Cloudyhaze....I think all of the options look good, but it just depends on the look you personally wish to have for your house, because painting the ceiling white will COMPLETELY change the look. My sister has just bought a place that had brick walls and exposed ceilings that had the beams painted mission brown and the ceiling was in some form of raw chipboard type material. She wanted to brighten the place up before she moved in and got it all painted white. It looks beautiful, but I personally would have thought of other options before painting the brick etc. She got a quote for plastering (sheeting) the sections in between the exposed ceiling beams and it was a lot more expensive than painting. If you are keen to paint just the panelling in the ceiling, then I would get additional quotes. I am no painter but I would suspect if it has shellac on it, it will just need an initial sealer on it, before putting on the 2 coats of flat ceiling paint. I think all of the options will look beautiful, because the high ceilings are the feature.........it just depends on whether you are going for a more rustic look, mid-century look , more modern look...I am not sure of what all the designs are called. Good Luck. Your house is gorgeous. My sister lives on Gold Coast BTW.

You never mentioned your budget that you're willing to spend. You could add a thicker fill backed insulation blanket - 50mm, 75mm or 100mm are the common thicknesses. Steep roof pitch so would need scaffolding, harnesses, etc.. which adds up quickly. Probably still not enough insulation though but probably cheapest option. Insulation under existing timber linings then reline over the top of that as some have suggested. Working at height though so would need scaffold set up again and working overhead is not fun nor easy. You could replace the roof with a sandwich panel roof. Try Versiclad or Kingspan or comparable. They have a polystyrene type of insulation between an outer metal roof sheet and a metal inner sheet. These are heat laminated together. Again different thickness available from 50mm up to 180mm is common. The 180mm has a R rating of 4.7 which is quite good. Again steep pitch, etc., probably need new ridge capping, etc.. Probably most expensive option...... Keep us all posted on your decision though!

in our old home we had traditional vinyl tiles throughout the living areas, kitchen, entry and laundry and they were able to be polished to a high or low sheen We've used the same type of vinyl tiles in our new home renovation ..the new ones, called Armstrong Branco 30cm square vinyl tiles, have been laid, sealed and polished once in September 2105 and, without more than an occasional wipe over with a damp mop, still look great although, because we live in a cold climate we do have some carpet and rugs for warmth and to save our poor old dog from skidding on the shiny floor

Hello Dean - what a stunning location! I strongly recommend that you paint your internal walls, and cathedral ceiling ( in fact, all ceilings, doors, door and window architraves, etc) in a neutral wall and ceiling colour scheme. The key to whether you have brown or grey (or another colour) undertone lies in the colour of your floorboards, which I assume are being laid throughout the house, with rugs thrown on top to add warmth, and denote areas. If you can let me know what colour of floorboard you have chosen, or are drawn to, I can recommend wall and trim colours. Donna White Interior Design - Classic Design with a Twist