Stush, as you do too:-) Like I said, come the spring, e-mail me and I will share what you like. Xuan! What a cutie you have there. She is so adorable, better than a jade! I'll bet you are having a lot of fun with her now, even more so than your plants.......:-) So good to see you are doing well! I hope it is still warm there..lol Laura...That's awesome. Wait until you go. You will be in heaven and a lot poorer...hhehehe Laura, Laura! I am so happy you love it. I KNOW it's in safe hands...You know I will save you a cutting! You must remind me though, oh, about April if the warmer weather ever returns:-) And, where was my call????:-) This post was edited by meyermike_1micha on Sat, Dec 1, 12 at 14:50

Oh, I never thought about the ceiling not being painted underneath the box. Actually, I guess I didn't really think my ceilings were painted. I just thought that the plaster or whatever it is that gives it that "knockdown" texture was just white and wasn't actually painted over. After our 1 year inspection (when the builder has someone come out and fix nail pops and ceiling cracks from the house settling) the guy gave me a little baggie of plaster stuff used for the ceiling. He said that if I ever needed to fix a crack in the ceiling, it would be impossible to match the same white with paint or other plaster mix, so he gave me the same stuff as what was originally used (I have no idea what happened to it--it's long gone now). I suppose that is why I thought the ceiling wasn't painted. Could I be correct, or are these types of ceilings always painted?

I don't have any photo's, but in one house they ran a large crown molding around the bottom edge placing some up-lighting hidden behind it. Then they added some recessed cans around the lower soffit ceiling. In another house they just cleaned it up, and added a small crown around the top with some recessed cans. In our case, we bit the bullet and ripped it all out right up to the ceiling joists, returning the entire ceiling back to normal height. The original dropped ceiling ran down the hall all the way to the front door, so it cost us a bit more, but it was well worth it.

Hi darbuka & B F, Sorry to hear that you two feel differently with the light fixture suggestions but the OP, Missi, did ask for ideas and decorative lighting suggestions. We are simply offering those ideas and suggestions. Given the space as it is, which is still a work in progress, it would be hard to say for sure whether recessed lighting--or any other type of lighting, be it decorative or functional, or both--is the way to go. Sometimes, people just need some inspirational ideas and having photos as well as the availability of different types of light fixtures that can be possibly made can help home owners decide which way to move forward--with what colors to paint the walls, with what furniture to buy, with what decor, artwork, & decorative pieces to accentuate the space with, etc. It's a fairly common practice to look and see what other colors and furniture are in the space, which is the more traditional route to go about this but what if the space hasn't been fully built or remodeled yet? Or hasn't been fully conceptualized or determined yet? What does the interior designer do in those cases? The answer to that depends on the interior designer, their professional experience, and how they approach a space. No two interior designers will make the same judgment call for the same set of colors, space, furniture arrangement, and budget. In other words, it's purely subjective on what will ultimately end up there and will usually involve a combination of the interior designer's input and suggestions and the home owner's wants and needs. Our sister brand, Luxe Light and Home, can make the above light fixtures but they also have the manufacturing capacity and expertise to customize all of their light fixtures to fit the space as desired by the home owner. For example, this is a customized 'rectangular' version of the Tessa that was made for a client's dining room: This is a customized oval-shaped Roxi Chandelier that was made for the great room for a different client: This is a customized vertical Lucia that was made for a farmhouse: Home owners looking for a specific look or has specific space requirement needs won't be able to achieve that using generic-looking light fixtures sold at hardware stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, Menard's, etc. Sometimes, it really is worth it to spend a little more for better quality lighting. That being said, if showing decorative lighting ultimately pushes the OP to actually hire a professional interior designer and make the decision that recessed lighting is the better route to go, then isn't that a way of helping the OP? We think so. Very Best, Tai Truong Elements of Design 3400 Medford Street Los Angeles, CA 90063 tai@lusivedecor.com www.elementsofdesign.com