Lighting is so much about personal preference. There is a huge resurgence in the market for antique style light bulbs, and done right, they are cool. Why these vintage style lamps were made in LED is beyond comprehension. Other exposed bulb types in hip and traditional clear fixtures can bring a nice sparkle to a room as as decorative accent, NOT for work lighting or reading (even menus)! My rule of thumb is "a light bulb should never hit you in the eye". I cannot stress enough the importance of the right light bulb in the right fixture by design. I have neighbors with those clear pillar lights for lighting outdoors. The big box stores are full of them. When I drive past this house on the way home, it nearly blinds me. It creates disharmony. It is not beautiful, it is offensive to my eye and my psyche. I would close my eyes going by if it weren't unsafe. Well designed, proper lighting creates an experience, subliminal or otherwise. If you are not glaringly aware of lighting in a room after you appreciate the ambiance, a good designer was at work.

I think if you replace front door and glass panels as well as the old fashioned lights with something more contemporary it will make a huge improvement. I'd also remove the ironwork and as you cannot re-glaze place some pots and plants on the sides of the large windows to draw the eye away from all the green cross pieces on the windows. Eventually paint the gutters fascia in a light grey/green.

Go with your gut Tracy..... it is a big investment but I have found that if it makes you smile every time you walk into your kitchen you'll never regret it!!!! I've recently moved into a smaller downsized home with my 3rd black kitchen, with drawers, no cupboards, except for the pantry which we use as the crockery and wine glasses stash. Mine is matt but no handles = no hip bangers! I chose to use snow white stone bench tops, the walls are painted natural white while the floors are pale oak hybrid vinyl.

Thank you everyone! Between you all you have summed up my concerns (changing bulbs, enough detail already in the stairwell, honouring the old house) and my desires (a nice lantern pendant or period light, LEDs need less changing, overhead lighting. I like the idea of the wall lights but we have not wired for this. There is wiring for for stair lighting (phew, glad we got that right) and one down light in the middle of the void. We have reconsidered a pendant as the one down light will be harder to change but are worried about obscuring the windows. Perhaps one of the simple fine-framed lantern pendants or white vintage light, on chains will be easier to change as we can pull it across to the stair, or a pulley pendant like this I'll post some more photos of our reno once its further on.