I appreciate all your thoughts. It is good to have fresh eyes that look constructively at decor and style. I have lots of other ideas to think about!

You just need to style shelves better, too many small knickknacks and candles

Agree that reaccessorizing will have a big impact and once it’s redone, that entire wall will feel calmer and actually more interesting, as there is too much going on. Aim is balance and it will take a lot of time and experimenting. Also consider “empty space”, which is really important for the eye to rest. There is all kinds of on line info and examples regarding bookshelves: heights, groupings, repetition, etc.

In regards to your mantle, don't line things up...keep it simple, especially due to the bookcases. Again look on line and Pinterest can be a great resource.

Totally agree that the candles and other more knick nack items aren't working! Some should never have been there, but were a solid resting place at the moment, so there they stayed. We'll stick with some things that we have already on the shelves but will look to make them more quieter with a little more space and moving things around. It'll be a work in progress to find the right balance!

Post pictures as you go along. No matter how you choose to decorate, I would love to see how you balance out this space.

Maybe paint the cabinets white but leave the top natural.

Yes and redo the mantle

You def. have a beach vibe going. Get bigger pieces, less of them. Keep the nice framed pics, you live here and have a family. You could declutter without looking like a magazine. I kinda like the idea of white ship lamp on just that one wall. Pottery barn has nice oversized clamshells, big blue beads, lanterns, and then real plants. They have nice big vases too

Something along these lines

I like how the fireplace pops in those pictures. Right now my husband isn't on board for adding wainscoting, board or batten, or shiplap to that section of the fireplace wall, but hopefully it can be an idea we can revisit in the future as I do like how it makes the fireplace wall a focal point and defines the fireplace section better.

Right now, we want to keep the mantle and cabinet colors as is. If we ever painted some of the kitchen cabinets, then that could be a time we'd revisit the mantle. I do wish the mantle extended the full length of the wall. (It also is level - I checked tonight!)

This is what we've done with simplifying our shelves so far using just the items and pictures we have at the moment. We started by taking everything off the shelves and going from there. I do think what we have right now is less busy and better than before. It'll be a work in progress for a while! This picture was taken at night, so the lighting isn't great. Maybe I'll post a picture of it in the morning so the lighting is better.

Vertical art would naturally add more height above the mantle, but for now we really like this Lake Michigan picture and its mellow colors and general vibe.

Here's a few questions:

Should I lower that picture above the mantle an inch or two? I think it's about 7" off the mantle at the moment. Also, is the painting on the upper right shelf too big for that area? Maybe possibly better resting on one of the cabinets? I'm not tied to it being in the living room either.

Way better!! Good job

I would leave big fireplace picture where it is. It’s level with the top and clears the mantle well

Better! But still needs some work.

1) Lower the art so that it is centered vertically between the top of the mantle and the top of the bookshelves.

2) You can keep the boat art, but place it on the bottom right shelf.

3) Remove the shell vases from the mantle. Add the blue and white vase and find 2 taller vases. Try the oar back there.

4) Group the beach photos together. Remove any more formal photos. Limit the # of photos.

5) Add some coffee table books to the shelves. Smaller plant can sit on them.

6) Group like items together, except for the plants, which can be placed throughout the bookshelves.

7) Limit types and colors. So, the little candles and balls need to go. Use only items that look expensive or curated.

Good Luck!

You want the fire as a focal point, but the EYE goes to the darkness of the cabinetry at the sides. You're trying to make a change in the effect, and are less than willing to change the elements that you are actually fighting.

The heaviness of the chests, the dark of the mantel, the dark of your sofas.............are in competition with the pale tones in your "coastal" as well. That steals your "mellow" and makes the space jumpy. Tonal rooms always seem mellow. For one thing to advance ? Something else must recede; a leading lady, gets a quieter supporting cast.

Not for the literal ..........but where does your eye go in the pics below?

In a client design, something I won't proceed without are inspiration photos. On Houzz, with free advice, posters are often reluctant to come up with these. Without them, you and contributors are only guessing. "Coastal" can mean many things.

In other words..............the tones matter : ) Apologies for the qickie

Agree with CDR. What is the intent? Waterside can be anything............Lake, river, ocean, north, south, east or west.

Both "lakeside" below...: )

You want the sides styled. Doing that will draw attention to them. So then the entire wall will be viewed as one venue.

But is thet your goal or is uour goal to highlight the fireplace and the bookcases be second fiddle?

