Sage. One way to balance the off centered high window is to put matching fluted half columns on each end. I think i would like to see more of the space because I have a feeling I can help you develop a better space plan. Is there another table to the right? Why not combine this seating and create a beautiful, open space.

Thank you. I appreciate the positive feedback. We have been getting such lovely compliments on the room and I fear we just ruined it with the shelves. This makes me feel a bit better!

I love your art above the fireplace (very pretty!), and the shelves don't bother me one bit. I agree with others about taking out the chair rail. I think once you change out the dining set for something more modern the space will look fantastic. Have you considered reframing the art on the wall?

If the shelves are annoying you remove them. Two wrongs do not make a right, so don't add shelves that you do not have room for. I also think the shelves look fine and you should not hurry to remove them.

I agree with decoenthusiaste that the art over the fireplace is not right. In fact, IMO, it's more than "exciting"; it's overwhelming. All the furnishings have an old-fashioned, country vibe that is totally at odds with that painting. I would remove the painting in the dining area completely. Let those windows be the focus they were intended to be. Replace the fireplace art with something less demanding.

Add a door over the shelves.

If there is another place for the art over the table, you might consider something other than a framed picture for that wall since the large art over the fireplace dwarfs/overpowers the other art.

https://www.blackforestdecor.com/mountain-forest-metal-wall-art.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_qWLuPTM5AIVkYjICh0muAXgEAQYBSABEgK93PD_BwE

Thank you for your comments, all! The app is not letting me respond directly to each message so apologies for the jumbled response.

The room is actually very eclectic. I agree the dining set should be modernized and am eager to replace the living room chairs but we kept them initially because they actually looked surprisingly nice in the room and our budget wouldn't allow to buy too much furniture at once. The sofa is pretty modern from West Elm and the room basically feels good with all these different pieces. In the picture above, the gold painting was not yet framed. The photos are not doing it justice. It's an original painting of the place my husband and I met so it has real sentimental value to us and we felt it set off the dining area from the rest of the room. I agree with Flo Mangan that we would do well to balance the dining area with columns or perhaps match the bulkhead on the left side of the dining area? But it sounds like the issue I was most concerned about - the book case - doesn't really bother anyone but me?? Am I reading that correctly? Again - I appreciate the feedback!

I also think the art over the fireplace looks overwhelming because my photo is so bad! Will try to take a better one in the daylight tomorrow. And maybe we have too much going on in the bookshelves as grapefruit1_ar said.

Very pretty place with lots of interesting elements. Have you tried the sofa on opposite wall about 4” or so away from windows, then place chairs where sofa is now?

Oh heck! What a view! Beautiful. Love the color of your sofa. You might be able to redo dining pieces to add to your eclectic look. Have you seen some if this designer’s chairs? Chair Whimsy. You can get sone ideas for redoing your chairs. Possibly do some darker stain fir a updated look.

Thank you! I will def check her out. Need to find just the right thing. Greatly appreciate your ideas!

@Flo Mangan - I love the look on Chair Whimsy! Thank you for sending! Do you think we could paint the table and keep it if we redo the chairs in this type of look? Dark stain or white? You have totally inspired me with. this look!

Oh yes. Get yourself some Howard-Restor-a-Finish and some 0000 super fine steel wool. They have a wide ranch of colors that you can apply without stripping your table and chairs. I like the wood on that bat stools so that might be a tone to go for. They have Ebony and if used carefully you might get a great look. You could test on a spot under side of the table or one of your chairs. There are some YouTube videos you can check out too. Just getting that wood darker would really be cool. You can really have fun with this and not spend too much money. Then get fun fabrics and trims to reupholster the chairs. Not a super easy project because it is labor intensive. But it would extend the life of what you have quite a bit.

*bar stools not bat stools!

Shelves don’t bother me at all in your space, and I am usually totally into symmetry. Also, wanted to say I love the painting over the fireplace! Don’t change it to something just because something else “fits” better...it’s art!

