@klfische

Oh, thank you for the suggestions, your post is full of useful info! I love your ideas!

Just to be sure, which wall you refer to as back wall?
If I understand you correctly you are suggesting something like this:

I like the idea about the one big piece of art instead of many smaller. My partner wants to have concealed tv, so I am thinking about having tv mounted under the lower part of the big art, so that the art can slide up when in "tv mode".

Looks great. Only thing that I would do is add lighting and small end table to your mock up above. Like the idea of the art covering the TV.