what about some abstract minimalist art

Some really simple pieces of metal sculpture or better yet with that fab piece of art ignore them. I do not like the little metal stand beside the pillar and I can’t really get a feel of the spce without seeing pics from further back

I would ignore the niches -- the painting looks fabulous all on its own.

I might consider painting the niches the color of the sofa to complement the art work or two shades deeper than the wall color....and put the lights on dimmers down to the lowest point; the light is distracting.

I like the lighting that was there in the before version . Am assuming the after version is the bottom picture . Is that correct ? Also, it appears there is molding inside the edges of the after version of the niches. Yes ? I like the empty niches as they are . You could use a single mandevilla branch in each , OR an interesting piece of pottery in each.