I think the fireplace should have something you absolutely love over it. To me, that is where you put your favorite thing. Do you love the sailboat? I think it works fine, but if it is not special to you, I would hold out. If you love the orchids, I might do a whole display of orchids with a mirror instead. Or some botannical prints. Look at pics online. Find a display that excites you.

Over my fireplace, I have a painting I purchased that reminds me of my childhood. It is a figure study of the artist's daughter on a dock and she looks like me from the back. It has blues, water, sky, white tee shirt and jeans and bare feet - everything I love and identify with.

I also like looking at decor suggestions from Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel and Restoration Hardware (especially baby and child). That is how I create my Christmas mantle - by looking at pictures.

For me art is very personal and I would only put something on the mantel that I love and that moves me. Otherwise your rooms will look stiff and lifeless, and the "you" will be missing, and that's the important part. Your living room is beautiful but a little static, and it doesn't tell me anything about who you are. Below is the painting I have on my mantel which I had for years in a beautiful frame, which I took off to make the living room look a little less traditional. Nothing is professionally done, as I'm sure you can tell, but it feels like my room, and no one else's will look like it.

I would plaster up the hole in the ceiling and ditch the idea of a hanging light fixture in that room. Your house is very classic and traditional, and a hanging light is not used in formal sitting rooms.
As for the mantle...I sort of like what they have done....but it does look a little "furniture showroom", or "model home"....I agree with Jane, find something you absolutely love>
I would change out the silver candlesticks for brass and I would look for 3...possibly a pair and a shorter one>
there are lots of museums and galleries that will rent you a picture....with the hope that you will fall in love with it and buy it. I would go that route until yolu find exactly what trips your trigger.
AND I think that fire place cries for a lovely set of brass fire tools...or a container for wood, or a large vase, or a plant...
And I agree you need another color in there....and remember no one said you have to have just one picture....several smaller ones can make a lovely statement. And remember you don't hang a mirror over a fireplace to use to comb your hair, but to reflect light into the room.

I like the sailboat, and I like it far better than a mirror. I like it with the candlesticks, with both one and two blue pieces, and with the urn. It fits with what you have done with the room. I think you have a lovely, restrained look to the room.

I wouldn't get a chandelier, but you could get a light fixture that fits close to the ceiling.

I also like the sailboat ... but agree with everyone else, if you don't love it, don't get it. And I wouldn't do a chandelier ... or a light at all if possible.

Thanks for all your comment!

I have little kids so I have to be careful with any fireplace tools though we've taught them to leave the coffee and side table items alone... perhaps with more time ;)

I agree, I want it to be personal but nothing seems to speak to me and it has been a year. We love photography and have traveled a lot but I'm not sure we could enlarge any of those pictures since when we did most our traveling we didn't have our nicer camera. I do have several fabulous pictures of my kids but I keep hearing family pictures over fireplaces are a "no no." I almost wish I hadn't put a light in there now because it is just one more thing I need to make a decision on to finish that room (!!!) :-) We did spend the money to flatten the ceiling and add the light so I'm committed (at least that is how my husband will see it) ;) And since where the electrical outlets are located doesn't make it so we can rely only on lamps (and we have little kids so dangling cords aren't ideal...), overhead light it is. (though if I could do it again, I might have opted for sconces over the mantle!)

And there are actually 3 candlesticks but hard to see in pics - they are all the same style and varying sizes.

I'll send the EA stuff back based on your comments... though I love the nautical look, the boat doesn't say anything about our particular family. Wish I could figure out a way to incorporate something meaningful from the 50+ countries we've been to!!!

Please continue to advise on lighting as it seems that is the next thing I could tackle while waiting to come across something that sparks joy and is meaningful to place on the mantle.

I do have several fabulous pictures of my kids but I keep hearing family pictures over fireplaces are a "no no."

In your own home, anything that is fabulous and personal and sentimental is never a "no no." Don't listen to the advice of people who don't live in your home or pay your bills. (But what do I know, since we hung a flat screen TV over our mantle - something else that people have said should never be done. Pfffft.)

I think a framed photo of your children would be wonderful in your already lovely room. And I really like the silver urn holding the orchid on the mantle.

