Every spring I rake away heavy layers of wet, matted leaves that look awful. Not only do they look bad but they suffocate everything underneath them. I have mostly maple, oak and ash...am I doing something wrong? Yes, you are removing the best natural mulch. ;) It is one that is also far more effective than wood chips at keeping down weeds and it replaces itself every year instead of you having to do all the work of replacing the wood chips every year. But if you don't like its looks just put your wood chips on top of it. To plant annuals just move the leaves aside, plant and put the leaves back in place. Any perennials will come up right through the leaves. Leaf mulch doesn't suffocate anything underneath it - instead it feeds whatever is there, stabilizes the soil moisture levels, and blocks the light that the needs need to sprout. Dave

Hampton Bay is a Home Depot brand and made by various manufactures in China. So unless you travel to China the only place to get parts is HD. But you may be able to retrofit a down-facing light from another manufacturer. The wiring is going to be bascially the same, the connectors are probably not, but you can cut those off and wire it directly. The fixture will be attached to the bottom of the light fixture and you may need to drill holes and bolt it on. The problem is getting access to it. But if you installed it I assume you can get it back down. If that is too much you may be able to get some screen material and fashion a cover, but that will retain heat. I assume bulb replacement is a pain too at that height. My old place had a two story stairwell with a hanging fixture. The only way for me to replace the bulb was to use a long stick with a hook to grab the fixture and pull it to the balcony and stretch over the railing and replace the bulb. It sure was a dusty fixture because it hardly ever got dusted!

In general (I can't speak for MA), code does not allow exposed house-voltage wires (120 Volts or 240 Volts). This is one of the reasons why there are so many low-voltage under-cabinet lighting systems. Low voltage wires can be run without conduit - at least where I live! Because they are low voltage they do not pose a danger of electrocution should they be breached. So you can mount the lights toward the front of the cabinets. I suggest you ask the question to your contractor differently, and ask what the options are for low voltage lighting.

I have a 38" wide powder room. Either mirror width is fine, but I'd go with the 30" height when using an overhead light. Mine is 19" x 26" and I can see from the waist up. I think a three light will provide more light than you need in a powder room. I have one with 75 watt bulbs over a 36" vanity in my guest bath as my only light. You might just need a lower wattage bulb. The double lights look odd to me, so I'd look at the bath bar style of lighting if your mirror is a rectangle. [Bath bar example[(https://www.houzz.com/products/jax-2-light-bathroom-fixture-prvw-vr~15989563)