I agree TV over firepl don't work. Unless you can move your sectional back about 5 ft then maybe better viewing. I don't understand what you want to do? Drywall the whole firepl? That would not be good. Take other pic of room may find a better place for TV.

Can you get a low media cabinet Ikea sells, and put TV to side of fireplace. To the left. Don't angle furn like that corner cabinet. Place up. Against that wall. Pic on that wall are too small. Open your panels on windows. Let light in. Add brighter pillows to sofa. You have a lot of brown. Bring in color with a big picture to put where TV is now.

Remove all small items like on floor by firepl not needed. Bench by window, not good. Maybe use in a entry?

You have a lot of furn just seating around that is not useful. Remove table by fireplace. What is chest on back wall? a tall 6ft floor mirror from Ikea would look better.

If you can back up sectional might solve your problem.

thanks you for all of the decorating advice, but what I'm really looking for is a way to fill in the hole where the TV currently is. We would rather have a flat surface above the fireplace to put a picture but I'm not sure how to drywall over that hole.

Still not sure why. You can still put a picture in insert. If dry walling go,to Home Depot buy a piece of dry wall to fit opening. Get tape and mudd and do,it. Let dry maybe 2 days. Then sand and paint. Not hard just messy. Hire a handyman unless you are very handy. It's a job. You can google how to do it too. Good luck.

thank you. The insert is about 3.5 feet deep, it's too deep for this and for re-sale, I think that if someone saw that I tried to make a hole look like a place where a picture should go, it would be obvious and unappealing. We want to put the TV on a cabinet on the floor probably in the corner where the antique dresser is now. That's where all the wiring is. We will turn the couch to face that corner and take out the bench (it's there because that is the back door entrance and we sit on it to put shoes on, etc.) and put it somewhere else.

or perhaps we could mount the 55" TV (or we have a 40") on the wall, on the right hand side of the fireplace, on a swing arm so we could have it flat against the wall and just swing it out to face us when we want to watch TV. Have a table beneath it to store receivers, etc. that would sit against the wall.

I am no expert, but it looks like you need to have a handyman box in the hole with some studs and just drywall all the way to the edge of the opening. Maybe call drywall experts because in such an obvious place you want to have it be perfect. It shouldn't be a problem.

I have the same thing. It is really good for a picture place.

Why don't you put shelves in there? Fill them up with small artwork or other objects? It would add some storage space and it would look nice. You could even put some lights in them and it would look great instead of turning it into dead space with the drywall. 1 or 2 shelves would look good.