It looks like they're slightly recessed. Maybe you could get tension curtain rods and hang some fabric over them. It looks like that's a native American themed art work over the FP -- maybe something like a Navaho blanket pattern would work? (on fabric rather than an actual blanket, the blanket would probably be too heavy)

I wouldn't cover them up. Paint them white to match your trim and remove some of the shelves. I would even have a carpenter cut the top arch to square it off. Photos, some books, pottery, etc. would be nice. I think the fireplace would look strange if you covered them up.

I think curtains of some kind would be perfect - white if you want them to blend into the wall, or a nice pattern if you want to frame the fireplace. Using flat panel style curtains like those at IKEA might keep things sleeker...

I agree with Jmack, the best way to de-emphasize the shelving is to paint them instead of covering them up.

"we do not have the option to paint them"
I'm guessing you're a renter then.

Is that tiny recession big enough for a tiny tension rod?

I would do this: Have some image super-sized (AT has posted on this in the past), and have it printed onto canvas that is stretched to a frame just slightly smaller than your opening. You can then take them with you to your next place. I would not get too 'busy' here. Just a nice black & white of a piece of sculpture, an old building detail, a vintage map, or something similar. That way you won't be risking your deposit or painting your landlords beloved shelves.

Gail specifically says:

"we do not have the option to paint them or permanently close them off."

Since the shelves are recessed, you can either paint or wallpaper 2 very thin boards. Just remember to cut around that small piece of baseboard below the shelves.

If it were me, however, I'd just leave them as is and fill with books. You'll notice the books, not the shelves. And I love books.

The tension rod idea, of course, is a good idea, but if you are looking for other ideas:

Something like a Dignitet, if you are allowed to drill holes, with your fabric of choice.

Alternatively, if you are feeling creative, what about a couple of long pictures, possibly framed and mounted onto a hook or two for each, attached to a shelf? Or just hung from the top (double-sided tape across the top and down the sides to attached to the shelves). Come up with your own designs and be creative :)

I see that there are some outlets in the book shelf. Perhaps you could put some light fixtures in it, and put a Shoji screen in front of it. Make it into a big light.

I would absolutely love to have built in shelves. I have way too much stuff to not be able to use the space. But, that said to cover them up, the curtain rod and hanging fabric would be the easiest and probably cheapest way to go. You can get some very narrow curtain rods. The second option is to cut some plywood or mdf to the size of the space or even slightly bigger and just lean the boards up against the wall. Paint or cover the boards however you like to match your style. Fabric or wallpaper on the boards would look great.

I see some big custom cut mirror. Of course it depends on your style, from the pictures it looks more traditional, but mirrors would add a lot of freshness to the place.

I really can't picture blinds or curtains here. I agree with the posters above who suggested a more custom fit panel--either mirror or stretched canvas or fabric. The panels could be mounted with some of the new 3M Command hangers--that way no drilling and easy removal. You could even repurpose the panels in your next home as another decorative element, a headboard, etc whereas the blinds you'll be unlikely to find another use for.

You're best off getting some baskets, books and a few odds & ends to fill up those shelves. Any attempt to cover those up, unless expertly done, is going to look cheap and draw more attention to the issue. Curtain panels flanking a fireplace would just look weird and out of place. It would be close to impossible to put anything (mirror/solid panel) up flush with the wall because of the molding on the bookcases and the baseboards on the wall. Plus, you'd have to drill into the wood of the bookshelves - and if you can't paint them them I'm guessing drilling holes into them is also out of the question.

It's too bad you can't paint, because they'd look great painted the same color as the walls.

Is that framed art over the fireplace a print of the painting of George Washington praying before a battle?

I personally think the fabric suggestion would look a bit weird. I'd try to cover them with a solid board the colour of your walls and remove when you leave.

Oops- didn't notice htat you don't have the option to paint them. I think curtains would look odd. I would just try to find interesting items (books/photos) to fill them. Looks like you have walnut floors so it's a shame that you can't paint the shelves.. they really don't match the flooring.

what about a couple of those ikea fabric panel curtain things (the ones that are made to slide on that track system)? Or make some like that. That would look clean and be easy.

I wouldn't cover them up... Find inexpensive items to fill them up, but to really de-emphasize the built-ins, I'd pull the focus to the fireplace. Replace the current hanging with something huge and colorful, even if you are just buying a canvas and painting it yourself. Add some additional items to the mantle and add a small rug that helps blur the line between the wood floors and the tile.

