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 you can very well still have plants in a windowless room- as long as you're willing to give them regular little 'windowsill holidays' in another room. I'd go with succulents, there are some great warm colour combos (see Pinterest for ideas) and the geometric shapes mimic your tiles. Of course, there are some incredible fake ones around too, saw one last week I could not pick from the real thing. I'd be tempted to mix in some of both to balance aesthetics with practicality! Separately, I'd be careful of adding any soft furnishings (rugs, spare towels, etc) to a small powder room. We are all aware these days that a flushed loo spreads germs a meter around it- I wouldn't want to be collecting and trapping them! I think (subtle) fragrance and votives would warm this lovely space without impeding hygiene.

OP, you should also consider energy efficiency & comfort. It's great that you appear to have north facing living areas (with a high proportion of glazing facing this direction). But looking at the elevation picture, it appears you may have too much glass. Overglazing can result in a home that becomes uncomfortably hot, even in winter! This is very dependent on your location & climate. Cooler climates need more exposed north facing glass, & exposed thermal mass (concrete or masonry) to absorb that solar radiation. Warmer climates require less exposed north facing glass & thermal mass, particularly hot humid climates, where exposed thermal mass can be very detrimental. In these climates it's important that northern glass is shaded, even in winter of glass areas are too high. As there's no floor plan, & you haven't mentioned your location, it's hard to tell if you've overglazed with exposed northern glass. Read the following site, & consider your glazing to floor area & glazing to mass ratios. http://yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/thermal-mass

Firstly OP, I believe the NSW government has no rebates for solar (except a minor trial for a low income rebate for solar in selected areas). Only a loan scheme. The main rebate for solar is the STC rebate, which is a federal rebate. Victoria has a state rebate, worth an additional $1,800 (plus another $1,800 as an interest-free loan), or there abouts. But to the crux of your question. If people have an unshaded roof, I think they'd be crazy not to invest in solar PV. Technology has improved over the years, & prices have tumbled. In most areas, single phase homes can have a solar system up to 6.66kW (5kW inverter) installed - any larger than this & export limiting will occur. A system this size can be installed for somewhere around a cost of $5,000 - $6,000. $3,500 to $4,500 in Victoria. With savings on electricity of up to $1,500 a year, payback times average from 3 to 5 years. After that is all profit. Tell we where you can find an investment with these sorts of returns. From you bank, shares, real-estate, I don't think so! If I was building now, not only would I spend a lot of time getting the passive solar design right, & making sure my building envelope was well insulated & air tight (most new Aussie homes are very leaky). I'd also make sure my roof was well designed to accommodate solar panels. This is often not the case in Australia, where we have a fascination for hip & valley tilled roofs. Hint: a rectangular panel doesn't fit well on a triangular roof face. A complex roof, with multiple angular roof faces, over many aspects, will reduce the available area for solar panels. It will complicate the installation, increasing costs. Plus the final result will look like a dog's breakfast. But I'd be going much further than just installing solar panels. I'd be building an all-electric house. Split system reverse cycle AC (heat pump), the most energy efficient, cost effective form of heating. Fans for cooling (AC is energy hungry for cooling). Heat pump hot water, again, the most energy efficient way to heat water - unless you're in northern Australia, where solar thermal water is a good option also. Induction cooking. As responsive as gas. But with even more control over temperature, & far, far easier to clean. This means no gas to the home! A saving of over $300 a year, just in service charges alone! Plus cheaper running costs, especially when powered by solar PV. Installing solar PV & saying no to gas is also far better for the environment. The federal government may tell you that gas is a great transitional fuel, it's not! Why was the CO-VID Commission stacked with gas executives? Jobs for the boys, their fingers in the pie. Not only does combustion of gas create quite a lot of carbon dioxide (about 50% as much as coal). But natural gas (methane) has a global warming potential of 25. That is, it's 25 times worse than carbon dioxide! This means that if only 3% of it leaks into the atmosphere during its extraction, processing or transportation, emissions are just as bad for gas as they are for coal! Progressive government's like the ACT are considering banning natural gas from new developments. Other government's, who are too friendly with the fossil fuel industry, & are addicted to their political donations turn a blind eye to science & tell you gas is great! For anyone on Facebook, who would like to build an energy efficient home, is recommend that join the 'My Efficient Electric Home' (MEEH) group.