skip to main content

Building a Home

9 ft ceiling - how tall should doorways & arches be?

14 years ago

YEH - we finally sold our house and started construction on June 2nd!! The framers are starting in a couple of weeks and we still don't know how tall our framed doorways and arched doorways should be. Our ceilings are 9' tall. Our interior doors are standard size 6'8" with 3 3/4" trim above the interior doors and windows. Please don't say it's personal preference because I don't have a clue what looks good :) Do I do super tall or standard? And at what heights looks the best? If you have photos of your own homes please share.

Featured Answer

sue36

14 years ago

I assume you are asking about the framed openings that won't have doors, because I hope your framers know how hight to frame an opening for a 6'8" door. We did all our framed openings so they would be the same finish height as the doors (so all the trim would be at the same height around a room). We didn't have archways, but if we did I would have done then so the side pieces of trim were the same height as the side pieces on the doors and then the arch portion would arch above that.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

crazyhouse6
14 years ago
Congrats on the sale of your home and the start of your build!

We did our cased openings and arched openings taller than the standard height doors. I had no desire to have taller doors in our home, but love that we did the openings taller. I think it's a nice opportunity to show off the woodwork and the details of the home. Here are some pictures to try to show what it looks like in our home. I also have an arched opening with white trim and doors, but didn't get a picture of it tonight. I can get a tape on these doors tomorrow if you want, but thought the pictures might be more helpful.
Related Discussions
Show me your kitchens with 9ft ceilings
Q
Comments (69)
Just got back to read what's been happening. What gorgeous kitchens! A couple would aaalmost convert me to the furniture look, even though I've always (since childhood probably) loved a built-in look for a kitchen. Which is an awfully important point newbies to their designs probably don't consider right out when it needs to be -- do they really love boxes bolted to the wall (my usual description but wholly inappropriate to some of the works of art here) or built in? Five, your design sounds luscious. I can't wait to see pictures. We dropped the ceiling in a single little hall (budget build), but its contribution is so real (and maintenance-free :) that if I had it to do over there would have been more. Regarding dust-catcher tops, having a shadow line up there can be another simple but significant aesthetic contribution. If we'd done that, I was going to mount a vertical "back" to it, painting it a deeper color if necessary to hide it, so I only had to run a vac hose over the front few inches.
...See More
How high should wainscoting be for a 10 ft tall room? thanks.
Q
Comments (12)
To quote from a Pro Construction site: 'There really is no standard height for wainscoting. However, most people install it from between 32" to 48." They also mention that it can vary depending on windows, door and vanity/backsplash heights. My ceilings are 10' and the finished height of my wainscot is 40". Any shorter and I think it would looked dwarfed. My home has a very open floor plan and I can't imagine anything shorter than the 40".
...See More
Small (8x9) room with high ceilings (10ft). How to break up the walls?
Q
Comments (5)
Go to a thrift shop and look for an attractive long, skinny leaning mirror, which will reflect light from your window and visually expand the room that way. Going by suggestions made in your other post, you hopefully will have gotten new bedding, moved the art lower, so that a mirror will reflect those updates. Also consider a swag lamp with white cord hanging over the bed--something cloudlike from Ikea like this to take advantage of your tall ceiling but bring it down a bit. This is the small Krusnig lampshade $13. Oops, sorry it won't link. You can find it here: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00259914/ Consider a skyscape poster for over the bed to bring the outside inside and draw attention to the height of the room. If you're allowed to paint, paint the ceiling blue:
...See More
Should we put 9 ft. or 10 ft. ceilings in a new Craftsman build?
Q
Comments (100)
cpartist give excellent suggestions for how to deal with 10 foot tall kitchens, keeping the ambiance Craftsman and attractive. I will note I find 9 foot tall ceilings plenty fine for me, but go with feels comfortable to you. Although I do have a cathedral ceiling in the public part of the house.... (No, my house is not Craftsman). As someone else noted, you'll have to change your door heights and other aspects of your home to go with the increase in ceiling height - and that's not going to be cheap. Even at six foot one, I don't feel cramped in homes that have 8 foot ceilings - I was just in one (probably built in the 60s or 70s) this past Sunday (after months of not being to get out and visit folk very often at all). It was fine. But 9 doesn't affect pricing as much as 10 feet would. Please don't do without upper cabinets. You'll hurt resale, as not everyone is going to want to stop everything and remodel as soon as they move in. Even though I mostly have drawers, the lowest one is always a pain to access anyway..
...See More
dreamywhite
Original Author
14 years ago
Ooh those are great photos. Your house looks just beautiful. What kind of wood are those doors and your staircase rails? Do you remember which stain you chose, they turned out very nice. We are doing white doors/trim but are going to stain a few things around the house like the front door, mantel, butcher block etc.. Trying to find the perfect stain color.
sue36
14 years ago
I like the taller, unframed archway. But that last picture above, with the lower door and taller framed opening would drive me crazy. But that's me. That's why everyone always says it's "personal preference".
tooskinneejs
14 years ago
We've got 9ers with 7-4 cased openings.
crazyhouse6
14 years ago
The doors in the lighter stain are maple, the darker ones are knotty alder and I think the stair rails are beech or fir. This build is already a bit fuzzy. :) I'm sorry, but I don't remember what color stains we ended up with either. We went through tons of sample boards. Make sure you use the same wood for the samples because we ended up with lots of different stain colors depending upon the wood type.

