Ahh the Christmas tree, I know exactly what you mean Pazz. Over the years, we've seen it all, there are many who have more lights than plasterboard on their ceiling and then on the opposite end of the spectrum 1 light per room. In the end, lighting is definitely a personal choice because there's a 3 fold effect that many don't often realise. 1. You need to be comfortable with the amount of lighting in your home. 2.You need to think of the initial cost, the more lights, the more it will cost in product (actual lights) and electrician fees 3. The running costs, even with energy saving lights, there is an increased cost with having so many lights on at one time. Good Luck, with the lighting plan Pazz, I'm keen to see how your new house turns out, you got some really great finishes going in by the looks of it from previous posts.

Hi Kristen! Yes to the downlighter but no to the brass sorry : ( The other metals I can see on your facade are aluminium (ie silver/grey) in the windows and white painted steel or iron on the railing. So I would pick from either of those. White lights would look pretty naff imho, so am suggesting silver/grey- anodised aluminium or stainless steel. A stainless or aluminium uplighter/downlighter [as per @Asquithoakley's third pic] would look good on the garage wall as the fixture is down low enough for uplighting to look great. Downlighter-only version of that would look good upstairs as the fixtures are up high. Both would wash the bricks with light and create lovely depth and pattern.

When I started doing reno's, that was one of the first things I wanted to replace but the cheapest quote I could find was a touch under $3000 and that was from some random guy from Gumtree that I could barely understand. Everyone else looked upwards of $4000 and that's just for installing the new gyprock ceiling. I had plenty of other things that I needed to do the place, so I quickly ruled that one out. But now after living there, I don't even see the vermiculite anymore. I'll just try and work around it. My thoughts now are to... 1) Remove the ceiling fan. Get a pendant light (either 2, 3 or 4 from my very first photo). Keep the bar light. 2) Replace the existing fan with something more modern. Replace the oyster light with an understated ceiling mount fixture, or just keep the oyster.

I would engage a lighting designer, or get one of the Beacon lighting designers to help you with those glary spotlights. Your proposed lighting plan looks like a builder's dumb-down approach to lighting, and is commonly used in display homes to feature the home, but can be quite challenging to live with. There are so many other choices that will add warmth and character and more options to how you use those rooms. Nothing worse than the glare and reflection on a TV screen from ceiling downlights. Consider wall sconces, standard lamps, concealed LED strips in cabinetwork, and pendants to give you more flexibility and better quality lighting that is more suited to the use of the spaces, with less car showroom ambience. Keep the intense lights to your kitchen task areas such as benchtops, and some consideration to side lighting your shaving mirror. Your downlight above your bathroom vanity is only good for cleaning it, and it will cast deep shadows on your face when shaving or doing make-up (and add ten years to your age in the mirror). Dr Retro