I'm starting to get what you're saying about the tones and having too much dark competing for attention. I don't want to make any big changes until both my husband and I are on board, and that hasn't happened yet. So, at the moment, we're working with what we have =)

I'll keep playing around with my shelves as I have the time. Thanks for all the tips! I love the colors of those lamps and mirrors you posted, Jan.

Yes, my ultimate goal is to highlight the fireplace (the area outlined in black in the picture below) and the bookcases to be second fiddle.

There's a book sale this weekend at a local library nearby, so I'll see what I can find for books there.

As far as the general style/intent, here's some pictures. It's tough to find the "perfect" picture. For me personally, my eye goes to the fireplace in all of them. We live in MN, so changing all the wood elements to white is not my goal. Though some white that matches the trim would warm the space. Based on inspiration pictures, many mantles span the length of the wall, so I know that's something that would likely have to change someday. Some of the darker wood, and darker blues seen in some rocks/other natural elements when we visit some of the great lakes is attractive (see picture above the fireplace of a picture I took on a vacation). For the insporation pictures with stone, I like how the stone brings warmth to the room. I don't necessarily need stone on the fireplace, but I like the warmth it brings.

(This color is not what I would put in my house, but I like the feel of this picture.)

We like clean, cozy, and warm.

It is better but does still need work

What part of MN??

See the pics you posted??? Now.......you may have posted those for the detail above the mantel. But what draws you to those, Is the clean uncluttered feel, the light, the air .........and a focus WITHIN the unity of the whole wall . To see the solution is to see what is keeping you from a goal. You sometimes nee a trained eye, or the trial and error method . Designers have either been schooled, have taught themselves, or were "gifted" - no different than the ability to sing, or play a piano by ear. Or experience, or just seeing lots of trial and error. You posted your own "answer" : ) It's still not the ship lap.

Paint the chests

Thanks for the inspiration photos. it is why i ask for them. Yes, no photo is exactly you, but together, they tell you what you like.

None has dark cabinets or dark on the mantle. Yet you do.

So, if these are your aspirations, you will not achieve them with what you currently have.

I am just being honest.

LOL..........it is only paint. They need not match other cabinetry...........

neither does the mantel need to match other cabinetry.......watch.

The chests are fully 75 % of the "problem", soffit doesn't help. The very minute the chests are dark? it no longer suggests the built in look you are after. At all.

AND........................

CASE RESTED............: )

all intentionally imperfect, because the brain rules the eye - when it comes to intent. Like a book is better than the movie that follows.

Appreciate all the input and effort into this design!

I can totally see how painting the cabinets white would draw more attention to the fireplace, as the dark wood wouldn't be competing with each other. I like the idea of keeping the mantle darker. Would keeping the top of the cabinets dark but painting the main part of the cabinet white work?

I do love additional detail around the fireplace itself as I prefer texture and a little character over drywall in the fireplace area. However, you are right that all those pictures are very clean and uncluttered, which is very appealing and is what I need to focus on most.

I had also thought of small sconces above the mantle! I was either thinking there or facing down on the drywall section above the shelves.. Neat to see you thought of that in your drawings.

I'll continue analyzing these pictures that are inspiring to search for elements on the shelves and around the fireplace that make the space feel calm, uncluttered, and relaxing.

What if I framed out my picture above the mantle with a floating frame like this?

We live in the suburbs of Minneapolis in MN!

I was born tbere! Edina?

I think that frame would look good a s tie in more brown

And please really follow Jans drawings, the groupings centering etx. That’s where yours is off

I always prefer framed art to unframed. It looks finished.

Note in Jan's drawing, in the accessories, there is a good amount of repetition, yet some unique pieces. No small, dinky items. Reason: the eye likes repetition because it is calming. Yet, the eye also likes a little fun and "different" thrown in.

Just like we like structure and consistency in our day.....yet too much structure gets boring.

Styling cabinets is one of the most challenging and time-consuming tasks for a designer. Even more so for an amateur. There are very few I see that are done right.

You can do whatever you want with the cabinets, but if you want the area to look like your inspirations, you'll need to paint both the mantle and the cabinets.

This is all good to know! I like what was mentioned about the groupings too. I'll continue to refer to Jan's drawing - thank you for that Jan. I'll look into a frame for the picture above the mantle too. As I continue to tinker with the placement of items and find different items, I'll post updates for those interested.

Always remember to group in odd numbers too!

I think you could leave all the wood the way it is with proper styling of everything

Omg I have a designer friend in Excelsior

Thanks Kathy =)

Thoughts on these sconces?

They're Maybe 10-12" high.

Here's what it would probably look like:

Maybe too small?

These?

