 chests behind your sofa's? If you don't absolutely need them I would remove them and have a clean site line to your fireplace. Your pine piece on the left is pretty - make that a focal piece. I've attached a picture of my family room (similar to yours) before I put a few of my things back - .

What's the flooring under the built-ins?

hardwood

The fireplace is masonry. You all have really opened my eyes. I am trying simplify and have been getting rid of a lot of decor. We bought the house years ago and I never really liked the built-ins but I would not mind using them in a pantry for storage. I would rather put my money in the family room where we spend most of our time. One thorn in my side is the TV. I hate where it is. It is a smart tv. I wonder if it can be hung over the fireplace but connect wirelessly. I know heat is not good for a TV so I will need to consult some experts.

How about putting the tv on the left or right walls instead of the fireplace wall?

I think it'd be easy to move the built-ins to the pantry area. Take a close look at how they fit near the baseboard.

I found a couple older photos where you can see the wall to the right of the fireplace. This is the only wall that I could put the TV on since my house is so open. I never considered it but will take advice on it. There is a really big piece of furniture there so it could hold the TV. If I do this, would I put the sofa where the green chair is so that it would be across the room in front of the TV.

There is also a photo showing the sofa facing the TV as it is now. The one with the cream carpet. I have a jute rug now.