I would not mix LED and CFL they have different looks and LED s are much cheaper to run. You can find a fixture you like and switch out most with LEDs, we have been slowly changing all of our halogen lighting to LEDs now that the LEDs come in higher wattages. We have 70 halogen lights in our house so I am doing 12 at a time, love the change. I like the fact that you can have a lot more lights off the same circuit too.

Thank you roj leather and Simon for your recommendations. I like the hanging chair and the almanda creeper on the wall. This will certainly liven up the patio.

I think the most important thing for you to do to your bedroom is to make it look interesting. I wouldn't worry about whether the walls are light or dark, as long as things are well lighted, with dimmer controls. I love the bedroom below. If I were copying this bedroom, I'd place mirrors in the framed area above each nightstand. Those white art pieces made with small branches that are above the bed are from Z Gallerie and run about $39 each. Pretty cool!

I drew a very crude sketch, definitely not to scale, of how I see your room working. Essentially, you could treat it as two separate seating areas, which makes for easier and more intimate conversation when entertaining a lot of people. Trying to have everyone facing each other in a large room just won't work, and makes for very awkward conversation. I find that at parties and get-togethers, people go off in smaller groups of two to four, then mingle and move around the room to chat with different people. So, to that end, you could establish two conversation areas that will each seat six to eight people. You can also have some of your dining room chairs upholstered and comfortable enough to carry into the entertaining area to create extra seating here. In the far corner by the window, I placed a chair and ottoman, so that is seating for two, and before the get-together, you could place a couple of your dining room chairs over there to create a other small grouping for four. You should still have enough open area in this large space for some people to stand and move around, which a lot of people prefer to do at a party (I know I do!). The bright yellow sofa is a modern take on the old ?English sofa, which in think is the perfect foil to your ultra-modern sectional. The yellow is a bright, cheery - and unexpected - color, but works nicely with white and just says "fun" to me! The small blue tub chair(s) would be placed at an angle facing your white sectional, so you would establish a color,scheme of white, blue and yellow. To this, you could add black, Gray and darker blues through your accessories and artwork. The little blue ceramic drum stool adds a touch of the exotic (and more fun) and is easy to move around as a small side table to set drinks on.