I think because it is a new addition to the space you are focusing on it so much, naturally. When I saw a wide view of your whole space, my eye certainly didn't go to the shelves, nor any sense of imbalance.

This room has a lot of elements and the balance won't come from having something on the other side of the fireplace to even it out, but rather from the whole look of the room working together. It might drive you crazy, but I think once you get new chairs and a new or adjusted dining room set, your eye won't even go to the bookshelves and all will be well. Sit tight!

Regarding your dining room table, how often do you use it and how many people sit there? I think it would make more sense in the space if you had two chairs on each of the long sides, side by side instead of on all four sides. I have made this change in my own dining room and love how it reads in the space.

I love how brave you are with color and pattern. Here are some more dining room chair rehab inspirations.

I don't know if you object to the blue arm chairs themselves or just the fabric. Depending on where you live, upholstering could be as expensive as new chairs, but if not, I wonder if you want to consider upholstering them. They look very comfortable to me and I like them. Here are some great before and after inspiration pieces from Chairloom.

Agree, what is causing the imbalance is the fun art on the left and the calm realistic art on the right reinforced with the brown diNing set as if they were 2 separate rooms. I don’t dislike either piece but you need a bridge.

Thank you for articulating this so well, J. Williams. I didn’t understand that before. So, if we change the dining chair fabrics what would you suggest we do with the table? Get a new one? Paint or stain it? If so, What color? Light or dark?

Kendrah- thanks for your comments and ideas. We love the arm chairs as they are but they are big and we’ve wanted to reduce the footprint a bit. We were look at some really pretty soft yellow barrel chairs from Crate and Barrel that swivel which would pick up the yellow in the picture and my kitchen tile and allow you to look at any part of the room with ease.

can you post the floor plan for the room?

Well...thanks for posting photos of your current project. It's a pleasure to see how your project has progressed from your earlier photos.

Questions about interior design always result in reponses all over the map. Interior design is so highly personal, that it makes sorting through the responses challenging at best.

Here's some more comments to further confuse the response:

--Book cases: If the asysemmetrical book case and fireplace are a true bother, you can certainly add another set of matching book cases to the right of the fireplace, between fireplace and window trim. The slight difference in dimensions will not be a visual issue.

--Art work: When selecting and displaying artwork, it's always important to select artwork based on the available space for display. And, it's also important to select pieces which are harmonious and complementary with one another.

The art work over the fireplace is really to large for the space available. And the two pieces, together, are simply too different to be harmonious and complementary.

My suggestion would be to rehang one or both elsewhere, with a great distance between them, perhaps even in different rooms.

Then you could select two pieces of art work, appropriately sized and harmonious together.

At the very least, replace the piece in the dining room with one which has color and composition similar to that over the fireplace.

If the concept of grouping harmonious paintings is confusing, let me know and I'll post some examples.

Sorry...I know this is probably what you don't want to hear about your art.

--Chair rail: The existing chair rail is fine as is. It draws the kitchen and living spaces together, unifying the overall room.

Good luck on your project!

I wanted to add that I LOVE your backsplash!

Don't fret any more about imbalance, your home is pure delight and that view, omg.

I love your rooms, too. I agree about more harmonious art, but love the one above the fireplace, so would replace the dining room piece. I might hang three coordinating pieces, about the same height as the one there, but square, under the window. I think it will fill the space better and work better with the long rectangular window, rather than repeating that shape below it.

Does your table have a leaf? If so, I'd remove it so the chairs on the sides aren't so lonely looking. If you're replacing the dining set anyway, you have nothing to lose by painting it and see how you like it. If you modernize your dining area, black and white modern art or photos might go well with your fireplace art.

Well...let's do some basic art and display analysis:

--Painting: The fireplace painting is obviously a highly colorful and stylized abstract painting, with recognizable but very expressive shapes. The consistent use of hard edged shapes everywhere creates strong contrast and tension throughout the painting. There is really no focal point.

