Yes! Stretch ceiling will sit perfectly flat, and it never sags, bubbles, peels, flakes, moulds, or fades! It can be installed right over the sagging ceiling, or, if it is in danger of falling, you might choose to knock the existing ceiling out and then install stretch ceiling right over the empty space. You may also want to check to make sure that the floor above isn't sagging, in which case you may need to install a structural column or beam. We carry over 280 colours in high gloss, satin, matte, sandy matte, and canvas textured finishes, as well as translucent, iridescent sparkle, and we have the ability to digitally print any high resolution image on any of the above.

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.

For a "couple of days a year" get a pedestal fan straight on everyone and leave the features in the ceiling. Seriously...I have 12 ceiling fans in my house and two wall mounted fans...the wall mounted fans are so much more effective then ceiling (and I don't know where you live, but did you know fans have a "summer" and "winter" setting??). Most people don't. Tip: turn the fan off before changing the setting.

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!