Whatever you decide - make sure you have a plan on how you are going to change light bulbs. My neighbors have recessed lighting in their great room ceiling. Put in by the previous owners. The current owners don't have a ladder tall enough to change light bulbs.

This is a great reminder, pixie_lou! Thank you!!

I would definitely do lighting that includes uplights to light the ceiling.

Look at houzz.com and you'll see cans attached to the beams, or cable lights that run parallel to the beams. You want the lighting to be most obscured, and put it on dimmers so you can control the amount of light you get. Think about cans in the ceiling carefully as they can be very energy inefficient.

[Traditional Family Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2107) by Seattle Architects & Building Designers jARCHITECTS: Jim Rymsza, AIA

[Contemporary Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Ann Arbor Design-Build Firms Custom Design/Build, Inc.

Hi!
You should buy two huge light fixtures. It will work good- speaking from own experiencie.

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