I always put the bottom of my chandeliers at 60". The size of the chandelier is a function of the size of the table...I use the rule of thumb that it should be at least 10" in from all edges of the table so you won't hit your head when you get up....that's what the lighting designer recommended. Take a plastic shopping bag and fill it with stuffed newspaper to get about the size you think you want and then hold it or hang it over the table to get a sense of scale. It will tell you if you need to go bigger or smaller. My DR is 9' ceiling on the sides, but it has a barrel vault, so I had to go taller with the fixture to fill the space. So you need to consider height as well. I had both a lighting designer (from the store where we bought our lighting...a service they did for free) and my architect here to help me with scale as it is so important.

yayagal, the room definitely has a cozy feel. I don't know if it's the scale of the room or the angle in the wall from the roofline, but it has always felt cozy to me too. I'm excited to be making progress here. pps7, you're right about the Wythe Blue having a lot of green in it. I have now put huge samples of the Wythe on the walls and am communing with the color. While it doesn't MATCH the blue in the rug, I still think they play together nicely. Maybe I'm even a little happier that they don't match exactly...I tend to like things to be a little off/quirky. I have a picture that I want to hang in here that looks really good with the blue. Lacking a backup plan, I will most likely plow ahead with the Wythe. (And thanks for your comment about my living room. I'm still surprised by how much happier I am with it since my small changes.) jillinnj, thanks for your vote of confidence and the compliment on the beasts. The floors are heart pine and are in every room of the house except the baths. I think the attic floors are even heart pine, though we have yet to have them refinished. trailrunner, I'd love to see your rug...is yours the same colors too? Regarding the chairs, I might be crazy, but I'm toying with the idea of mohair velvet for the upholstery. I have 3 samples of gray mohair coming in the mail. I've always yearned for some, and have been inspired by sueb's soon-to-be saphire chair. I'll post picture of the samples when I get them. schoolhouse, yes, you're nuts. : ) When we moved in, our walk-in pantry was covered, wall to ceiling, with alligatored, chipping, peeling paint. A good friend of ours tried really hard to talk us into keeping it just like that. Theoretically, I admire a relic as much as the next guy, but it's much nicer to live in a house that isn't cracked and peeling.

Also, in an ideal world, I like counter chair backs to be closer to the counter height, especially in a case like yours. But, I realize you are going to stick with these chairs for awhile. I prefer leather for the breakfast bar. People tend to spill more there and it is a casual in and out. Fabric is fine for the dining area.

The suggestion of top down shades is a good one. You can get the honeycomb shades in all manner of light and view filtering options. You really can't just live with your windows all closed up all the time. Why have a window if it always hidden? And the more you can uncover the other window the better. Bring all of that in tighter with neat shades. Lighten them both up with some nice top down shades and bring them to match. Your chairs are nice but there are a lot of them for such a small space and there is no where to get comfortable and put your feet up. One tends to slide out of slick leather chairs. They really don't look very comfortable . And how would one read with no lamp? You refer to it as the library, yet there is not much there that adds up to it's actually being a library, a comfortable place to read or relax, nor do you have very many books or shelves. It all looks pretty stiff, cold, dark and very brown, and not inviting to be there even with the window opened. Surely you have invested in your chairs, but a softer squishy and more inviting small sofa, a place to put your feet, a reclining chair, some very small tables and some floor lamps would be much more inviting, And a fabric upholstery could add some brightness and color and soft warmth to your room. A place to get comfortable with your iPad is a must for modern life. There is none of that in the room, either. It seems to be in imitation of a public reading room where you don't want folks to get too comfortable and they plan to stay only a while, sit up straight and read a bit. But, this is your home where you live and it should be more comfortable, warm, soft and inviting. It is none of that. This looks more like you are planning to have some sort of meeting and no one is expected to linger after. Do you really expect to have four people all sitting upright and quietly reading all at once? Your problem with your room is not just light, rather it is in your concept of the room both as to the use and purpose. Nothing here speaks the language of a library or warmth or invitation. Two small built in shelves do not add up to a library. There cannot be much there and it does not look as if it is a valued collection of importance with any order to it. Certainly nothing enough to build a library around. The room looks small and very likely intended to be more of a home office, perhaps? It certainly looks good for a nice desk and a couple of comfortable chairs. Perhaps you don't need such a formal space to read. If you really do a lot of reading do you really want to sit and read straight up in a cold and hard chair with your feet flat on the floor? I am sorry if you feel that my opinion is harsh criticism. But, you did ask for advice from strangers. One more suggestion and it is about that view outside the window. I don't know where you are in the world, but if the climate permits you could, perhaps, change that view of the wire fence by adorning the fence with hanging planters of flowers, in season. Or, establish some sort of trellis type of garden structure that sits in front of the fence. It is really the fence, itself, that seems to be the offender. And, it looks as if the fence may be your fence. You would only need to do this on the part of the fence that is in view. As to the driveway gate, you are just going to have to accept that that is where you live and that is what it looks like outside. You are not living in some 19th century manor house. It does not look like formal gardens outside the windows and you don't have an old world library full of heavy leather and wild animal skins from your safaris. Don't fight it. Embrace the reality. It looks like a nice room with possibilities.