Lighting

Lights .. I have to admit that trying to get the lighting right has been one of the bigger headaches of the build so far. We want to use energy efficient globes (i.e. compact fluoro) not just for the environment but also for the sake of our bank balance as electricity tariffs here in the west are set to rise significantly over the next two years. We have decided that we will use the lighting from the display home as a guide but where SPH have used halogen downlights, we will install a compact fluoro downlight. So as part of our electrics plan discussed at pre-start, we had the batten fixings removed from the living / family rooms, study, Bedroom 1, ensuite and Home Theatre rooms and replaced with a junction box placed in the ceiling.

For the other rooms I am going to fit a DIY batten fixture and a CFL globe.

In what we thought was a step away from the 'mainstream' (but which we now find is common in some of the more recently built display homes) we have decided to use downlights with white surrounds instead of the brushed chrome that seems popular. The reason being is that they are, after all, just lights and not everything in a room has to be a 'feature'. So, the downlights will look like this;

For the al fresco and portico, we are using Fozz 'Opera' because of it's water and dustproof capabilities.

The one bit of lighting bling in the family / kitchen / dining area will be three pendant lights over the island bench.

It's not all CFL though, for the Home Theatre we are usig halogens, (I am having a HPM SuperDimmer as the switch and it only works with halogen lights) but am also trying to go for a cinema feel for the room and are using these;

With the exception of a ceiling fan for the al fresco area and one for the Main Bedroom, that's about it.