high ceiling and a lower ceiling....colour of wall

[ineedhelp229]

Hi,
I have an open plan kitchen/ diner/ extension.......all lead into one another.
the diner room floor to ceiling is approx 2460mm. the extension is 2300mm. i find the ceiling in the extension is quite low and the last time i decorated, i painted the walls a light cream/magnolia.

There was an ikea 2 screw type bulb shade in the middle . The combination of the wall colour and the lighting gave the room a sleepy dull feel.

I was going to install 12x downlights in the diner and 12x in the extension. Ive been thinking about it and may decide to put in bar or either square spotlights to keep costs down(spots are cheaper).

1. What type of lighting is going to liven up the mood in the room?, downlights or spots in the extension?... bearing in mind the diner lighting will have to match.( or are there any other suggestions)

2. what colour should I paint the walls to liven up the mood? I was thinking white as i had painted my bedroom white and its nice and bright or is it too harsh?


Hope you can help

 

[joe-90]

24 downlighters at 20 watts each? Why did they bother to ban the old 100 watt bulb with people like you around? And why are you talking about economy?