Thank you for your input. I was leaning towards cheesy as well. I know I can survive in FL without a fireplace, however, in my 57 years on this earth I have never been without one and I will find a way somewhere in the house to put a wall mount.

seems to be several videos on youtube. Search with 'Whalen' instead of Shelby... https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=60+whalen+console+fireplace+assembly+instructions

We have our TV mounted over the mantel, which is pretty high. We just tilted it downwards fairly steeply, and it works for us. None of us have had any discomfort. We also use the fireplace, and there's plenty of room to make sure the TV doesn't feel the heat. I'm not sure we'd make this choice permanently for aesthetic reasons, but it works for the few years we'll be here.

My first piece of advice is to stop buying. More isn't always better. If you have purchased a fireplace for in the room send it back. You don't have room for another piece of furniture, another vase or plant or thing. Don't replace the rug or get pillows or wall art. Decide on a reasonable monthly budget for décor and furniture. When you own a home I generally recommend that you save $1.00 per square foot of home per year toward furnishings and half that amount toward décor, kitchen gadgets, electronics . . . Can you save $3000.00 per year / $250.00 per month toward making your space beautiful? Save for 1 year before spending a dime. Between now and then window shop, look at everyone else's homes, Look at rooms on TV shows and on the internet. When Covid is under control start going to open houses and model homes in new developments. Go to different furniture stores and look at different styles and different colors and different quality and price points. Go to used furniture stores/antique malls. Look at rooms on the internet including rooms that are normal homes, not just designer created spaces - posts on Houzz design dilemmas and Zillow homes for sale. Start saving pictures of the things you love. Find your personal style. Find your personal color palette. Read about furniture and learn from the experience of others. Nice things cost more money but last for decades. Cheap furniture has to be replaced every few years and costs more in the long run. Go through your home and evaluate everything you own. Does it bring you joy? Does it function well? Is it still nice or is it getting a bit old/shabby looking? Part with the things that no longer bring you joy and don't serve some function. Find a home for everything in your house - no stacking stuff on table tops or leaving it out if it isn't meant to be decorative. Get a few storage boxes or totes and put things that fall into that "I don't love this item, but I don't want to get rid of it yet" category. Put a post it note on each item when you place it in the tote with the date on it. Once a year go through your tote and re-evaluate those items that have been in the tote for more than 6 months. Have you missed it? If not re-home the item. Keep a notebook with notes of the things that just don't work for you - your biggest pain points. At the end of a year take out 1/2 of the money you have saved and decide where and how you are going to spend your money. Buy one piece of furniture that will replace something that you really don't like anymore. Make sure it is good quality and fits with the style you are moving toward. You will have a list of items that you love and their prices and be able to pick the one piece that is going to last for the next 20 years. You will have $500 to spend on a beautiful piece of wall art and a new bedspread or a unique vase or lamp. Again, only buy things that you absolutely love. Keep saving and spending 1/2 of what you have in savings annually. As your income grows you will have some extra from your paychecks to add to your spending and be able to purchase a few new items. When it comes time to replace the sofa you will have enough money to buy something nice that is going to stay nice for years to come. Your goal is to collect 20-30 pieces of nice furniture over the next 10 years and 20-30 special décor items that you love over the next 10 years. Most of these items other than your mattress, sofa and chairs should last the rest of your life and not need to be replaced again. Upholstered items get replaced or recovered every 7-10 years. You will have a beautiful home with beautiful things, but you have to get there. You need a plan and you need to work toward that plan. The other option is to just buy whatever tickles your fancy at the moment and have rooms full of things that are just okay and don't really go together or work together but fill the space.