In my old apartment we had 9 foot ceilings and single uppers that went all the way up--the top of the doors was maybe within 4 inches of the ceiling. The cabinets must have been nearly 5 feet tall. Yes, we used a step-stool to get at the stuff on the top shelves. We kept infrequently used things up there--the electric frying pan, some nice serving dishes that tended to only come out at holidays, things like that. I remember once reading guidelines about what the maximum cabinet height should be and ours were well beyond that. But we never had any issues, even though they were ancient (not sure if they were original to the 100-year-old house, but if they were installed after the 30's I would be very surprised), and had inset doors. Modern hinges should only improve the performance.

Check with your builder to see what the difference is between 8', 9', and 10'. To stay proportional the windows and doors may need to be custom sized to fit. We had a 9' ceiling for 25 years. We just moved to an 8' ceiling house. I'm 6' and don't have a problem with the difference. With 9 or higher you will need a ladder to reach higher. With 8-ft I use a step stool. Heat does rise. In the winter this means you will want a fan to stir the warm air down with the cooler air. I used a table fan placed on the ground and aimed toward the ceiling. It makes a big difference. In the summer the same thing happens. I run the fan 24/7/365. Smoke rises, too. We had a house fire several years ago in the 9-ft house. It started in the kitchen where there were no smoke detectors. Smoke had to fill the kitchen ceiling down to the door frames before it poured into the dining room. Then it had to fill the dining room down to the door frames. Once it filled the dining room it had to fill the living room down to the door frames. Once it filled the living room it set off the smoke detector in the hallway. The fire burned for at least 30 minutes, and I was awake the entire time in a lower part of the house. So if you are wiring for wired smoke detectors, keep that in mind.

36 to 48 inches is fine. Look under ISLAND light category, not pendant. Look for the shallow heights with flexibility in chain versus the many with no option in stem size provided. Read specs...: )

HI there! Would you happen to have an image of the space. I think that a white or clear fixture on a dimmer switch would work great for your space and fit all your needs. Perhaps we could help you here at Shakuff. Please find a few images of our work below.