Depending on how far you budget goes, I would look at adding traditional cornice and pelmet and replacing the plinth with a similar oyster colour. End panels for wall units could also be replaced / added. Some chessboard style tilling in 3 colours would also bring out the walls. It's hard to tell but is the oak surround also on the wall units? I haven't checked your location but this is something we can help with

If you have white it doesn't have to protrude, it's better to have it fitted than free standing because free standing can look messy especially if you have more than one, I mean messy in the way that you have lots of different size units and they are not seamless with the walls, something that is seamless looks less imposing. If it is white it won't compete with the other alcove unit. Get some inspiration on our site here: Shelving examples And here: Media unit examples And here: More media units Otherwise what AJ says is great because it is low cost and uses what you have, I would paint/upcycle that dark unit too, and add a very clean minimal desk, maybe glass or something or even just a single floating shelf in the corner.

I can't do pics as my house is a mess but I have bought beautiful things from ebay and local forums for silly money. We got a huge L-shaped velvet covered sofa from Restoration Hardware for £300 inc delivery (near perfect condition and would have cost over $5k new), a huge solid wood apothecary coffee table also in perfect condition for £75, an occasional chair from Crate & Barrel (also perfect) for £90. Literally thousands of pounds of furniture for less than £500. I look carefully for things that are poorly photographed or ill-described as these often get overlooked. However, recently I was helping my in-laws sell some of their furniture as they were downsizing and I couldn't believe how hard it was to sell. They had bought everything 10-15 years ago from Harrods (eek!) and it was all in perfect condition and extremely well made, and in the end we were selling things for prices similar to the above which seemed such a shame. One other tip is to look at the sofa.com microsite on ebay - they have great things at very good discounts and they are available immediately.

It's lovely. Quite unique. If you know what value you want try online and local newspapers.