your plan isn't showing up.

is it the open space you're afraid you'll miss? or the "special feature" of the vaulted ceiling?

if it's the "open space" i'm not sure 9' throughout will give you that airiness if it's something you worry about.

if it's the "special feature" you could do some other sort of ceiling treatment that doesn't add to heating/cooling costs. beams? beadboard? coffered? tray?

I tried to upload the photo again.....is it showing up now? I'm afraid of a lack of openness and the house feeling boxy. I looked at a house a couple of weeks ago that had thick crown molding throughout the first floor and I thought that the ceiling was 10' tall. I measured the ceiling height and it was only 9'....so doing a thick crown may help. Although, I've also been in a lot of houses that had 9' ceilings that felt like 8'.

i think it's all relative. my parents are moving from a 30 year old house with 8' ceilings to a new house with 9' ceilings and it feels so open to them.

9' ceilings in our last house felt very high and open.

but spending a lot of time in our new house while under construction where ceilings are 10' throughout, and 11' in the main living area, going back to a house with 9' then feels more closed in.

my point is, if you're level is set at high ceilings, you might not like the feeling of 9'.

i understand the dilemma - with noise, with energy costs, and also from a homey perspective. hubby and i like the feeling of open space, but then i struggle with making the house feel cozy and inviting.

I've been noticing that window placement has a lot to do with the kind of ambiance a house has. I know that I like light coming from at least two directions, but am not sure what else I need to do to achieve the bright, homey, open feel I'm going for.

I really, really missed the height and openness of a vaulted ceiling after we sold the first home we ever built and moved into a 30 year old house with 7' and 8' ceilings. Our new house has 9' ceilings throughout except for the kitchen and family room which have 2 story and vaulted ceiling heights respectively. While I don't necessarily feel cramped in the 9' rooms I do enjoy the openness of the higher ceilings.

I've been in a lot of homes with vaulted ceilings and often they don't feel cozy to me...instead some of them feel like a barn, others feel like a public space rather than a home. I think you might find that you like 9' ceilings.

In addition to crown molding, you can consider dropping soffits to make the space in between feel taller. You might find that what you are looking for is more variation in ceiling heights rather than the vault.

Also, make sure the home has other "wow" factors so each room feels special regardless of ceiling height.

I'm doing something similar to the photo below in the kitchen. I figured this would be the most cost effective way to achieve a variation in ceiling height without losing square footage upstairs.

This post was edited by Kinsley7 on Tue, Feb 18, 14 at 13:42

I'm one of those that prefer lower ceilings, we had 11' ceilings in our entry and greatroom in our previous home and in our new build are going with all 9' for the cozy feel.

This post was edited by xc60 on Tue, Feb 18, 14 at 13:40

I live in 14' ceiling height for 5 years, and moved to 9' ceiling height for 14 years, and still have that house and love it ! Now am going to build exact the same one except it is bigger with 3-car garage.

We had 8' ceilings with a 12 foot vault in the living room. It lost a lot of heat and I didn't really like it, didn't feel cozy and really tough to paint, etc. In our new build we are going all 9', no vaults. I was kind of nervous about it as it was being framed but so far I love it. We aren't in yet but every time I go there I just love the loft of 9 over 8 without the cathedral. I guess it feels airy but yet cozy to me?

Not to introduce a totally different option but if money were no object I would have loved to have done something like a 10' in the living room with a coffered ceiling.....but still no cathedral.

It's so personal though. Have you been able to tour any homes that had ceilings like you are intending?

I agree it's all personal. We like high ceilings because we like the openness. Of course they have their drawbacks. I also like coffered ceilings...but my wife thinks they look like a library or a courthouse. Different strokes for different folks....

I think the crown molding will help make the ceilings special. My brother did a tray ceiling in his dining room, and have to say, it made the ceilings appear lower to me because they ARE lower in the tray area. Not a huge fan of the Trays.

Our plan has a 14ft vault in the great room/dining room area, 10ft in the foyer and study, and 9ft throughout.

I've always been one that didn't like really high ceilings in other peoples homes (our house is 80s, and the ceiling is just over 7.5 ft - too low). I think we'll be really happy with the 9 ft- it seems just right. I'm delighted about the 10ft ceilings in the foyer and study, since both rooms are smallish (10 x 10, and 10 x12) so I think the extra foot will make them feel more roomy (plus the big windows). As for the vault, Hubby really wanted it. Not sure how I will like it... we are doing beams to soften it up and make the room more cozy.

I would be happy with all 9ft throughout- but then again, I'm coming from 7 1/2!

