IMO too many little things on the shelves but then I woudl not have added the shelves .

Hi. This house has a very craftsman feel. It is important when making changes to fixtures in a home, to keep with the integrity of the home.

You can decorate with a different feel, but mixing architectural styles does not work.

That being said, the prior situation was also awkward with the columns fighting with the bookcases. As for the new part, what is done as done.

What is wrong

1) The shelves feel unfinished, ( as you observed) next to the fireplace. Floating shelves do not work on the bottom part of a wall.

2) YOu have too many small, unrelated items on the shelves and they feel very busy and uncurated. The lamps feel awkward as well.

3) You have furniture sitting in front of the bookcases. j

Recommendations:

( I realaize you likely will not do #1, but listing it anyway).

1) Remodel the fireplace to the feel of the home. A simple craftsman fireplace with no bookshelves.

2) Remove the floating shelves.

3) There appears to be way too much furniture in the room. (If you post photos of all 4 walls, I can help with this). Rearrange the furniture and eliminate some of it.

I think that's the wrong place for those shelves. They work better closer to eye level. If it were me, I would remove them and use floor lamps in that spot if you need light (lamps are always nice) and maybe potted plants. More green would be better than black. You have plenty of dark brown or black already. The big basket on the left of your first photo may look nice there also.

For now I would focus on CDR’s #2 and #3 suggestions for What is Wrong.

Thank you for the input. Ugh, sad lol I thought the shelves would be such a nice detail. Here is additional photos of the room.

For me , it will never look right, simply because the TV is just too big for the space you have available. Not much you can do as you don't have another wall you could use for the TV.

First, remove the floating shelves - then, if possible, add a deeper mantle, and replace the floor tiles with something darker to ground the fireplace.

Yes, but here is the good news. You realized that something was off and you sought help. Right?

Isn't that good? And it is not like you installed an entire kitchen. Easy fix to take them down.

Adding more things is not always the answer.

A great floor plan is the best place to start. Are you interested in tips on that?

I’d remove the shelves, pull the chair and foot rest closer to the center of the room so it looks more a part of the furniture groupong, and get a much larger rug that extends closer to the fireplace so the cair can sit on it too. Cool chair and nice color.