The picture reminds me of that insurance commercial with the guy who is trying to give advice to young people who are turning into their parents. Does a gathering room really need a sign that says "Gathering Room"? No!
@roxy54 HA! I agree with @allenf1963 that you strongly consider mounting the TV above the fireplace — that empty white space is practically begging you to do it. I have several friends who’ve done this and it actually works very well.
Even if you don’t mount the TV there appears to be space on either side of the fireplace for stand mounted or small floorstanding speakers, and this placement will give you much superior sound than putting speakers in a bookshelf box or having them 7’ high. Here are a pair that’d sound fantastic with your electronics, and as they’re black they’d largely blend into the wood frame of the fireplace.
https://tmraudio.com/speakers/bookshelf-speakers-monitors/joseph-audio-prism-bookshelf-speakers-black-pair-2/
You could also get these unobtrusive stands on the cheap that’d be great for this application, and you can even load the thick pillar with sand for added weight and better sound…
I’d definitely do something like this and just another idea to chew on FWIW. Best of luck in finding a workable solution.