Emphasizing the fireplace will help the shelves fade into the background....

Have a wide-format print shop enlarge and print a pair of photos (or patterns, illustrations, etc.) on vinyl. They can mount it on a light, inexpensive substrate like thin, corrugated plastic and you can attach it with velcro or even looped masking tape. Look for places that advertise vinyl signs.

For that matter, you could wallpaper a thin substrate and do the same thing.

You hate them that much? I'd say work with them. Maybe put a removable contact paper at the back to make them more interesting. If you really want to cover them that badly I'd say get a 4 panel shoji screen and divide into two two panel pieces.

I am jealous of those shelves! They are beautiful, work with them and fill them up with great items you love.

But, if you really loathe them perhaps you could put a piece of art in front of them? One of those hanging screens or panels in front of them?

Three ideas:

Take $50 and go to Goodwill and garage sales one weekend and find lots of interesting objects.

Host a large informal party for friends and the price of admission is an interesting object for your shelves.

Cover the backs with solid fabric or the like. Outlet cloth napkins or placemats (check Crate and Barrel online) could easily be stapled into place or attached some way to not get you into trouble when you move out.

It's such a shame when perfectly good shelves are wasted on people who don't appreciate them.

I'm confused as to why anyone would cover built-in shelving with anything but books, art/photos, and storage baskets/boxes.

Much though I would love to have built-in bookshelves, I can see why these don't work--the style isn't right for the room and the wood color seems to grab all the attention away from the fireplace. And the color doesn't work with the rest of the room. They are set way far back from the fireplace and they just look awkward and uncomfortable.

Ideally, I'd paint them. But since that isn't possible, I like the idea of some sort of flat panel with a photo or other design on it. Done right, the panels could look like banners on the wall flanking the fireplace, and not semi-skilled attempts to cover something up. If it's possible, I'd hang the panels from the walls around the bookcases and not inside them.

But I also feel that the bookcases might work better if you weren't seeing all that wood. If you don't have books to put in there, what about some really cool storage boxes or bins? If you could find or make some that fill the shelves almost completely, the light colored wood would become a frame for the coolness of the containers and not a blinding beacon of odd colored wood in the center of the living room. With the electric outlet there, you could use one bin as a charging station, and the rest for more storage.

My advice would be to go to IKEA or a similar store and buy a bunch of those thin cardboard storage boxes and just put them on the shelf and call it a day. That way nobody can tell if the boxes are empty or full, and at least they can be used for storage if you acquire stuff eventually.

When you move, you can either get rid of the boxes (they can be flattened down and recycled) or take them with you.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70180390

When I had an apartment with an ugly, tall wall heating unit, I de-emphasized it by placing a tall ceramic vase in front and adding a bundle of decorative branches. Husband loved it (actually loves anything with "sticks;" I think it's a guy thing). I enjoyed the added texture and visual interest it provided.

Also, it looks like you could remove some of the shelves. Maybe that would help de-emphasize the different wood color (from the floor). With some of the shelves removed, you could use taller decorative items that might really add some visual punch to the space!

Yes, the framed art over the fireplace is a print of Arnold Friberg's The Prayer at Valley Forge. So, you might want to go with an option that has a formal, traditional look or the look of early American antiques. You might even consider reproductions of early American flags hung to conceal the shelves.

tall, thin canvases covered with fabric, not loose like curtains, but flat.

Miami's Elaine---

Yes, the painting above the fireplace is George Washington praying at Valley Forge.

Imagine these babies hanging on either side of that fireplace! They're from The Natural Curtain Company.

Have you no books, no cd's, no tchotchkes??? Some kind of collection you could display?

Then go with the curtains.

love the panel (or curtains) on track system idea! (user:NorNor) I bet you could install a small track on the ceiling, minimal damage to walls, no damage to shelves.
then you'll still able to use them as a functioning pseudo closet.

Velcro a very thin panel of painted wood and completely cover them up. You'll have to notch it around the floor molding, but you could make those suckers completely vanish if it is done well.

Don't cover them. Like others said, paint them white.

Built-ins are extraordinarily useful, and don't take up the space of traditional shelving.

