If you have or can get plans for the house or just tell from the room behind the fireplace what is behind the brick beside the fireplace, that could help you decide. Sometimes duct work and/or plumbing and wiring is hidden in a wall and that otherwise unusable space might be what the brick covers up ... and the reason the built in shelves are not wider. You could actually just cover as much of the brick as you want with wood paneling or dry wall if tearing out the brick is not practical ... or if you just want to leave the brick in place in case a future buyer prefers the brick being visible, potentially increasing resale value with the right buyer.

Darn- I do see it already looks better with larger TV though. Also, not our drapes. We will do neutral. But, I like to hang them high and wide so another good point to bring a corner piece of furniture forward so we could do so… couldn’t do that if a tall piece. Thank you!

Beautiful room even if it has so much going on with the off center fireplace, the windows, the door openings and the balcony. The way to make this room work is not to try to make it symmetrical. Consider the following: A TV over the fireplace is annoying to view. It is too high and I agree that it will go out of style for good. Consider locating the TV on the left wall under the balcony. Treat that entire elevation as one unit including the second floor. Paint the entire wall, the overhang and the second floor wall a dark color (midnight blue) and mount the TV on the wall with a narrow bookcase so that it cleans up the door openings, the balcony and overhangs. Paint the railing also and the rail itself - black. With the seating, a sectional will streamline the room and focus on the window and fireplace. Because of the high ceiling, you have the option for a higher back sectional. On the big blank wall (with your existing wall unit) invest in large art or a series of work to be grouped together creating a statement. Fireplace would be TV Note dark gloss wall

Your cabinet and painted tile are both attractive, but they would look better if there were fewer distracting decor items around them. IMO the painted tile should be the star of the show. To my eye, the black frames and bright white picture mattings don't look good with the softer colours of the cabinet and tile. I'd find another wall for all those smaller pictures - a hallway is a great place to put pictures this size because you can go right up to them. And cluster them closer together. Then, TV over the cabinet with no decor items on the cabinet. Larger picture (or maybe a round mirror?) over the new mantle. The vase looks great with the tile and should go closer to it, e.g. on the mantle. Maybe one other thing on the mantle.