If you do put can lights in, put them on a dimmer switch. Take into consideration if you want to hang pendant lights/chandeliers somewhere. Maybe not now, but in the future? What would be a logical place for electrical points in the ceiling for those. Another thought, the beam that's running under the strip of windows (above the half wall) would maybe be nice to put uplighters on? Like in the pic below: An ideabook about lighting (there are more interesting ideabooks about that subject on Houzz), follow the link under the pic: https://www.houzz.com/magazine/5-questions-to-ask-for-the-best-room-lighting-stsetivw-vs~8362447

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.

Well after a very (very very very) long time my Living Room is all but complete. There is some work to do behind the new steps and some trim to be put on the bookshelves. A light is to be put between the couches (that the electrical cable hanging down) and the wall lights are going to be removed. So just a quick rundown on what has been achieved; Two sky windows - Velux - roofing guy Sheeted under the beams - plasterer New carpet – Bunnings – carpet layer Closed off the old bar and put in a door – builder and plasterer Installed ceiling fans – Hunter, remote control, reversible – electrician Installed downlights - electrician Painted the endwalls – Solver Paint but Dulux Chine White colour - me Painted the ceiling – 2 x coats Solver Ceiling White over 2 x coats plaster board sealer - me New blinds (venetians) and curtains - from Spotlight - me Installed a gas bayonet heater (until I can afford a gas ‘wood’ fire for the fireplace – cripes they are expensive) – secondhand from Garage Sale - me Installed bookshelves – 2 x 202mm high + 2 x 106mm high Billy Bookshelf and 2 x Brimnes Cabinet - me Built and installed new steps and bench top on bookshelf – laminated Beech bench top, cut to size and routed, stained and oiled - me Sofas – Ikea Ektorp - me So some things I would have done differently. The downlights would be warm white not welding mask white. In fact I would re-think the whole light thing and possibly use lights with reflectors that were dark so that light was only reflected down. They would ‘lower’ the ceiling and make the room cosier I think. I kinda like the ceiling fans but had seen some which were awesome but really expensive. Then I saw ones very similar to the awesome ones but much cheaper but by then it was too late. I should have put bi-fold doors where the old bar was instead of a swinging door. I suspect that it will be unlikely now that I can use the room for its intended purpose. In fact with hindsight I coulda shoulda done the job myself rather than getting a builder in. It’s not as good as it should be and that has disappointed me. The bookshelves have come a up a treat – need to finish them off though with some trim. All from ‘Ikea’ except for the timber bench top. The bench top was a light bulb moment and breaks up the all-white appearance of the shelves. Also the white of the shelves and the white of the cabinet were slightly different and the bench has helped disguise that. The bench top and the steps were laminated beech panels from ‘Bunnings’ that I had cut to size. I stained them, put a router over the edge to round it off and then coated with Tung Oil. The bookshelves look bigger in real life than they do in the photos too. So now to sit and enjoy my handy work.

HI Caitlin, If you paint the wood on the wall- the pattern is still going to come through – it will still look busy. The bricks are definitely a feature in the fire end of the room. If the wood paneling was removed and the window wall plastered (expensive) – or bricks painted a light colour or white washed as another option all the way down the right side to the fire wall, the room will instantly feel much bigger. It also will tie in with the odd white brick in the wall which will bring the look together beautifully. The cork tiles ( I have them to) I’m told can be painted a lighter colour which will pull the room together. I’m guessing you in Australia – there is a product called ESP ( Easy Surface Preparation) Takes a while to dry. On the left near the table there is a dark cabinet of some kind – do you really need it there? Take it out of the room if you can. If a lower one was placed there – in a lighter colour- ( I see something light down the fire end - a mirror could be placed here to reflect what light there is into the room. The cushions are dark on the lounge and there is no colour in here. A coloured runner on the table with a coloured bowl tied in with similar colours in cushions on the lounge would also look amazing and are cheap fixes Lastly, the lounge while comfortable is big and bulky, play around with the way its set up. Move the double lounge against the window – which will open up that end – even though it will block out bottom light I think will still look good. Place a small rug down and lose the wing chair. It will be intimate cosy and not squashed. Would love to see final picture in what you decide to do.