A much larger painting or photo with lots of color would be a great focal pointing this room.

Yeah, the one that's there now is from our old house, which had a smaller living room, that's why it's so small. The problem with colour is that is has to work with the rug, so we're not sure where to go with that

What does the piece there now look like propped on the mantle instead of hung so high?

Lots of straight lines together on that side of the room when you take into account the fireplace and the windows. Part of me would like to see an oval or a sunburst or a circle to break it up, but not sure a mirror would work.....what would it reflect?

We do plan on replacing that piece, since it's a little dated.
You're right, there are a lot of straight lines - I hadn't noticed that! It would be reflecting the foyer/entrance.

What color are your blinds? Are the walls a tan? Very nice room.

The blinds are similar in colour to the walls, which are a golden taupe.

When it comes to art work buy and display what you like. Don't buy it because it's the right color. Coordinate your colors with the framing or matting if it's a print. I agree with the straight lines comments. Try some nice round vases on the mantle in a small grouping. Whatever you get for art hang it lower than You have this piece.

For sure! The previous owners had a big painting hung there, so we just put it on the hook that they left behind. Once we buy a piece, we will adjust the placement.
We don't have too much of a preference when it comes to art, so we're mostly just looking for something that'll work with the room.
Here's what a mirror would reflect:

There are some sunburst mirrors that would change up the shape on that side of the room and the actual mirror part of it is quite small....so no real reflection. It would not add color, but some bling, if that makes sense???

Here are some professional photos the previous owners had taken for the listing - keep in mind that our furniture is much different, with the exception of the TV unit, which we bought from them.

Yes, abbyjean, I understand what you mean! :)
I'm not sure if that'd work with the style of the room though?

Buy something with scale, and above all, buy what you love. Don't try to match the art to the colors in your room.

What do you think? What is your style?

The only problem I have with that piece is the purple - I don't think purple works with our room :( our house leans towards taupe, tan, cream, and red, and then there is some teal in that rug in the second picture.
As for style, we're not really "art" people - I apologise that's not of much help! We agree that the space looks empty without something above the fireplace though.

I am glad you said that. I was looking at the colors in the carpet. I have 2 more pictures that I am having a problem uploading

[houzz=]

This picture comes in 4 sizes.

[houzz=]

This also comes in 4 sizes

Regarding the shape - do you think a tall piece would work in that spot? I've mostly seen wider pieces hung above fireplaces, but it'd be nice to be able to keep my options open.
I'll hopefully be going out this weekend to get an idea of what's available to me

Well the interior looks perfect with the color of the carpet giving the extravagant looks, Also you can apply vibrant wall colors to give effectiveness.

You do not want it taller than the windows, so measure, of course. And I have also read on here that some suggest to keep the art within the size of the fire box.

Would you consider a mosaic perhaps?
You can choose from our designs or provide us with one

I hope you will find what you are looking for :)

G

I think the correct size is probably the most important thing to consider. Please measure the width of the black firebox and choose something very close to that width (maybe 1" less). Then, measure the distance from 4" above the mantel to the top third of the top portion of the windows - not to the top of the window molding since you definitely don't want the art to line up with the top of the molding or be taller than that, so I'm thinking about 4" less than the top of the molding would be great. Then, choose any art that has some of the colors of the room/rug. It could be a canvas or framed art if glare isn't a problem in that spot. I kind of like a canvas, because glare is so often a problem (even with non glare glass). Art.com or greatbigcanvas.com are great places to look where you can order a wide variety of sizes for nearly every print. Z Gallerie has some nice art too - might be worth checking out their website. The size will be very important though - if you get that right it'll be hard to go wrong.

You are extremely over lit, knock the bulb down to the lowest it can go..... not sure what kind of bulb you are using let me know and i will suggest a better one.....

I hope you don't mind something off topic, but have you checked the depth of the hearth tile in front of the fireplace? It might be the angle, but it appears too narrow for safety codes. In our last home, we had the identical fireplace and the hearth was quite wide for fire protection.

Thank you all for your advice! It definitely helps me have an idea for what to look for. I'll post updates as I search for the right piece.