I would kill to have bookshelves flanking a fireplace. Covering these up would be just plain awful and unfair to those of us coveting your room right now... ;)

You mean to tell us that you have absolutely NO books, NO framed family photos, NO vases, NO souveniers from your travels and NO collections of any kind at all???

Sounds like what you really need is a smaller house.

If you really don't have books, I would go to a thrift store and buy a whole bunch of white vases/knicknacks/whatever and put them on the shelves, then replace the artwork with something with more pizzazz.

I don't think curtains or panels will look good.

Find a couple sets of encyclopedias to fill the shelves with. The uniform colors will play down the wood color. I am sure they could be found VERY cheaply on craigslist or place an advertisement in the local paper.

I'd be more disturbed by the painting than the built ins, any day. Perhaps if you got a really eye catching piece of art that would draw your eye to that and not the built ins? The art you currently have looks too small and the color of the frame references the color of the shelf, which makes them pop to the front.

I like the suggestions to use the shelves. However, you may absolutely want to cover them up, as you wrote, and you may love The Prayer at Valley Forge. If so, then you might enjoy a couple of antique-look quilts in front of the shelves, perhaps hung over folding screens something like those suggested earlier.

I agree with the posters who think that covering them with panels or curtains would look weird - mainly because the molding at the bottom is going to be all off if you do.

Like others have said, the real problem is that the wood doesn't match your flooring, so it looks odd. A temporary solution would be to cover the back wall of the units with that wall-decal type vinyl that removes easily with no damage to the walls. If you can do it well, you could also cover the shelves and transform the color of the units to match the wall. You could easily fill the shelves with a few frames, books, and storage boxes.

I would LOVE to have shelves like that, I agree with Indy Jefferey by putting fabric on the back panel - or perhaps taping a bit of interesting wallpaper?

PLUS if you made your fireplace more interesting, then the bookshelves would take a backseat

- tension rod and curtain AND place chair in front of each side.

- custom mirror

- mirror tile on the back of the shelf walls THEN lots of hanging plants.

My initial thought was if you got some lightweight wood, painted it the same shade as the walls and screwed them on somehow, you would be okay.

But seeing as how you can't cover them up (possibly because the outlets are in use?), I would suggest going with a lot of decorative items in the same shade of white as the walls - some vases, frames, seashells, baskets that you re-appropriate from flea market finds.

Use radiator covers-like painted lattice panels to enhance the look.

Maybe you could ask your landlord to at least let you stain them to be more similar to the floors?

If you like that painting where it is, though, maybe you can get it a black/dark brown frame to help connect it to the fireplace/globe rather than the shelves, as well.

Hmm... I can see why you don't like them. On a whole, I am very pro-built ins. However, your wood built ins don't match the floor stain. That would bother me.

I'm not sure I love the idea of filling them with stuff, because while that is a cute idea for built ins in general, it doesn't solve the problem of the bad color of your built ins.

I think your best bet would be to cover them. I prefer a lot of color accents in my home, and it seems like yours doesn't have a lot of that, so perhaps some lightweight fabric panels would be nice? You can purchase items like that at Ikea or create your own.

You wouldn't necessarily need a curtain rod. I've seen them fashioned out of what essentially looks like a triangle: the top point fastening the piece to the wall and the bottom two points supporting the beam that holds up the panel.

Otherwise, have you ever tried using fabric as wallpaper? I'm not sure how it would work on wood, but it works rather well with fabric starch on a flat wall. Perhaps you could fashion something with that? Covering up the back wall, to bring in more color or to blend it with white?

Find a LARGE, substantial framed painting or photograph that you love to put above the fireplace to draw the eye there. Maybe put items, books, frames on the shelves all in the same color to distract from the wood tone.

Too bad about not being able to paint. I think curtains are a bad idea. I'd want to look behind them to see what was being covered up.

I think you could probably persuade the owner that staining them the same color as the floor would look (use a word like) "richer"

You have nothing to fill them with? Hey, easy solution! It's called a book store. And the cool thing is, once you fill your shelves with books, then you can even read them. It's an amazing technology.

Hang a narrow (preferably matching) tapestry on each side by mounting a wooden rod above the book cases. Or a curtain would work also. That way you're covering them up, but still adding a luxurious feeling to the room.

I'm thinking plywood covered in mirror tiles.

