As chookchook said in her recommendation about painting, put a drop cloth on the floor. Get a very safe ladder. remove the lightbulbs, and cover the outlets. Turn off the electricity to the chandelier. Then spray it with a mild cleaner (I use one I found at Target that's basically water with vinegar, until it's dripping wet. Start at the bottom and work your way up, so you don't have dirty spray dripping on the bottom of the chandelier.Work your way up and down until the dripping spray is clean. The chandelier may be gorgeous and expensive, but it seems totally out of place in the architecture of the room--more at home in a chalet than a sunny room with a window wall. I would probably try to find a way to get it removed, and sell it to someone who appreciated it better than I.

Despite previous opinions I have to say this - DON'T GET DOWN LIGHTS!!!! We had them in our previous home. They were constantly blowing no matter what kind of bulb used. The casings kept breaking. This meant we couldn't just change the bulb ourselves. It drove me mental. They spotlight certain parts of a room instead of lighting the whole room so when one of our main "culprits" kept blowing in the kitchen, I had no lighting above that bench until we could get an electrician in. More than one electrician told us they are a serious fire hazard. I will never have them again!

Lighting - pendants over the servery bench should be another feature that complements your chosen kitchen surfaces. So whilst I love the copper pendants in picture 1.. They could work depending on the rest of your decor and would be a highlight in a neutral white/timber kitchen = Good! If you choose copper you would complement it with a couple of copper bench top items. These are beautiful! (I collect copper because I love it, my kitchen pendants are silver, I renovated to sell in the next 3-5 years) You will see a picture starting to form in your mind and there is nothing wrong with making a statement with your lighting. I found that when I wasn't sure I would get a very strong sense of what was right and what was wrong for a space, then common sense or passion would determine the outcome! Here are another couple that might work, look her on Houzz under lighting, search pendants, then have fun looking!Timber tones with black or white to complement your cabinets... or Statement white pendants for a bit of quirky fun! Your personality can be reflected in your lighting and accessories creating that point of difference from the predictable white on timber look. Plus don't forget the power of greenery to punctuate the theme!

Thank you everyone for your ideas. We are about to paint the walls an off white - double merino, and thought we might paint the doors and pelmets the same and now after reading your comments I think we will leave the timber beams and paint the ceiling between them the same as the walls, and will consider the bar supports too. What do people think about painting ceilings, doors and walls the same colour?