Actually Marcella, while I so appreciate your comments I think you’re not seeing accurate colors and that is throwing you. The sofa is cobalt blue and the pillows add a splash of color to lift the dark cobalt. The chairs are a very soft almost sea foam blue green and the footstool, while a bit large perhaps, came with the chairs and had the same greenish blue in the paisley. It also adds additional seating. As I said in my previous posts, we intend to swap the chairs for smaller yellow barrel chairs that swivel. The great thing about the painting is that it has so many colors in it that it allows for a very colorful palette throughout the room. Everyone who comes in raves about the use of color and the space feels very cheery in person. I was really only looking for feedback on the balance of the shelves and I think by bringing in a white or light stained oval table and new more colorful chairs we will be able to bring the color throughout the room to balance the colors from the shelves better. Also, the painting on the fireplace does not work behind the table - we need to allow space for people to sit close to the wall which is why we’ve had to hang the other painting a bit higher. We don’t want heads hitting it and it’s really too big for that space. The living area is very bright and cheery and the painting over the fireplace works - you’ll all just have to trust me on that one. The colors of the kitchen and living area are very compatible. We just to need brighten up the dining space a bit to pull it all together. I also put the large Italian vase with sunflowers on a small table next to the fireplace and can already see that putting the right objet d’art there will provide the balance I was looking for. I’m out of town but will post better photos of more of the space later in the week when I return.

I'd first concentrate on what is in the built in that needs a highlight. Do a much more organized shelving arrangement, perhaps some art in the middle.? What you don't need is to highlight the dust that does tend to show on black built ins. I'd be inclined to ONE long linear in the middle, and a removal of the two recessed. Again? First a think through of why: ) Interior lighting only works if run down the long sides, or the shelves are glass. Even then....it doesn't penetrate well.

I would look to another wall to add built in shelves. It would not look quite right in your configuration which right now is quite lovely. I had hoped for a similar thing in my lower walkout level. Even had the two flaming windows built high and wide like you see in a craftsman house…with built ins below…but my fireplace was flush. I put two furniture pieces there under the windows.

I presume you have been working with a cabinet maker/designer on this. Have you taken any of these ideas back to the designer to get new drawings thst don’t have the angled corners? Surely this person could take some of the photos and ideas and come up with a new sketch that didn’t have the angled cabs. Also, I was thinking the tall alcove would work better on the corner that wrapped near the window wall, not the bar wall. I’d just do a shelf system and maybe another low cabinet next to the bar. It might be skinnier than the rest of the shelves but it would fit in there for sure. Then it seems like you could pretty seamlessly run a bar cabinet top into the side of a the tall skinny ’cabinet’ you created.