Sue - I am normally very funky about things needing to be symmetrical, but in this location I love the way it looks. The shorter doors off this room are to the toyroom, the bathroom and the utility room, whereas the taller cased opening is to the guest bedroom. I think the opening makes it special and because they are on different walls they work, but not for everyone.
srercrcr
14 years ago
Not sure this relates....for my 9' ceilings I used a std height front door, but a transom mounted over it.

Related Stories

REMODELING GUIDES How to Make a Tall Room Feel Right

By Jason Ball Interior Design

6 Ways to Give High Ceilings a More Human Scale

BASEMENTS Basement of the Week: Tall-Order Design for a Lower-Level Lounge

By Becky Harris

High ceilings and other custom-tailored features in this new-build Wisconsin basement put the tall homeowners in a good headspace

WINDOWS How to Dress Tall Windows

By Judith Taylor Designs

Get the right mix of light, shade, privacy and style for towering windows by exploring these coverage options

KITCHEN DESIGN 9 Questions to Ask When Planning a Kitchen Pantry

By Susan Redman

Avoid blunders and get the storage space and layout you need by asking these questions before you begin

KITCHEN DESIGN 9 Ways to Save on Your Kitchen Remodel

By Kelli Kaufer Designs

A designer shares key areas where you can economize — and still get the kitchen of your dreams

DECORATING GUIDES 9 Decorating Trends to Love Forever

By Samantha Schoech

Discover a design lover's faithful favorites in decor, materials and colors. What are yours?

BEDROOMS 9 Ways to Dress a Four-Poster Bed

By Karen Egly-Thompson

Complete the fairy-tale look or go as modern as you like with canopies, swags, drapes — or nothing at all

KITCHEN DESIGN 9 Award-Winning Kitchens from KBIS 2013 to Drool Over

By Karen LeBlanc Design TV Host & Writer/Blogger

See top-rated designs from this year's Kitchen and Bath Industry Show and get details about the designers' visions

DIY PROJECTS Make Your Own Barn-Style Door — in Any Size You Need

By No. 29 Design

Low ceilings or odd-size doorways are no problem when you fashion a barn door from exterior siding and a closet track

ARCHITECTURE Are Vaulted Ceilings Right for Your Next Home?

By Joanna Tovia

See the pros and cons of choosing soaring ceilings for rooms large and small

Sponsored

Jc's and Sons Affordable Home Improvements

Zanesville's Most Skilled & Knowledgeable Home Improvement Specialists

More Discussions

Anderson Woodwright vs Marvin Elevate

10

It's April 2024. How is your build going?

157

Need Help Reviewing Floor Plan!

52

Will it be cheaper to build a home?

14

It's May 2024. How is your build going?

8