I agree with Greg - if you want to brighten it up, you need to just paint it white. Use a regular ceiling white. Then get 1 or 2 of the high wattage up-light lamps. You can get decent ones really cheap and with the white ceiling, they really brighten a room without actually seeing the lights shining all over. I don't like the halogen because they get so hot, but they do sell regular incadesent ones too. I have one that takes (3) 100 wt. bulbs.