9' ceilings and 7' doors & window heights

13 years ago

We have 9' ceilings on the main floor and all the doors are supposed to be 7' tall and window trim tops also end at 7' high. I am concerned that in the living room where instead of windows we have 12' wide of bifold doors that are just 7' tall it might look short as compared to the 9' ceiling height.

We have a lovely view of ocean and Islands in the distance and I'm worried that 7' high will not capture the view as well as 8' and it might look super short compared to the 9' ceiling height.

The house style is quite modern. The architect is telling me 7' high will look fine w 9' ceilings and all windows will be at this same height. I'm feeling like I want the windows to come up a little higher, but I'm not sure if I"m over analyzing.

Currently the architect has the windows starting approx 6" off the floor and they are 6'6" tall therefore will be 7' total off the floor and therefore in line with the 7' doors.

I'd like some thoughts on the hieight of doors and windows relative to 9' ceilings?

We are just waiting for our bank to get the appraisal results and with any luck we'll be breaking ground in 2 weeks... Our plans are done just tweaking things like windows and doors.

Thx,

Soesoe75

Featured Answer

macv

13 years ago

There is no compelling reason to align the tops of windows and interior doors. Generally doors relate to walking surfaces and windows relate to the sky so their placement should reflect those different purposes.

Putting windows so close to the floor allows a better view of some lower part of the outdoors if that is important but a lower window heads loses light or restricts how far it can penetrate into a room.

Exterior glass doors can be a problem but there is no reason they and the windows can't be 8 ft high. Everything depends on what you are looking at and how much light you want in the rooms.

If the glass light of a window is less then 18 inches above the floor and the top of the light is greater than 36 inches above the floor and the light is larger than 9 s.f., the glass light must be tempered. this is not only expensive it sometimes takes longer to order and mistakes are more difficult to correct.

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Comments (6)

creek_side
13 years ago
It depends a lot on the window trim. You need to include that in your mental picture.

The tops of our windows are 18 inches from the ceiling, also 9 foot, but we have wide Craftsman style trim, which stops about a foot below the ceiling. The trim at the bottom stops about 15 inches from the floor. The windows look great.

I think windows that start as low as six inches off of the floor but stop two foot short of the ceiling would look unbalanced and a bit strange.
pps7
13 years ago
Are the windows starting 6" off the floor or above the baseboard? Will you have room for baseboards/window casings. You mentioned your home is modern so maybe you don't have casing. We have 10' ceilings and 8' doors. It looks fine. But I agree with you, if I had an ocean view, I'd make the most of it.

How about adding a transom above the bifold doors?

[modern living room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2105) by los angeles architect David Hertz Architects, S.E.A. Studio for Environm

[modern living room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2105) by los angeles architect Kanner Architects
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soesoe75
Original Author
13 years ago
You both raised some good points that I need to look into. My understanding is that there is a 6" wide baseboard and there will be a small amount of space between that and the window sill. The window casing is contemporary - very simple with just a 4" trim and simple window sill, we do not have headers. We might even end up eliminating the trim around the window and just do a sill.
I'm going to ask the architect a few more questions about it.
Ahhh we've spent a lot of money on the architect and it's killing me to keep going back asking for more detail becuase he's now charging us at an hourly rate.... But on the flip side I guess it's better to clarify now before the framing begins.
jeri
13 years ago
Soesoe75 Â I want as much of the outside in as I can possibly get and I donÂt have an ocean view like you do! If it were me, I would go as high as possible. One way to do this with standard height doors and windows is to use Transoms Â sort of the "SomethingÂs Gotta Give" look. which has tons of character IMO. But I would be just as happy with taller windows and doors too. What I would not be happy with is for my windows and doors to be too low and feel like my view is being cut off.

We have 9 foot ceilings and were trying to make the door height decision as well. Thankfully, there was a new development in our area that helped us make this decision. The first floor (on the 2 story models) is taller, but the second story is 9 foot ceilings with 8 foot doors and the windows all line up with the door heights. Check out the photos and see what you think. I think it looks GREAT!

I really wanted to go with the 8 foot doors, but DH is planning on lots of molding, so in the end, he opted for 7Â6" Â which are custom and will cost more (sigh). I would have been totally thrilled with the 8 foot doors. It makes the space seem so much larger IMO.

HTH! :-)
soesoe75
Original Author
13 years ago
jeri, you're right it would kill me if the view seems cut off due to lower window/door heights. I'm going to be looking into all the pros and cons further with the architect :) Thanks for the links as well.

9' ceilings and 7' doors & window heights

macv

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creek_side

pps7

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9' ceilings and 7' doors & window heights

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