Well, yes. You can shine a light on the ceiling and, because it's such a dark color, most of the light is absorbed rather than bouncing off of it. With such large, dark surfaces, these rooms will never be so full of light as they would if they were all whites and beiges. On the other hand, an all-beige room is never going to have the depth and intimacy and charm that your rooms have. I'd be inclined to make the best of what they are rather than trying to make them into something they're not. I'd try lighting wall surfaces with sconces or track lighting, to provide indirect ambient light and keep it from feeling like a cave, and use pendants, table and floor lamps to light other areas as needed.

Actually, we moved. Our new house has 8ft ceilings (yay! probably not the common sentiment but it's so much more comfortable than our last house). We do have a living room with an 11ft cathedral ceiling but the house was built in 1976 house so it was complete with beams and wood paneling (that we removed) but it closed off from the rest of the house (also love). The living room doesn't feel as cavernous as the cathedral ceiling in my last house. It would have been crazy expensive to change to a tray in our last house but it needed something since it was open concept and was lacking coziness. Before we moved we did a lot of stuff that helped with the feel of the room. Adding lamps and a variety of lighting at different levels and warm colors and textures made a big difference. It didn't fix it but it was better. I think it would have been cheaper to add some faux beams and/or tongue and groove than to create a tray and might have helped more. To simulate painting the ceiling dark, we taped garbage bags to the ceiling (weird way to test painting but it worked). It was terrible in a dark color. It makes me wonder if the lower ceiling would have achieved what I was hoping for. I don't mind the beams in this house. I would go for that before you do something expensive like a tray. Maybe tape some cardboard to the ceiling and simulate it. Good luck!

The structural support of typical sloping roof rafters must resist horizontal forces as well as vertical forces in order to prevent the walls from bowing outward at the top causing the roof to collapse. In the current condition the ceiling joists act as horizontal ties to resist the horizontal force. There are only 4 ways to remove the ceiling joists and use the existing roof structure. 1. Remove the ceiling and leave the ceiling joists in place possibly removing 1/2 or 2/3 of them and reinforcing the top plate as needed. I've made the beam brace and reinforced top plate approach work with horizontal members as far apart as 10 ft. but it would be foolish to do that without the assistance of a good structural engineer even if a permit could be obtained without it. 2. Sister the existing rafters with larger members (2x10, 2x12, etc.) and raise the old ceiling joists to about the 1/3 or 1/2 point of the rafters (this approach is spelled out in a footnote to the IRC building code rafter tables). "Collar ties" in the upper 1/3 of the rafters provide little resistance to rafter forces; they are essentially substitutes for metal hangers to secure the rafters to the ridge to resist wind uplift. The connections are critical and often under-designed so they should be designed by a structural engineer. 3. Install a beam under the ridge with posts at the ends that carry the load to the foundation. Then there are no longer any horizontal forces to resist and the ceiling joists can be removed. The beam and its supports are required to be designed by a structural engineer. 4. Remove the ceiling joists and install diagonal braces from the top plates at each rafter heel to the middle of the rafter on the other side of the roof. Apply a new ceiling to the bottom of the new braces. This is a field built scissor truss that cannot and should not be designed by anyone other than a structural engineer. If the members and connections are not adequate the roof could collapse. So, the first step is to accurately draw the existing conditions in plan, elevation and section; then ask some builders what the costs might be; then hire a structural engineer to design it; then bid the project.

Well, you need an attachment point above it. I sprayed the tree with anti-dessicant spray so it wouldn't dry out, drilled a 1/2" hole through the base of the trunk, put a rope through the hole, threw the rope over the support that it would be hanging from, and hoisted it up. Then I put on the lights and ornaments after it was in place. Wish I had a picture to show you, but can't find one right now.