30 to 34 inches above the table....if not over a table approximately 6'6" so it can be walked under. Of course that would not apply if the fixture is installed in a 2 story area such as a foyer. Most tables are around 30.5 inches from the floor (not talking Pub style)...so at least 60.5 inches from the floor, would be a good starting point. It is easy enough to shorten it later if need be. Not so easy to lengthen.

The bottom of a chandelier should be about 30 inches above the tabletop, which is to say about five feet (60 inches) above the floor since a tabletop is about 30 inches. With a standard 8-foot ceiling, I think that one of those double-tiered chandeliers will seem to crowd the ceiling. I don't think I've ever seen a crystal chandelier that provided a good downlight. The best of them give adequate light for eating but wouldn't seem like a good choice for sewing or crafts; others seem to illuminate only themselves. Here are a few examples of some kinds of pendant lights that do provide good light. I can vouch for the third because it's the one that I have. These are all from Lamps Plus.

We have KM sunset cabinets in our LL walkout. They're back where the natural light doesn't reach them. I kept going back and forth between wanting a light color, and wanting a rich darker color. We chose the light counter, and it really makes a difference. Since we had already chosen the cork floor (same floor as the upstairs kitchen, so that determined the color), we matched the countertop to that. In our upstairs kitchen, we have KM cabs that are a tad darker than the sunset. This kitchen receives natural light from a triple window that has a 10' porch roof cutting off light from the SE, a triple dining room window facing NW 15' away from where I stand at the sink at the peninsula, and two 10" SunTunnels. We put a medium light green granite, Costa Smeralda which we love, here. The granite was a last minute choice because we got a VERY good price on it since the slabs were cracked and we could work around the cracks. We love it, but I think there are better color choices for the medium cherry cabinets. The over all room still seems sort of dark to me at times. We put a creamy tan marble on the 4'x4' center island (which is cream). It would have looked much better to have reversed the countertops (cream on cherry, green on cream) but it was a major cost issue. So I'd go with the cream for the situation you've described. Anne

I think it depends a lot on personal cooking style. In my case, I realized that it is impossible for me to actively work on more than two pots at the same time. The remaining pots will always just be simmering or kept at a constant low temperature. You can of course do this on a big stove top. But a professional chef at some point told me a secret. You are almost always better off doing this in an oven instead. Much more even heat and less risk of scorching your food. I tried this for the last couple of years. And yes, that person knew what they were talking about. Turns out, having multiple smaller ovens is much more valuable than having another couple of hobs. So, when we remodelled our kitchen, that's exactly what we did. We also made sure to include a combination steam oven, and it can do many of the tasks that you would normally do on a stove, and actually do them better, faster, and easier. I find, these days, I use the stove much more rarely and when I do use it then it is mostly for stir frying. That's a fast process that needs my full attention. So, again, all I use is a single burner. But then, on the other hand, there are people who regularly cook for 10 or more hungry mouths and who cook large quantities of sauces at the same time that they have a few pots of freshly made jam and a big pot for canning vegetables. If that's what you do on a regular basis, then yes, you probably are one of the few households that does benefit from a 48" range. To a lesser degree, the same argument can be made for people who regularly use their flattop or their indoor grill. Discussion on Houzz has shown, that relatively few people actually end up using these tools regularly after they bought them. But yes, there are some households who do so. And if you are one of these, then you probably would enjoy a bigger stove area despite all the extra costs in space, money, and planning. These days, I don't try to discourage anybody from getting a big stove. But I do try to understand why they believe they need one, and I try to explain the consequences (positive and negative) of this decision.