My guess is. (sharing my experience too) They get obsessed with some art first Then if needed they tweak the room so it'll work better with art..)) (or they don't) We did repaint once because I was so taken with my new art..Not to match it-I just became obsessed with the light in it.. well it was an exercise in futility. I mean it was a beautiful wall color(which I then tried to repeat in the new house as well, since I love it so much)-but it didn't have that inner light in it..I couldn't catch it)) I love that painting too..the first grapefruit posted kejepson it's hard to advice as you can do so many things..art is very personal. What you're drawn to? abstracts? Portraits? Landscapes, urbanscapes, flora and fauna? Serious, upbeat, a litlle weird, humorous, happy? What are mediums you like? Can be oil or can be mixed media or can be photography or can be posters or etchings or prints or whatnot I love 3 D things too..ceramics, glass..but I'd be wary to put them over the sofa as we're in CA. But maybe you love such art too..and you're not afraid. Your dogs are too sweet for words Do you plan to add a side table? i think would be great to have..with a lamp on..spot to put a book, a cup, besides the coffee one Saddle colored leather sounds gorgeous

@everdebz @Maureen I took the shelves down and am SO thankful for your advice. I hadn't even thought about removing things. I was just continuing to add, and couldn't figure out why it never felt right. The sconces are coming down today too, and we're going to patch those spots. Two big pieces will anchor the wall now, and it feels so much less busy. Thank you for giving me some insight and a new direction. Yay for Houzz message boards!

When you install feature strips on a wall it's usually applied to a wall where there are minimal interruptions. Not a wall that has lots of built-ins or accessories on the wall. Note how this installation was able to use the short strips effectively on a much taller wall. Your walls have too many distracting details for them to be effective as a wall treatment. Sorry but this is the best I can do to demonstrate how this would look on your wall. but IMO it doesn't suit this wall in its present state.

You can't make the room cozier by putting the TV over the stone fireplace. So give up on that idea. Beverly has some great visuals that show how to make the scale of the room seem more friendly. Open concept, especially with tall ceilings, does make a room noisy and visually over stimulating in some cases. Here are some ways to make the space cozier: --Keep the sectional for the rest of your family. Kids usually love them. Move the sectional back a foot. Then get a womb chair on a swivel to put across from the sectional over by the window. That will be your own personal chair. Put a floor lamp behind it for reading. This will cast light down on "your" chair and "your" space. This is a knockoff of the famous "egg" chair by Arne Jacobsen. --You might also do a search for modern wing chairs. But make sure to add a swivel so you can watch TV, turn it to look out the window, or just turn it to read, check your phone, and so on. Here's a tall back, deep modern wing chair from Crate and Barrel--in that cozy boucle fabric. Add a personal "blankie" as needed. I don't have OCD, but I think open concept design and ridiculously energy sucking high ceilings aren't for people who like peace and quiet in their homes--too much noise, too much, too little privacy. --Add more layered lighting to the room and stop turning on the overheads. Strategically place table and floor lighting of different heights in zones around the living room area. At nighttime this will light up zones instead of the entire space, which is too bright for many people. Here's a Houzz article on how to layer lighting: https://www.houzz.com/magazine/a-beginners-guide-to-lighting-in-layers-stsetivw-vs~60963736# Here's another Houzz article on how to create zones in a big, open space: https://www.houzz.com.au/magazine/16-clever-ways-to-create-zones-in-open-plan-spaces-stsetivw-vs~27282063 I don't think you need to get a wood ceiling, though do bring down the drop rod and get a new, interesting fan. Find the best possible swivel chair and think strategically about lighting the space closer to ground level. And no TV over fireplace!