I've lived in my home for 5 years, and my fireplace wall has stymied me the whole time. I have 6 feet on each side of the fireplace. I've attached two pics. Please disregard what's on the mantel, I'm moving some things around. Please also disregard the bookshelf. I thought it might work there, but it's too short and too narrow. The mantel is 5'2" from the ground, and the ceilings are 9'.

I see so many similar rooms, but the space next to the fireplace is smaller, and something smallish looks good there where it won't here. I also see so many fireplaces that are bumped out, making a natural place for built-ins that won't be sticking out next to the hearth.

I know built-ins are the standard recommendation for this spot, but since I have a raised hearth and the fireplace portion of the wall isn't bumped out at all, there's no way for the built-ins to be recessed and I don't care for how that would look with a weird gap where the hearth is and next to the fireplace.

I love the fireplace itself, including the brick. I also love my sunburst mirror. The sconces are ok, but I'm not married to them. The sconces have prevented me from putting something tall flanking the mirror. Do I need to lose them? What the heck should go on my mantel?

I've considered putting some long brass/glass console tables on either side topped with large scale abstract art, (thus the tape on the right side) but I'm just not sure if it would look ok. Is the height of the mantel going to make a standard height (~30" tall) console table going to look short there? I've attached pics of these pieces to give you an idea.

My budget is (as are so many) as inexpensive as possible. Over time I could probably put about 1k into it. Any ideas?