All a matter of perspective!

We're moving from a custom-built new home of 4,200 sf to a 1963 3,000 footer just 15 minutes away and everyone's literally crying, screaming or sulking about what a monstrous, unfeeling, selfish old coot I am. (Well, mostly mrs. worthy.) I may well end up dumping something.

Relax, Houses seem big at first then as drywall oes up and sidings are on it cuts off the views through rooms. It starts to feel smaller and then when finished and paint one solid color it feels bigger again. Then as you add cabinets, flooring and details it shrinks. Then as the furniture goes in the scale again is brought back down. All the details and finishes and artwork etc will give it scale.

hmmm... what is the square footage of the home you currently live in? If you are greatly increasing the total amount of living space you will have, then it may take you awhile to get used to the extra space.

As for how big or small the house looks while you build it, I think everyone gets a bit of an Alice-in-Wonderland nibbling on magic mushrooms feeling... only it is the house that alternately shrinks and expands. LOL!

Typically people post here when their foundation goes in (but before any framing starts) about their worries that the builder may have goofed because the foundation looks WAY too small! I was prepared for that optical illusion but DH insisted that our whole foundation wasn't big enough to park a car on - much less live in!

Then as I recall, when my house was framed but before the exterior walls went up, I wondered if I had gone overboard because it looked so huge.

Then, after the sheetrock went in but before it was painted, I worried that I should have made some of the rooms bigger and that I hadn't put in nearly enough windows! I think it was just that the windows all had protective plastic on both sides and all those grey walls were just sucking up what little bit of light was coming through.

Now that everything is painted, and the windows are lean, and the flooring is going in, the rooms are bright and very spacious again. I'm sure once the furniture is all in, it will "just right."

I don't now how anyone can tell you anything without photos or plans but an 11 ft. ceiling is a big statement requiring well proportioned and detailed spaces IMHO.

Wait til you get the utility bill!

Ok, you guys are making me feel better. Let's see how I feel after the drywall is in! :) Thanks for helping my crazy self return to normal a bit...

Whoah...I think the natural tendency is for a house to appear SMALL in the framing and "stake-out" stage. It's an odd perceptual issue. If it looks too big, well, it's probably mammoth.

I dont remember my framing, but I remember the stake out. I had to go back out myself and measure because it looked too small.

And the foundation looked small.

I think the floors helped. And I dont remember the framing perception. The drywall helped give a truer sense I am thinking.

Seems like forever ago now though, and it has only been a few months.

11 ft ceilings are extra tall. Your rooms should be large to carry that off. Powder rooms esp. can look/feel like elevator shafts with tall ceilings - maybe look into doing a dropped ceiling in smaller rooms like that (and laundry, etc.)?

As everyone said, rooms that look huge empty can suddenly feel crowded once you start getting furniture in there.

Ditto to what everyone said. When the foundation was poured, I swore the GC had mismeasured and it was too small. During framing, it looked huge. Once the roof went on, it looked smaller. Now it looks small. My GC says once the dry wall goes in, it will look bigger. I'm sure if the room sizes are well thought, it will be fine.

I have to agree. At first the foundation looked huge then when they put the sub floor down it looked big and I kept thinking to myself that I over did it even though every room was a good size. Now that the framing is done it looks small. Hope it evens out. :>) Good luck with your build!

A house without drywall always looks larger.

The drywall cuts off the free sight lines.