I see this is a very old thread , with lots of comments . I've just skim read them , but I haven't seen anyone suggest anything like my 'top-of-my-head' idea -- I love the wood , and the white contrast , but pretty boring . Whats your favourite colour , or what ties in with the other rooms ? It might be blue or red or yellow or orange or green , as examples . So paint the skirting board and around the door a pastel shade of your choice , and add a small 30cm x 30cm abstract painting featuring that colour as the primary dominant one , above ( or possibly below , or maybe even get 2 matching/complementary ones ) the control panel . One lighting crowd suggested glass shades -- I'd actually go for someothing large but wooden , in much the same shade as your floors and steps , with LED bulbs -- you can get some stunning ones around 80-100 cm in diameter ( sort of a star ball shape ) for $300-400 . Total budget then $500 plus a painter and maybe electrician , unless you DIY .

We're in a large apartment with sliding glass doors facing west (lounge/dining and bedroom 2) and east (main bedroom, kitchen) each with a full length balcony/patio areas (4&5m deep and 6.5m wide). With this set up we get a fantastic cross breeze that cools down our entire home within minutes of the sliding doors being opened after a cool change arrives in summer. Our front (western) facing sliding doors get the hot afternoon sun so in summer we put up the outdoor umbrellas (soon to be outdoor awning blinds) that keep the sun off our windows and make entertaining out there more comfortable in the late afternoons reducing glare. We also find that we chase the sun/shade (depending on the season) when we're eating outdoors and entertaining so for summer, we use our western side in the morning where it's shady and cool and the eastern side of an evening and vice versa in winter. In the full length planter boxes on our western balcony we've put in rosemary which has grown up and provides a little extra protection against afternoon glare. We don't have air con and manage quiet well for the majority of summer exception of those two or three days each year that are super hot we close the whole apartment up, draw all the curtains and blinds, turn on the faithful Dimplex tower fan and resort to cool showers, salads and ice blocks.

I'm from a European background ... Italian and Catholic. Christmas means celebrating the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. I hold onto generations of passed down tradition ... We celebrate December 6th as St. Nicholas Day (European Father Christmas) ... this is the day that all the house & garden decorations go up! We celebrate January 6th as The Epiphany (this is the 12th day of Christmas - when the Kings went back home) ... this is the day that all decorations get packed away. That's one month of relevant religious dates/events ... just enough time to truly appreciate celebrating the birth of Jesus with family and friends - whether gift giving or not - and "ooh-ing and ahh-ing" over the home Christmas decorations without getting bored with them.

Joyful House is a great name!