Thank you...........very educational..........

US lights are wired on different voltage, but I bought some pendant lights back to Aus for a friend once and she just had them re-wired. I am also running a US floor lamp on an adapter and I've had no trouble with it. Good luck!

Before replacing your curtains as this can be quite expensive for such a large window, if they are in good condition, add a band of extra fabric to the bottom in what ever suits you, your existing curtain track can then be moved up to the ceiling for good looking full length curtains without the large round eyelets, could save you a lot of money, I would look at replacing/removing the sheers cheers

Yes Jacqueline, we are in Qld, and at the moment, the humidity is stifling. Not much breeze til late afternoon for months and we're not going to have air con in for at least the first Summer. I get those fans don't work for you but builder hasn't batted an eyelid, ha ha! I must admit, I don't love obstructing the kitchen pendants but I have small kids and our dining table is a homework space, crafting bay, meeting point with friends for morning teas, etc, not just a dinner table, so it's imperative we have a fan somewhere in this space. We currently have the same layout of dining, living, kitchen and there is just one fan between the dining and living and it does absolutely nothing for anyone in either of those rooms (I currently have two pedestals blaring, ha ha!), so it was high on my list to amend...somehow! As for the lights, I'm glad you have confidence in Beacon. I wasn't sure how much of their advice centres on design vs functional layout of lighting. I think your idea of many dimmers is great! I had requested it already for master and MPR (front lounge area) but wondered if I would be being pedantic seeing them elsewhere. But I think it would be great to be able to dim the lights in the living area as you're winding down for the evening, maybe reading a book or just creating some atmosphere. Thanks for your input.