Our house was built in 1894. We're in the process of remodeling our kitchen. We removed a load bearing wall where the old back porch used to be. When we bought this house about 4 years ago, the porch was the main kitchen. We believe the other room was the actual kitchen. (There's the guts of a chimney still standing - hidden behind drywall. We thought about exposing it but it will be too expensive to repair. This is not our dream home so we don't want to get too crazy in price.) Over the years, the "room" turned into a bedroom as part of an in-law suite. The porch turned into the main house's kitchen.) My issue is different ceiling heights. The change in height and the chimney on the wall are on the wall where I want my cooktop, butted out a bit for the down draft behind it. We have already purchased double ovens so I'll be using a cooktop. My original plan was to put the cooktop on the 9' x 4' island but I've changed my mind. I'm going to put my sink on the island. Standing at the sink, the cooktop wall will be behind you. Our contractor will box in the beam to leave a 10' ceiling joining an 8' ceiling. (We will not be raising the porch roof - too expensive.) The cooktop will fit on the 10' wall with a 24" cabinet on the right under the 8' ceiling and a 24" cabinet on the left under the 10' ceiling. THEN, the chimney is next to the cabinet on the left. We'll have it boxed in to look like a pantry but it will be only about 8" deep for spices, etc.) It's a tight fit. MY QUESTIONS: Can we add cabinets above the cooktop, cabinet to the left, and even above the "pantry" cabinet in front of the chimney - all with 10' ceilings? Since we won't have an exhaust above the cooktop, we could. I know the best way would be to keep all upper cabinets in the kitchen at the same height but just trying to think "outside the box." Also, what goes above the cooktop in case steam or grease are an issue? I used to have a down draft cooktop on an island, They don't catch all the steam. Maybe the newer ones do a better job. Thank you for suggestions. Sorry so long.