I love your living room and agree, put something you love on the mantle. I like the boat, but if it doesn't relate to you, move it.

Momamda, I think most of us have had little children and aside from making room for the endless baskets of toys and the highchair, potty chair,crib etc ( all of which lasts about 14 months for each child) most don't decorate their homes around kids.
I raised 2 kids with lamps on tables...pushed against the wall right by the wall plug for about 2 years ( from 6 months to 2 1/2). I have 7 grand children (6 of them boys....and 3 the same age within 4 or 5 months)...they visited very often....and were not allowed to touch that lovely brass poker and shovel by the fireplace!
I think the problem with your room is it doesn't say anything about you. It looks like furniture store "anyone's room". You have travelled to 50 countries??? Holy cow! Let's see some stuff you got or that reminds you of! I am sure your pictures with your older camera are worth framing....or making a collage of. Find an artistic person who will advise you about making a meaningful piece of your travel pictures.
And I agree about no family pictures in the living room....unless it's a vintage portrait of Great Aunt Abegail...but current pictures invite conversation and thoughts about your very personal pictures.
I would love to see a pillow or 2 that reflects a country you enjoyed a couple of tschotskis on the table of the radiator...pot in that corner cup[board.
I guess what I am saying is don't worry about Ethan Allen's decorators for Heaven's sake....but put out what you like....and if after 2 month you don't like it any more....move it. But make the room YOU!

Your house is very classic and traditional, and a hanging light is not used in formal sitting rooms.

Must disagree with this, many formal rooms now and throughout history have had hanging lights.. A chandelier is completely in keeping with your design plan.

It is a lovely room. While I prefer artwork over your fireplace (to a mirror), you should use something that is meaningful to you. Yes, we've always been told personal/family photos should only be in bedrooms or family rooms, but I tend to disagree with this now. I've seen some beautiful enlarged photographs in formal living rooms. Do you have any favorite artists? I personally love works that reflect the area I grew up and live in (coastal SC & Ga.). Good luck!

I like what EA suggested. Does the sailboat remind you of any of your trips (which sound fabulous!). If so, I'd keep it. I like the roses better on the coffee table, but if they are fake, then I prefer the book. I like both light fixtures, to be honest. I'm not much help there.

I like what you have on and over the FP. Not thrilled about the ceiling light. Seems kind of trendy.

I think I'd go for a semi-flush mount and something simple and elegant rather than very ornate.

This is interesting, different, simple but elegant

http://www.lampsplus.com/products/tech-lighting-trace-15-and-one-half-inch-wide-pipe-glass-ceiling-light__2n810.html

http://www.lampsplus.com/products/feiss-tori-14-inch-wide-satin-nickel-ceiling-light__8g368.html

http://www.lampsplus.com/products/crystorama-broche-23-and-three-quarter-inch-wide-silver-ceiling-light__5p787.html

I'm sure you can find great pictures of some of the places you've been. Google images. What about a map? RH.com should have a lot of map treatments.

If you want to get an image printed, I'm sure there are all kinds of online services that can do all kinds of treatments and sizes on all kinds of materials for you. There are stock photography sites where you can buy the rights to use high resolution photos or even drawings. I have sea life drawings and lighthouse photos in my living room that I licensed for maybe $15 and printed on my inkjet printer. They look great framed with a big mat. You could get a graphic designer or printer to try and enlarge and touchup some of your favorite photos and print them on longer lasting media. All this will take more work, but you'll be looking at something you treasure every day.

Start by finding a picture of how you would like your mantle to work with multiple objects, large and small. Then figure out what each of those objects should be for you. Then find the photos online or in your collection. If the photos are on a stock photography site, you can pay to download high res images. (Look at copyright info if you are interested in a pic you would not be paying for. The web res photos may not yield a good print anyway.)

Here are some I used to use:

istockphoto.com

123rf.com

microsoft office had one too and they used to link to other sites if you had to pay for non-watermarked photos, IIRC.

This is great room, but it feels too perfect right now, I'd mess and play with it a bit:) If you love lanterns-go with lantern. You can also choose something a bit more whimsical, or brightly colored. Scarlet red for example might look amazing. If you feel like color, of course..

