Looks ready made for a large mirror, but that could be an expensive pursuit. How about a decorative tapestry or an Asian (Chinese or Japanese) panel.?

I am looking for something contemporary or modern...any suggestions?

Looks ready made for a large mirror, but that could be an expensive pursuit. How about a decorative tapestry or an Asian (Chinese or Japanese) panel.?

Sorry for the duplicated reply- seems like Houzz retained my previous comment. 🤭

Art is too personal to select for someone else. You have to find a piece that speaks to you. Modern fiber art work look good here. As would a series of cascading circular objects.

I wouldn't have painted that niche black.

Looks like you are trying to make a circa 1990's faux Mediterranean house into a "contemporary or modern" house?

Do you have plans to remodel the fireplace?

There are so many different pieces of artwork that you could do, and you don't have to do one that is the size of the niche painted black. Perhaps just try looking at some fireplace designs (and pieces of artwork) to get some inspiration.

Artwork ideas:

Gem in the City · More Info

Gem in the City · More Info

Historic and Grand Home · More Info

What kind of mirror do you guys suggest?

Would suggest a simple frame, not hugely ornate. Or it could be a grouping of round mirrors arranged as a display.

Eg

Either one

Mirror

If you like more modern design, I would have drywall put over the niche and make the wall flat. You then could put a nice piece of art over your fireplace - or you could reface the fireplace and extend it up to the ceiling for a dramatic focal point.

This is micro-cement (or many DIYers use Ardex feather finish to obtain the same type of look)

Here is another cement fireplace (can also be made with Ardex Feather Finish either in a normal cement color OR you can use white Feather Finish for a lighter look). You also are able to add pigment to the cement finish if you would like a different color).

Here is an example of how you could change your fireplace surround - something simple with clean lines.

You then could decide what you want to do above it - you could build out the area above it so it's not flat (it would look much better if it came forward a little bit than had a recessed space above the fireplace).

There are tons of large format tiles that you could use on the fireplace surround + continue it up to the ceiling (I also like this light fixture - it could hang down in front of the niche area).

Here is an example of updating the fireplace surround + just using drywall that is built out a bit above it to define the area. The fireplace surround is really pretty.

It also would make a huge difference in how your house looks if you could square off the space that overlooks the living room from the second floor + square off the other doorways and openings.

The niche would look better squared off if you don't want to cover it with drywall - but only if you square off the other openings also.

I know someone who squared off everything in their home (they had similar slight curved openings - not arches - just like you do) - and after removing all of the curved openings/doorways/niches, it looked like a completely different house.

They did it themselves - they said that it was not difficult to do. They were able to just cut into the corners in order to square off the slight curve + fix the drywall. Their house looked more contemporary instead of having some Tuscan design elements once they finished.

It seemed like a big project - but they just did one opening/niche at a time which made it more manageable. It took them six months or so to complete all of the curved openings/doorways. If they would have hired someone to do it, it would have been completed in a much shorter time - but they saved $$ by doing it themselves (plus, the husband likes doing projects himself instead of hiring contractors due to a couple bad experiences when they hired out work on their home).