Display area: The display is approximately rectangular, and thus a rectangular painting works well.

In considering a painting(s) for the dining area, you will be best served with one or more paintings with characteristics similar to that of the fireplace painting.

Since that display space is an extended rectangle, there are a couple of logical display choices:

--One long extended rectangular painting, similar in shape to the existing one;

--Three vertically framed smaller paintings, which together, form an extended rectangular shape.

Good luck!

https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/odger-chair-blue-00360002/

Have you considered continuing the built-in concept across the whole fireplace wall? You could add another narrow column shelves on the right side of the fireplace, continue with a built-in bench for your dining table, and add a narrow picture ledge between bench and window that ties into the funny wall by the kitchen. This might resolve the balance issue and maybe also work better for your table.

Just dropping in to say I love, love your kitchen!

OMG the view. Who needs art when you have that? (Rhetorical question, but still... the photo you posted looks like a painting itself.)

Fwiw I would add shelves on the other side of the fireplace, both for balance and so that the fireplace doesn't look so squished at the end of the room. I love all the color esp the backsplash!

Thank you all for your incredible insights. I have been working today and haven’t been able to respond in kind but will do so soon. P.S here is a better pic of the painting over the table. Just wanted to show that the colors, while more subdued than the Amanda Watt painting over the fireplace are also pretty vibrant. There is a lovely glow to the painting that grabbed us when we first saw it.

Pretty painting. Maybe it would do better in a different frame? I like your fireplace art and the shelves too. Maybe put the sunflowers/vase on a plant stand or get a taller plant/vase to the right of the fireplace to the balance shelves? Beautiful space and view!

I would remove the shelves on the left because I think they detract from the fireplace & kinda' clutter up the space. The fireplace doesn't need the competition. Definitely no shelves on the right.

Here is the space before we added the shelves

Yes, I like it better w/o the shelves. Leaves the fireplace & art as the focus w/o confusing the eye with the other do-dads.

That's really interesting! I see what you mean. The before version seems more harmonious somehow. But the after version is also perfectly fine.

Two problems with the painting in the dining room even though it is beautiful. It doesn't work in style with the one over the fireplace and it's too narrow. You need something underneath that is longer to mimic the width of the windows.

And I agree the one over the fireplace is too large.

I asked to see the layout of the rooms because I'm wondering if there's a better way to layout the furniture. Right now the dining room looks squished up against the wall and the furniture in the living room seems to have absolutely no relationship to the fireplace. The fireplace seems to be an afterthought (which is sort of understandable with that gorgeous view, but I'm wondering if there's a better way to arrange the furniture to take advantage of both.)

BTW: I LOVE your kitchen backsplash!

Yes, the existing painting in the dining area is a lovely painting.

The challenge is that the two paintings are such disparate styles that they fight one another and will never be harmonious when displayed together.

For peace and harmony, one of the paintings needs to go far elsewhere and be replaced with another painting which is similar and harmonious with the style of the remaining painting.

Good luck!

The one over the fireplace has to stay as it compliments your fab back splash.

Hopefully you can find another place for the other one as it means a lot to you both.

I like the fireplace without the shelves. BUT if you want the shelves there, then put shelves on the other side of the fireplace...looks to be the same area from the fireplace to the window. The idea of a bench under the window would work also, but all may be too cluttered. Only you can decide.

Thank you all for these suggestions. My husband is pretty set against removing the shelves now since he did such a nice job of putting them up - they had to be customized!

And the issue with putting shelves on the other side is that it feels way too cluttered by the table if we do that. We’ve considered doing a bench or banquette type of seating but we already had this table and though I agree it’s a bit dated it fits temporarily.

