IMO pot lights for the perimeter keep the chandelier and then use table lamps and floor lamps for the other layers of lighting. If you use all LED 4000K bulbs you will have anice bright space . Paint honestly does not make a room brighter , lighting does that.

Thank you so much, Patricia!

I hate over head lighting except in a kitchen!

plus if its a dark drab space adding bright cool lighting looks horrible.. Ivory palace by behr is a lovely white with a neutral cast. Have lots of lamps and diffused sconces.

Congratulations on your new home. Normally in a South facing room I would say that Chantilly Lace would work. Have you sampled anything? Assuming your flooring and furnishings work with white paint, I would sample Chantilly Lace. If you need more "life" you may want a light cream (which will lean yellow). SW Oyster White (or BM Olympic Mts) is a nice cream that leans yellow, but is not too saturated. BM Strand of Pearls is another. My go-to white is SW Pure White (which is an off white). Whites can seem dingy if you lack natural light, that's why I'm suggesting some creams.

My husband always insists on recessed lighting in all rooms (but we rarely use it in some rooms). Make sure you get dimmers for the recessed lighting.

I’m not a fan of pot lights in an antique home outside of the kitchen. I think your room isn’t that dark but I would consider adding sconces that are period appropriate. They will give a lot of light in addition to lamps. Also a pearl finish to the ceiling will reflect light

Thanks, Cate! My painter won't use Behr but I will look for a similar color in SW or BM.

Thanks, Susie! I haven't sampled yet but next on my list, just trying to narrow it down first

:-)

I recommend BM's Chantilly Lace. I used it and I have a lot of windows all around. I also have exclusively table and floor lamps except in the kitchen. It has never once gone "gray" or "yellow" at any time of day or night. Rather, it has that rich white, white look without veering over into hospital write. A gorgeous color!

Use the dominant natural light to choose the paint color. South and, happily, West needs the same undertones. B.M Misty Gray on the walls; B.M. Chantilly Lace in semi-gloss for wood work; B.M. Chantilly Lace in flat finish for ceilings.

Just a few personal opinions: Many New England homes have 8' ceilings; the 1905 I grew up in had 8 1/2. Pot lights at that height are visually jarring to me and compromise the serenity of an expanse of ceiling. Also, people tend to put in too many because once they decide on that option, more is not excessively costly. The result is a runway look. For an early 1900's home you're dealing with plaster and lath unless someone already tore it out. Once you make holes in that, you can lose the plaster - especially on a ceiling it can pull away from the lath. Then, dusty reno mess and call the sheet rockers.

Thank you TBL from CT! Interestingly , the ceiling for this room seems to already be sheetrocked and have furring strips (we took off the crown molding so we can see a bit). Otherwise, I agree with you, I wouldn't dream of touching it. I like your idea of the "serenity of the expanse of ceiling"-- nice way to describe it. If I do the pot lights, I was thinking 4 over each room, with some space in between so it wouldn't feel as much like a runway. And for sure they would have dimmers. I found it interesting in this post that others who have had them installed tend not to use them!

Thank you, elcieg. Due to the heavy ambered floors and reddish brown wood on the stairs and other aspects of the house, I was thinking about keeping away from gray because I was worried it might clash.. And trying to stick with white that is not too warm lest it feel yellow-y. Someone told me that if I use the same white on trim and walls (but different sheens) I lessen the chance that the walls will look dingy in comparison. But I don't really know what I'm doing and I appreciate all advice. Your suggestion is a very pretty combination!

You also can go with off-whites make your trim pop up.

1. Calm BM

2. American White BM

3. Silver Satin BM

Thank you, Celery. I hadn't even seen those colors! I've been worried that, while making the trim pop, an off-white might look dingy in comparison to the trim. So was thinking about painting it all one color (with trim in a different sheen). But I will check out these colors. Thank you.

Try BM Simply White.

I would try to find vintage ceiling lighting (Art Deco is my preference and fits your home’s time period). Etsy has tons. Otherwise lots of lamps and sconces. No pot lights, please!