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Like something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey, a big, dark monolith dominates many of our gathering rooms. For readers unfamiliar with the reference, that’s Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film featuring a mysterious black monolith.

Our version is the big, black, blank rectangle called the TV. It can be delightful when it’s on, but what about when it’s off? It looks dark and ominous, sometimes overwhelming the room.

Have we created an altar to the TV? And are we moving away from conversations with friends and family?

What about the game room with multiple TVs mounted on the wall? You know, the room where you go to watch games, not play them. Of course, with the right setup, one large TV can display four games at once. NFL RedZone takes it further, showing up to eight games on a single screen. Have we gone too far?

You could put the TV over the fireplace. We do this all the time.

Yet when the fireplace is unlit and the TV is off, we’ve made a big wall of nothingness the focal point of the room.

We can do better. Here are some cures for that big, blank wall:

• Create additional focal points in the room
• Add light to the fireplace
• Add images to the TV

Our Great Room has several focal points. One is the fireplace, which is too often dark. Another is the large window with views of mountains in the distance.

A third focal point used to be a zebra-skin rug. Now, it’s a large painting of an olive tree, lit from above.

During the day, the windows dominate the room. Day or night, the illuminated olive tree is delightful, even when the TV is dark. I just need to work on the fireplace. I’ve voiced my frustration with dark fireplaces before in my blog, Summer Fireplace. The good news is that clever fireplace manufacturers are finding ways to bring fireplaces to life even without a fire. I love the idea of LED lighting that softly highlights the logs.

Our townhome has an electric fireplace that I initially dismissed as cheesy. But I turn it on first thing in the morning at 5 a.m., and it stays on all day, creating light and movement.

Just delightful.

Last but not least, let’s deal with the TV. Did you know that with Apple TV 4K, you can use a shared or personal photo album as a screen saver? Create an album of artwork, and you can turn the black monolith into a delightful rotating display of art.

Choose images that complement the room and let your own gallery unfold. Framed TVs can take the idea a step further, making the TV look like a piece of art even when you’re not watching it. Brilliant!

Another successful approach is to cover the TV when not in use as was demonstrated in the NEXTadventure Show House we designed with interior design firm Lita Dirks & Co. Lita thought the big blank rectangle wasn’t joyful, so she came up with this fun and elegant solution.

So, there is a happy ending for the monolith in the great room. With a little art, a little light, and a little thought, that big wall of nothingness can become something delightful. No space odyssey required!