I disagree. We've had one for 10 years now and spent many hours at it. You can sit at any that you are considering for a bit and have a bit of conversation -- check your messages or whatever, and test the one you are looking at. Like any other furniture, some is very comfortable, some is not. As for the height, people have counters and islands with 8 foot ceilings, so unless you are incredibly tall and long-bodied, that shouldn't be a limitation. As for your light fixture, you'll have to measure it. If your table is about 36" in height, you typically want at least 30 inches above the table to the bottom of the fixture. That can vary a bit, but you should have 2 to 2-1/2 feet for a fixture.

Hi GulfBreeze, Thanks for these extra tips. I checked out the Oriel windows styles. I like them, but we were planning on doing casements for our windows so I am not sure how they would blend with the other windows. Do you think they would? We have made sure many of our windows are lower to the floor. I think your idea of a simulated transom is cool! Can you elaborate a bit more on this idea (i.e. how much of the window would have a grid, what the grid lines would look like, etc) Currently our plan is to leave the grids off most windows. Having the two large windows that flank the french doors fitted with these grids for part of the window might give these two windows a special feature. We are certainly looking into quality windows -- Canada is cold. I appreciate your help! Carol

hmmm. If you look at classical architecture, they often left quite a bit of space above (most of) the doors, and this was how you registered the lofty height of the ceiling. The buildings I live in (c.1840) have the following proportions as you ascend the storys of the building. 14' ceiling, 8' doors (However the large parlor-connecting pocket doors and windows are 11' high) 12' ceilings and 8' major entry doors and 6'8" secondary and closet doors. 10' ceiling and 7' major entry doors and 6'8" secondary and closet doors 8'ceiling and 6'8" for all doors. I think if you stretch the doors to close the gap between the door header and the ceiling, you lose the visual cues of the higher ceiling, particularly when the difference is just a foot. (8--->9). Transoms would look nice over the french doors, but I would probably go conventional height with other doors. It also creates a rhythm of not having everything aligned, which I find a bit static.

E K, after extensive deliberation, we have decided to keep standard height interior doors throughout (6'8"). We are going with higher windows and sliding French doors in rooms with higher ceilings. I ended up deciding that the 6'8" interior doors looked fine and that windows can be set higher than the doors (I looked at lots of pictures and actual houses). I actually drew several walls to scale with the 6'8" doors and higher windows to ensure I would like that look. I decided the 7' doors were an unnecessary expenses and wouldn't look that much different from 6'8" doors. I think the higher windows will bring in more light and help the ceilings to look taller. There is one bedroom where I have one 8' wall that slopes up to 9' and I will have windows on both these walls - that was my trickiest problem. In that room, I've decided to have 6'8" window height on the 8' wall and 7'8" window height on the 9' wall with 6'8" windows. Its not built yet but I hope it looks ok. Below is a house that helped me think through my decision. It has higher windows than doors. In addition, in one room the windows on two walls are set at different heights. I think it looks ok and I think the sloped ceiling in my room will make the varying window heights look even more intentional. [https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-farmhouse-farmhouse-family-room-san-francisco-phvw-vp~2207590[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-farmhouse-farmhouse-family-room-san-francisco-phvw-vp~2207590) I do think you can do 7' doors with 8' ceilings (or 9' doors with 10' ceilings). In fact, I will be doing 8' sliding doors and windows set at 8' in our master bedroom that has 9' ceilings. This room will also have 6'8" interior doors. I can post pictures but it won't be built for several months.