From all these comments I think what I’ll do is look for other more compatible colorful art for over the table - maybe 3 square images - something like that - and either paint this table white and reupholster the chairs with colorful fabrics that carry the colors across the room better or buy a new set that is more in keeping the feel of the painting over the fireplace. As soon as time permits I’ll share a photo of the whole room so you can better see the layout. It’s one large open concept and we have tried every conceivable layout before netting out with what we have. The fireplace was definitely not an afterthought - but the water view was the #1 priority. I think smaller swivel chairs and a smaller dining table will open things up a bit. We may also match the bulkhead on the other side of the table to get some symmetry there.

I know a lot of people have said the painting is too big but I assure you - it fits well within the sides of the fireplace and makes a real statement when people walk in as it’s the first thing they see. We have had nothing but compliments on it from the time we put it up.

Not a professional here, but here are my comments:
You have a lovely place.
I love: the view ( your place would look pretty even empty with this vuew!), the backsplash, the art over the fireplace, even though it is too big.
The shelves look just fine to me.
I agree that the painting in the dining room is beautiful but feels out of place. I actually would put nothing there, maybe a tall object on the table.
I find that the dining room set is too traditional for the rest of your space, as is the mantel. Can you remove the decorative columns from the mantel? And can you replace the dining set with something more modern and smaller?

I like your style. And not just in terms of design. You've managed this thread really well, and it's been fun to read.

One last teeny thing: I'm so glad you're keeping the painting over the fireplace. I'm wondering, though, if the pair of apples on the mantel isn't interfering with it in a funny way. Would you consider leaving the mantel empty and moving the apples over to your new shelves? Or maybe just move both apples to one side?

Thank you for your kind feedback. The “apples” are actually acorn candles. We actually have removed them so agree with you there. We have also rearranged the items on the shelves which I will share ASAP. The mantel is built in and matches a custom painted armoire we use as a pantry - not in these photos - but the room is very eclectic and as strange as it may sound these items all seem to work well together. We always have colorful flowers on the table which does help a bit. I will show in the next group of photos I upload.

I would put one of the colorful pillows from w.e. on each chair and one of the light blue pillows on the couch to bring a little heaviness to the chairs. they sort of look like they are different spaces. I think it would balance with the awesome art work and maybe put a tall skinny plant next to the fireplace or some sort of tall statue?

I love the idea of painting the table and chairs and covering the chairs in some funky colored fabric to compliment your colors.

I would move the more colorful painting to be closer to the kitchen's brighter colors, and remove the chair rail. Remove the shelves you just painted. Put a less-colorful painting over the fireplace and nothing on the mantle.

Your painting should be the star and right now there's too much competing with it. I'd paint the chairs black, and maybe the table too.

I’m sorry but I‘m looking at the first picture posted and I’m not sure what color scheme you are going for. You have a pinkish footstool bright green and blue pieces on the bookshelves a vase with multiple colors on the floor near the fireplace with yellow flowers a black sofa with pillows that don’t match any of the other decor. And then the dining room chair upholstery. I would first and foremost decide on a pattern in a rug which has some colors you like and then coordinate everything to those colors. I would take out that footstool completely (it dwarfs the space and leaves little room for walking around), swap out the coffee table for a wood one with a lighter color, put a solid color rug under the dining table (coordinating with the living room since it is an open concept) remove the sofa pillows and get colors that will coordinate and I would go for a dining set with a bench seat towards the wall with a farmhouse type design with a lighter wood and bench seat cushion which coordinates, I would either scroll something on the wall in script or if you like the picture get a bigger frame with a solid color matte, Remove the vase or chalk paint it again to one of the colors in your end game. I know it sounds like a lot, but a lot of things can be found at second hand stores. My favorite thing is finding items and if I like it and it’s not the right color spray paint or chalk paint will become your best go to ever. The shelving looks fine. I think it’s that there are to many competing colors that it looks a little thrown together. Trust me I am not being critical because I did things that way for years and wondered why I was never satisfied when I was done.

By the way you’re kitchen is spot on. I love everything about it!!

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.