And please get the pic framed

I wouldn't add sconces and you can't anyway until you have the picture framed.

Arranging bookcases is an art and hard to explain except in general terms. I am sorry, they still are not arranged artistically.

Having said that, if this is what you like, then go for it.

Look, you either want what you think you want, or you do not. A fireplace flanked by a couple cabinets? Or a built in. They are different. Until you clarify WHICH? YOU H AVE WHAT YOU HAVE: ) That, is rather............neither. A hybrid that is a choice, certainly, but doesn't really work. Is what it is.

The answer to keeping dark cabinets? Remove the shelves. Add non competitive mirrors, add a lamp each side and skip the sconces.You don't like that? Wellllllllll the other option is to paint away the darkness,

The last is to rearrange the shelves, call it a day, and don't obsess beyond that. It's still no ship lap.

This feels like a built in........EYE GOES THE FIRE.

THIS DOES NOT feel like a built in. : and the eye isn't sure where to go.No number of sconces, or art framing will change that, though matching dark wood shelves to the cabinetry might unify the intent, but still wont pull your eye center to the fire. . Apologies ! : ) No matter the "show", there's one star and a supporting cast.

Hi all,

Been working on arranging the shelves more. I added some books and love the mellowness and look of them!

I created a frame for the picture above the mantle. My question is what color/stain would look best. Painting it black might be safest. Here's a couple stains that I have as well:

Thoughts?

Here is the picture set in the unfinished frame.

Jan, I've thought a lot about what you said. You're right - it is a hybrid at the moment. Building in the shelves more would make a difference, as would painting the cabinets white. I'll keep it in the back of my mind (I have ideas brewing), and for now will work on making my shelves more balanced.

For now, this is where everything is as. There's still some pieces and pairings that I'll keep thinking about.

Nice job!! Perfect for now. I like the wood cabinets. You did great

haven't read every comment, but the white shelves are odd man out for me. you have wood cabs, mantle, and then these white shelves that disappear into the wall paint.

I'd match the shelves to the other wood, AND paint the back wall inside the recessed portion

here they are w/wood shelves. SEe? much better

and I painted the one side white but kept the wood top.

if you do the white cab idea, I'd paint the back wall the same color as the tile you painted. I think the dark/white contrast would look nice.

try it. it's only paint.

and if you really want to go for it, tile the whole fireplace area w/black slate (when you get the chance), do shiplap on the back wall, wood shelves and install some black sconces. I love this look

here's how it looks

If you want to do all white, that's fine too.

color is BM Vanilla Milkshake. You could do a stucco, roman clay, or even a cement overlay right over the tile and existing wall. it's not expensive, and not that difficult to DIY.

here is a shot w/the shiplap over the mantle area. I also like the sconces.

If you want to do it all white,

take off the current tile and tile that middle portion, all the way up, with something else.

Thanks for all the pictures and different ideas, Beth!

I see what you're saying about the white shelves not really standing out/blending in, where as wood shelves would pop out more against the current color of the paint and fit in with the current wood. I went with white initially because it was easier to match the paint to the trim than to find a stain that would match. I made a couple end tables for the living room area with what I thought was the same color stain, but maybe with a different color wood and the wood being conditioned a different way, the color came out not quite as red.

I do like a two tone look, especially light and dark, as you showed in pictures 3-5. Sconces above the shelves would look really neat.

Here's some fireplace/built in combo that I like. (Just because a lot these pictures are all white, I don't necessarily want to go that direction. I do like wood and the darker blue color. It's a combo of looks and a similar starting wall layout to what I have in my house.

I like how in this picture, the fireplace section (stone, mantle, area above the mantle) come off of the wall a couple inches, defining the fireplace area.

This is similar to how a more "built in shelves" look would be realistically for me, as the built in would have to be set inside the wall and not be flush. (The base cabinets are inset about 1" inside the wall, the cabinets are about 22" deep, and I made the shelves 12" deep.) I also like a little bit of the two tone look in this picture, and how the fireplace section is defined and comes off the wall.

Again, I like how the fireplace section/wall area is defined and it's not just flat going all the way across.

I like the sconces above the built ins, and how the fireplace area is defined.

I like how there's some definition to the fireplace section in this picture too.

Yep. I was thinking pretty much exactly what you were showing. I've done some different projects (king bed set, one large and one small living room tables, board and batten hook entry, and mudroom hooks with a cabinet above) and they've all turned out well, so I think something like this would be manageable and add a little bit more character. Thanks for the picture step by steps and ideas!

Beth H is the best!! Such great ideas