What colour shelves?

I would paint them white.

You have a lot of options and it just depends on what you want to feature. The white shelves would tie in with the fireplace nicely. That looks like a deep recess so I would also think about adding cabinets on the lower half. Since you don't care about the grey wall I would consider wallpaper or mirrors or paint it white to keep the look uniform. It's a beautiful area. Get your creative juices going and have fun.

I would definitely go with white.

I would paint the shelves white. I would also consider doing more than three!

white shelves would look nice but you could do the wood floating shelves as well just depends on your furniture and the look you want

I love the idea of the wood that matches the floor. However, then I would paint the gray the same cream color as the wall, so they pop! And congrats on the new house!

I would go with the wood stained to match the floor. White shelves would get lost. You want to bring attention to what ever you put on the shelves. You can create a mock up by taping strips of cardboard to the front of the openings faking the front of shelves. Paint the strips white on one side and a close brown on the other. Stand back and see what appeals to you.

Hello. If it were my situation I would paint them the same color as the fireplace molding. Best wishes on your project

Another vote to match the floor, find the wood you like and stain it, Minwax has something to closely match the stain you need. A cabinet on the bottom would give you a filler and storage space.

I think the natural beauty of wood could add warmth and make the shelves stand out without being overwhelming. Try to get close to the color of your floors.

I would use a nice wood, and stain them in a mahogany color. REmember to put molding on the front of any type shelf to make it look professional.

White every time!

I would go with a match to your wooden flooring. I think the white will blend in too much.

I'm voting for plain wooden shelves stained English Chestnut. Not too dark, not too light.

I would either do white shelves to match the fireplace or a dark version of the color on the wall.

Hi Francine, I would stain the wooden shelves to match the floor

Thank you for all of the suggestions!

Chunky wood shelves in a color matching the floor color would look absolutely fantastic. I'd do floating shelves and have them at least 3 inches wide.

Why not turn this into a Hometalk project so we can all see how your finished area looks?