Does adding downlights to a 70's home add value?

Hi - just as the heading says - we were thinking about adding downlights to the entrance, living area and dining room of a 1970's built home and I was wondering if this would be worth the investment or not. I think it will cost about $1200.

The alternative would be changing the pendant lights to something more modern, which might cost about $600 (at a guess) for purchase and install.

We are planning on selling the house within the next 12 months so the main purpose of either would be to add value for resale.

Thanks

I wouldn't have thought you would get any return on that. What do the existing pendants look like? Can you post a photo?

From someone who bought a 70s home last year I'd say definitely replace the pendant lights. Downlights are fine for task lighting in bathrooms, kitchens etc. It's not worth your while to change them unless you love them & plan to stay in the house. Ikea has some fantastic designer-style pendant lights that look up-to-date & if the next buyer doesn't like them they're easy to change. We were looking for a retro house with original features & immediately discounted all the houses which had the full downlight makeover, as it's a real hassle to undo it.

Thanks so much for your replies..

I won't post a photo as it is a pain downloading from my camera - but they are original 70's part metal (was gold i painted black) part wood with etched glass shade thingo - really dated. We are totally redoing the bathrooms, laundry and hopefully the kitchen so I can't keep them as they will look out of place once everything else is updated.

Its interesting to hear others views because I never would have thought people would discount a house because of downlights - so that is definitely food for thought.

Am leaning a bit towards just changing to new pendants I think..

Thanks again

New pendants will be a more cost effective option, as you're looking at simply replacing an existing fixture as opposed to adding several new downlights per room. Where downlights can add $$$ to a home though (IMO) is when you're stuck with the standard 8ft cielings. Downlights help to streamline the space, and create a more open feel. If you're cielings are 9ft or more, then you can afford to add a contemporary pendant without worrying about it dominating the room.

I have downlights throughout my house for this very reason - low cielings - if I had put in pendants lights you'd feel the need to 'duck' your head as you walked around (if you do go down the downlight path, make sure your sparky spaces them correctly - if you section the cieling into a grid, the distance between each light should be double that of the distance between the light and the wall... if that makes sense?).

Thanks for that Ikon, our ceilings are about 8.5 feet high - i agree I thought down lights would be good for that reason, but it might just mean that we stick with something kind of close to the roof rather than a big hanging pendant...

Hmmm more to think about..

Funny, we are renting a 1940's house and one of the big drawcards was the original light fittings (but then, the 1970's aint the 1940's, and you might have to wait a long time before/if they ever become cool!!)
I'm not a fan of downlights because they are not energy efficient (need to use more of them and they use a higher wattage). Go for a nice pendant or ceiling mounted fitting instead. Have fun!

I would spend the money. They will look much better and $1200 is not a lot of money to spend on lights before you sell. We put new carpet in at $2000, new lights in at $1000 and some ceiling fans (that we used for a year before we sold)... More than made up for in house price. But it depends what type of house you have etc etc..