Thanks so much for the input ya'll:)

In response to Autumn - I have not toured any homes similar to what I have planned for the ceiling in our kitchen.... I looked through hundreds of pictures before I found one that somewhat depicts what I want. There are some builders in my area that build upscale southern style houses with 9' ceilings and no vaults, but they are built for narrow lots and all that I've toured have had first floor master suites (ours will be on the second floor). I like the exterior of the houses I've looked at, but not the interior layout.

We have 9' ceilings throughout and 10' in the foyer. If I had it to do over again, I would go 10' in the main living area. This is only because I would like a beam ceiling.

DH and I are empty nesters, so noise is now at a minimum (other than the extremely loud TV). Point being - no kids running around, arguing, etc. This past weekend we attended an event at a home with vaulted ceilings. We could not hear the conversations because it had so much echo. There were 12 adults and 6 kids under 6 years of age. When we walked out of the house, we commented on the noise level. And, I have to add the kids were in the lower level in a bedroom, but the sound came up the stairs.

You have to have your comfort zone. Best of luck.

We have a lot of vaulting in our home right now, (18 feet in great room), and are looking forward to our 9 ft ceilings in our new build. Yes, I think I might occasionally miss them, but we found over the years that we grew tired of replacing the light bulbs and the extra issues/cost they brought.

What's a good peak vault height that still looks vaulted (especially with beams) but is low enough not to be obnoxiously loud?

Our plan has 14ft at the peak. The room is 30 x 20 - combo great room/dining room.

This is the look we are looking for:

[Traditional Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2107) by San Francisco Interior Designers & Decorators Christine Sheldon Design

I also think it's personal. I would not want a cozy house. I want an open, airy house so 9ft ceilings are not for me but I understand that others like it low and cozy.

like that pic, but what is that pumpkin/bread bowl/end table thing? definitely wouldn't want one of those in my great room ;)

I always thought I would skip the cathedral or vaulted or 2 story rooms in a house because of the wasted space. But we ended up liking a ranch style so nothing was going to be built over it anyways. We choose a floor plan similar to a parade home we walked through and despite the tall cathedral ceilings they managed to pull off a cozy feel. Perhaps it was the warm colors and the wood and stone but I do think it's possible to have both.

And the amount of light those extra tall windows let in is exactly what we were after in or new build.

kinsley-I was more referring to parade homes or something like that where you could get a sense of what feels and looks good to you on the whole. Where you walk in and think YES, LOVE this whereas in others it's more of a no way or meh, so so.

I think what you show above will work fine and gives you that change in dimension without doing the larger main area.

I will agree on the light factor. Our old house with the cathedral had tall ceilings but no tall windows. Hmm, go figure loss of heat and no gain of light. No wonder I didn't care for it so much.

Oh no, I fear I won't be able to invite many of you to our new home since you'll feel quite uncozy in our great room that has a 22' peak in our vaulted ceiling.

I've lived with all types of ceilings and have liked them all. It's really just a matter of the look and feel you're trying to achieve.

Kinsley, in our last home we had 9' ceilings in our kitchen, dining nook and living room that were open to one another. It was a fantastic family house. We received so many compliments on the layout. Your plan also looks like a fantastic family house.

We simply wanted a different look and feel for this build, something we fell in love with while staying in a vacation home in the Caribbean.

juju-I think I could get over it for that view. ;)

I'm with the other folks. It's all personal preference. I love open and airy and sunny. So for me, I have 25' ceilings in my livingroom, but I like to sleep in a cozy "cave" so 8' ceilings in the bedrooms (with dark paint colors and TONS of windows). My sister hates it. She loves her 9' ceilings throughout. Says the vault is too overwhelming, and the 8' feel crowded. Go figure. My parents hate the vault, but that's because they had to help my shingle it...haha

Our previous home had a 30x20 living room with deep wood box beams. Loved it. But can't imagine all that ceiling being flat and white. New home has a vault in the great room that is birch. We do like warm and cozy, so this is perfect.

We have a 20’ vault in our great room. Love it. Our kids are buying a ‘50s Ranch with low ceilings. They are all popcorn and need to be removed. They are stretching to get into this school district, of course. What would be the most economical way to deal with ceilings. I’m thinking they should just remove the ceilings and raise them with new dry wall, rather than pay for popcorn removal. Is that a pretty easy option.?

A three-year old thread?

You should start a new thread about popcorn ceilings. Removing the textured "popcorn" is not difficult, but is usually in place to conceal a less than high quality drywall installation.

Removing the ceilings will simply expose the supporting rafters (or ceiling joists), which cannot be removed and raised without a major wall and roof-framing reconstruction which is never economical in an existing home simply to obtain a higher ceiling.

If your children "are stretching" to buy an existing house in a school district, should they should wait until they can find one which is intact and satisfactory without major remodeling expense?

Good luck!