One trip down the lighting isle of any big box store and you see the perplexed looks on prospective buyer faces. It is just TOO much confusing data to choose a light bulb anymore. LED colors have come a long way from the early blue "Am I in the morgue?" look. It gets better and better as each new generation of lamps emerges. Sadly, you can't tell by the label conclusively what you will get. You have to put one in your fixture to see what it does and how YOU like it. Yes, LED saves huge amounts on electricity because, simply, they are lower wattage. They last far longer than traditional bulbs and the prices are falling, however, the payback time on the electricity savings takes a while. Over the life of the lamp, you will save on the total cost of light. LEDs are not light bulbs. They have components called drivers that can sometimes go bad so remember, it's not always the lamp itself. Not all LEDs are created equal. Not all LEDs work will all dimmers. Some, despite claims, don't work on dimmers at all. So Caveat emptor. Know the brand and check with the manufacturer if you aren't sure. You may decide on an integrated fixture. Not a bad idea, however when it goes out, you replace the whole fixture. Remember that LED is NOT the only or best lighting solution in many cases. There are few LEDs that can rival the crisp, elegant look of halogen lighting. Under cabinet lighting is perfect for LEDs but get the color temp between 2700K and 3000K, which is what most humans prefer. For garages and closets, LED is a GREAT choice. Personally, I put dimmers on EVERY switch, in the walk-in closets, in case you want your robe in the middle of the night, in bathrooms, and especially in living areas. If you stay with incandescent, dim them way down and they will suck less energy and last a lot longer than their rated life. Be careful dimming fluorescents. They often buzz when dimmed. If you are looking for MR-16 LEDs, choose Soraa. You will pay a handsome price, but you will get the most magnificent LED light available. The inventor of that lamp won a Nobel Prize for it. Since almost all LEDs are made in China under various labels, be careful. There are quality differences. If you go cheap, you will give up features and might not get the color you are looking for. Even name brand companies have had massive recalls. There's almost too much to know just to just run out and buy a light bulb anymore. If you have a lighting showroom nearby, drop in and eyeball different lighting vignettes. They should be able to advise you on color options.

Well after a very (very very very) long time my Living Room is all but complete. There is some work to do behind the new steps and some trim to be put on the bookshelves. A light is to be put between the couches (that the electrical cable hanging down) and the wall lights are going to be removed. So just a quick rundown on what has been achieved; Two sky windows - Velux - roofing guy Sheeted under the beams - plasterer New carpet – Bunnings – carpet layer Closed off the old bar and put in a door – builder and plasterer Installed ceiling fans – Hunter, remote control, reversible – electrician Installed downlights - electrician Painted the endwalls – Solver Paint but Dulux Chine White colour - me Painted the ceiling – 2 x coats Solver Ceiling White over 2 x coats plaster board sealer - me New blinds (venetians) and curtains - from Spotlight - me Installed a gas bayonet heater (until I can afford a gas ‘wood’ fire for the fireplace – cripes they are expensive) – secondhand from Garage Sale - me Installed bookshelves – 2 x 202mm high + 2 x 106mm high Billy Bookshelf and 2 x Brimnes Cabinet - me Built and installed new steps and bench top on bookshelf – laminated Beech bench top, cut to size and routed, stained and oiled - me Sofas – Ikea Ektorp - me So some things I would have done differently. The downlights would be warm white not welding mask white. In fact I would re-think the whole light thing and possibly use lights with reflectors that were dark so that light was only reflected down. They would ‘lower’ the ceiling and make the room cosier I think. I kinda like the ceiling fans but had seen some which were awesome but really expensive. Then I saw ones very similar to the awesome ones but much cheaper but by then it was too late. I should have put bi-fold doors where the old bar was instead of a swinging door. I suspect that it will be unlikely now that I can use the room for its intended purpose. In fact with hindsight I coulda shoulda done the job myself rather than getting a builder in. It’s not as good as it should be and that has disappointed me. The bookshelves have come a up a treat – need to finish them off though with some trim. All from ‘Ikea’ except for the timber bench top. The bench top was a light bulb moment and breaks up the all-white appearance of the shelves. Also the white of the shelves and the white of the cabinet were slightly different and the bench has helped disguise that. The bench top and the steps were laminated beech panels from ‘Bunnings’ that I had cut to size. I stained them, put a router over the edge to round it off and then coated with Tung Oil. The bookshelves look bigger in real life than they do in the photos too. So now to sit and enjoy my handy work.

Beautiful bath. If you love the taps and shower head then go for it. Again, it is your house and you have to look at them everyday so pick something you love and don't worry about anyone else :)

The whole project continues to be a sad, exhausting back and forth! Large amounts of money has already been put into the design process with various draftsman and designers now. The lift has begun and I only have a narrow window t change things. I just really want peace and resolution of the space inside and out. Street appeal means alot to me and I am not sure how to acheive this with the current facade and also pay homage to the home. I understand that most opinions on this feed seem to be negative. Is there anything positive about our plan? I am not sure what is meant by a house with many rooms? Are the rooms not functional?? The interior was governed by so much structuely that this was the least expensive way upstairs to provide 3 bedrooms, storage and an office space for my husband and myself/and our children combined. This process has honestly been an exhausting and very costly journey. The current interior designer gave suggestions of having a large window in the front bedroom walk ins. We can open this windows right up to allow for breeze and put plantation shutters up to allow for privacy behind the windows. The front bottom windows can do the same. The back window above the staircase could be all louvred to allow for breeze as well as the library. The downstairs all opens up with screened sliders. If anyone can suggest better types of windows for the current home and specific materials and maybe a drawing of how best to honour the facade of the old home whilst being practical I would be very grateful.