Or why not curtains, and then bring that white pot with the tall tree in it around in front of the curtains (it would be perfect if you had two of those tree-d pots).

Well, I'd try to talk the landlord into painting them white to match the fireplace trim.

Failing that, however, I'd buy maybe six (or more) plain white vases with similar glaze -- or spray paint some all alike -- and put at least three on each side. (I am noticing the item on the mantle -- that should be your inspiration for shapes.) Go for an assortment of interesting shapes (but NOT textures) and get some that will fit in the top two cubbies and a few of the others. (Leave at least one or two empty shelves between ones with vases.) You want to leave about the same abount of space around each one within the cubby, so bigger ones for the tops and smaller, more 'squat' shapes (maybe pedestal candy dishes) for some of the lower sections.

This will create an instant "collection", because some of the shelves are empty, it will still look minimalistic, and if you find good shapes, it will be interesting and tie in to the trim color with minimal investment. It will make the shelves make sense, but not impact a great deal on the room.

Fill them with interesting white items, books, vases, etc. Problem solved.

Gee I have an idea, how about books. Don't you guys like to read?

I really like foust's suggestion of putting lights in them and Shoji screens in the front, turning them into 2 "light" features. Attach the screens with small hooks or adhesive Velcro - there's lots of things it can attach with. Even if you just get a string of LED Christmas lights on each side winding up and down the bookcases, with the screens in front it will look incredible.

Shelves soaked with gasoline + lit match = resolution.

I think whatcha need there is some faux leather black contact paper lining the inside of the bookcases.

another reason they don't look right is because they have arched tops and nothing else does.

I would fill all the shelves up with a solid color of Legos stacked onto of each other.

Covering with drapery is just that..covering it up. We can do better!! Try this:

1) Remove shelves
2) Sand and Paint wood to match wall paint (use an eggshell or satin paint finish)
3) Because you have outlets in each bookshelf, use them! Ikea has some fun paper floor lamps that are tall and could treat these as a feature.
4) Don't want lamps? Try a combo of small framed pieces of art in one niche, and maybe a hanging mobile in the other.

I put some ideas/sketches on my blog if you want to check them out :)

http://mrslemons.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/bookshelf-update/

Wow, it's amazing how many suggestions there are to paint when it was said that painting wasn't an option. I love your shelves but I do agree it's too much wood though I'm not agreeing with comments about the wood not matching the floor as how many of us perfectly match our wood furniture and wood floors. I'd find a removeable way to cover the back of the shelves with some sort of fabric or paper and then the use the shelves for what they were meant for. But if they really bug you I would find a bunch of baskets/boxes the same color as the walls to put on the shelves for storage then I'd hang a tall picture on the shelves to cover up most of the top portion then place a chair on each side underneath the picture. It won't completely cover the shelves but I think it would take some attention away from them without making it look so obvious and they could still serve a purpose.

I never thought built-in bookcases could be the solution in search of a problem, but here we are.

How about cut two pieces of wallboard to fit over the bookcases and then cover the wallboard with wallpaper?

Or build a couple of screens using fabric or wallpaper.

I really think empty shelves will look better than anything you could do to "rig" to hide them.
Just take your time and find interesting objects and books to put on the shelves. It will even be ok to leave a few empty.

Cut up and tape some pieces of foam core together to fit, stretch and staple/glue some fabric over it, and use those 3M Command strips to attach to the shelving frame.

I did something similar to hide a fireplace in my apartment. I hate weird corner fireplaces, and this was cheap.

If you use a sheer covering alternative instead, like stretched canvases, putting some nice glowy lights behind it might be nice for mood lighting.

I think the number of comments on here basically insulting the OP for not having (or wanting, think of that?) anything to put on the shelves are ridiculous. It's THEIR home, if they don't want to use books or go out and buy useless, meaningless knickknacks for THEIR shelves, they don't have to. They didn't ask for suggestions on what to do with them, or what to put on them, they asked for suggestions on how to cover them. People need to learn to read (maybe some of those books you're insisting the OP doesn't read.)

I agree with a previous comment - two nice, long curtains with a tension rod (you can find ones small enough to fit in that tiny recess) or with a wire system, and a simple chair with clean lines on either side of the fire place will cover up the shelves as well as provide more seating and a "homier" atmosphere.

OP, ignore those that choose to insult rather than help.