The designer you hired to create the plans for your 150K + renovation will also create a lighting plan for the remodel. The electrician will need the plan in order to run the rough electrical to the right spots in the home. That is always one of the first things done after demolition, as then you can close up the walls and ceiling and patch the drywall and move on to the next steps.

Since you have multiple questions that are technical and design-related, I'd definitely take Sophie's advice and hire a full service pro to help. Even if the reno comes in stages, nothing can replace a comprehensive plan that considers it all.

BTW: Electrical plans aren't for those who aren't into detail and/or have strong conceptual ideas of exactly what they need. It's easy to see one, think "hey, a professional laid this out", and call it good. But from experience, you'll want to spend at least twice the time you ever thought you would considering even the best-laid plan.

Since you live in the space currently, this is a perfect opportunity to evaluate some very simple existing electrical- and plan for the best before you start. EX: Too many homes have some of the most randomly placed plug-in outlets- useless, and mars wall space. You get to plan for that ahead of time, based on your individual space needs.

So many considerations, before you even get to style (or in conjunction with, if you're smart)- Everything from "do you want to hang a TV (and where), will you have wall sconces (and where), will there be ceiling cans, do you have adequate task lighting, what sort of ambient lighting will you have (and where), do you have spaces where your furniture will "float", and does that point to the need for floor outlets that can be easily hidden by area rugs- so that you don't have cords randomly stretched all over. Will you have ceiling fans (where-what height?), and that's just a few of the major electric decisions. And then you get to consider low-voltage items, like so you want surround sound (or even prewiring for it?), speakers in the walls/ceilings, a security system, upgraded wiring that can handle the latest in high speed Internet technology (and even plan for future increases. And bottom line, in an apartment, considerations need to be made based on existing infrastructure.

This and more can all be planned for, installed correctly with the right wiring, is a lot less expensive than retro-fitting, and will save you after-market $$ when you think "Huh- I really wanted wall sconces in that bedroom" but didn't plan ahead. Nothing drains energy (and $) faster than the need to remodel after remodeling!

Hire a pro, and have a ball!

Thanks a lot for the advice! Unfortunately my contractor has been telling me he only provide labor and no design input and I can't afford the time to go back and find a new contractor who also doubles as a designer :(even though when we talked he said he'll "take care of everything") and I find myself figuring out how to put in sliding doors in my closet because he doesn't deal with it etc. typing about it makes me want to cry so I'll stop. Me and my significant other have taken your advices and planned out where we want our lightings in each room and have placed all the outlet locations according (including consideration of where we want to put the tv, appliances, etc...) thank you a lot for your advices! It's been really helpful, more so than dealing with my damn contractor ass