The rug in the rendering above:[https://www.houzz.com/photos/prl7733e-rug-from-porcello-by-safavieh-plushrugscom-phvw-vp~123117004[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/prl7733e-rug-from-porcello-by-safavieh-plushrugscom-phvw-vp~123117004)

the photo is better. I won’t change my advice, though. With the mirror gone and the chandelier hanging lower, it will fill that space, and the black works with the black of the firebox. The brick shelves give you the opportunity to place art, tall and rectangular, on the shelves. Not exactly your fireplace, but close enough to give you a picture of my ideas. I noticed something else in my inspiration photo, which never occured to me…While choosig art with black frame, paint the white brick shelves black.

You can go as large as to leave about 18" of floor around the perimeter, or you can wait until the bar stools are in place and see if leaving the same amount of floor exposed on all sides of the rug works. Painter's tape will be your friend in trying different sizes taped out on the floor. Don't forget to allow space for pulling the bar stools out to sit on them.

I think that my inspo pic just crashed into reality. I'll start looking for a low-pile carpet with muted colors and/or an indoor/outdoor rug. I've added some pics of the other half of the room as I was putting it together. The major furniture pieces are the same; the office area is being used as a de-Christmasing staging area and I can't take pics right now. If the new mirror was too high, just wait for this one. Yikes! In my defense, there was a tall piece of furniture below the mirror with the gold frame. When I moved the piece of furniture, I didn't lower the mirror. Now I have the inspiration to do it! I really loved the look of the shag rug for the hot minute that it was clean, but I think my inspo pic won't stand up to every day life. Thanks for your help, everyone!