before cutting, you could take some newspaper and lay over the gold and/or the red to
"audition" what it would then look like.
I think the spirit of what the artist was going for is escaping you and you might
be focused on the busyness of the gold (intricate) border.
You could remove it and move it to corner blocks on the outer edges.
You have me intrigued now...would really love to see what you do with it.