I don't know your budget , but I, theoretically, love Currey and company..lots of choice, lanterns included, and great craftsmanship. Check their website out. Colleen and co are even more expensive and might be too deep in the whimsical territory..but I (again, theoretically speaking)) like them too.

As for your mantel-one day something will look at you, and you'll know it is special and it should be yours. Regarding photos you already cherish and love-there are different sites where you can upload your images, and they will enlarge them for you. 50 + countries? WOW.

If you've visited 50 countries, then that room is much too "tame" for you. I can't believe you didn't bring something back from all those travels that you can put out to personalize your room. I would never put portraits of the family or children on the mantel, but it's your home. I tune out when I see that in someone's home, but of course you see it everywhere. On the other hand, a few pictures of family in silver frames on a small table would to me be acceptable in any room.

You see chandeliers with light shades on them everywhere nowadays. I don't like them anyway, but I wouldn't buy anything that trendy for a lasting item like a ceiling light. Buy what you like but make sure it has the kind of simple and classic styling that will be "in" for years, mainly because it was never "out".

Try googling "traditional living rooms" and look at lots of them and study the ones you really like. Try analyzing what components make you like it and whether you can do something similar. I'm sure at least some of them will also have ceiling lights, or you can google "ceiling lights in traditional living rooms". I think another chair on the far side of the room might also help to make this area look more welcoming.

I really like your room. You said you like the nautical look, but just one picture of a boat doesn't make the room feel nautical. Maybe maps of places you've traveled to and are meaningful. You have lovely taste btw

Download a map from a place that has meaning for you and do a DIY project.

The reason I don't LARGE face-on photos of family over the fireplace is it just seems like I am being stared at, lol! On the flip side, I covered my mantle at my old house with SMALL photos in ornate frames of friends and family members. Then a large picture/wood block print I loved in the center. I had wall mounted lights that looked like candle sconces on either side of my art, something you might consider., (either the lights or the sconce, well out of the way of little kid hands). That corner curio cabinet is GORGEOUS and I would put something on the mantel with a brown wood tone to tie in with the cabinet. Maybe a picture with a brown frame or some art with some color in it including brown. Or consider adding some colorful art or something on the wall kitty corner from the fireplace, so the room look a little more balanced. I don't see anything wrong with the sailboat photo, but then we are sailing people and love boats and the water and have spent considerable time thus engaged. If you're land-locked and have no association with boats, then it is a little contrived but will do until you find something that speaks to you. If it were me, and I had traveled the world, I would want pictures of that somehow. I have a large travel advertisement picture of a famous place I visited (Valley of the Ten Peaks in Canada, which is often used in Canadian tourism advertisements) which hung over my couch in the living room of my last house, and was surrounded by some other art pieces evoking the northern Rockies. Which made the space feel welcoming to me. Not saying you should copy me, but just sort of showing how you can develop a theme of stuff that reflects your live and loves in your "living" room.

I like what you have so far. Is your mantel wide enough to accommodate the blue bowl? If not, perhaps a similar blue willow / export China vase would look good there. Love the white roses on your table. Perhaps you can pick up a couple of smaller sailing / sea pictures in blue tones and prop them up against the larger one on your mantel? Even a section of a blueprint of a rigging system, framed, leaned against the sailboat you have now?

Collecting and placing smaller objet d'art is the work of a lifetime---you do not have to finish the room right now! I see so many rooms that start off with lovely bones ---nice architecture and good furniture---that are ruined by the addition of cheap looking tchotchkes and accessories to "finish" the room or somehow "warm it up." Your room is beautiful and you can add special items as you find them. Your proposed light sounds perfect. I personally would not introduce the purple orchid on the mantel because it doesn't look like it could actually live there, and the color is too jarring unless you repeat it somewhere else..,not sure you want to go down that route :-)

sorry, editing to add I see you already have blue porcelain on your mantel and that is plenty! You might decide on a contrasting color to be repeated in small doses around the room.....yellow is a traditional complement to the blue/gray/taupe scheme you have, as is red or a rust orange or pumpkin color.