Living Room Plans - Working Around the Fireplace

Hey friends!So in the spirit of starting new things for the new year, I'm making living room plans since I now have a mantle and faux fireplace to decorate (which is super fun!). I'll share the ins and outs of the actual fireplace soon as well, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of what's in store for the area around it - and ask you to help me choose the best option, too!Here is what the living room looks like now:I don't hate the gallery wall around the TV, but I don't love it as much as I used to and I'd love to change this up and lighten up the walls in here. Yes, I still want white walls in the living room and Alex is officially on board. It might have something to do with the first image I sent him when I started planning out changes, which was this:Pardon the fuzziness, but you can get the gist of it. I thought having one black wall could be cool and would help to hide the TV a little more. It does hide the TV, and I LOVE a black wall, but I'm not sure it's the right look for our space.Then I tried this:Much cleaner, and though the TV sticks out, the black in the faux fireplace sort of helps to balance the big black box look. The reality of finding gorgeous shelves like this to fit in our very limited space, however, dawned on me quickly and I started planning the room with a simpler shelf.I also added a colour to the wall - Polar Bear by Behr. It's a nice warm white, which will be needed in this room since the couch and chairs are both warm colours. I love that I would have the option to add lighting to these shelves since this area would now be lamp-free and I don't always like to use the overhead lighting in the living room. I like the look of these shelves, but I'm still wondering if I'd be happier with something open in the back. Enter floating shelves...Much simpler, cleaner, and will give me the opportunity to use the space on the floor beside the fireplace for things like a basket of blankets or magazine rack! Now I began to think about the contrast of a dark shelf on this wall, so I tried it out with the IKEA Laiva unit:Not a terrible option! This bookshelf is priced extremely well but it lacks in height - it's only 65" tall. I can always place tall things on the top shelf to make up for that, I suppose, and I do love that it has both the open and dark backing and that the sides are completely open as well. Naturally I went back to the floating shelves to see how they would work...I can get the height I want and the openness, too, but are they too simple? Here's a look at my 4 main options side by side - bookshelves vs floating shelves:I think I know where I'm going with this, but I want to get your thoughts! It's always nice to have someone else's point of view and you guys always offer fantastic advice, so hit me with your best shot! What do you love? Hate? Is my paint choice way off? Would I be better off going darker or keeping it all pure white for a super clean look? Am I crazy for getting rid of the gallery wall? Do I ask too many questions?And if you haven't entered to win a New Year's toast print (which I think would be darling above or in a bar cart), then get to it, already!Until next time!