High ceilings, how do you...

12 years ago

I'm having a bit of remorse now in regards to my kitchen remodel. I wished I would have raised the ceiling back up to where the original schoolhouse ceiling was/is, like I did in the library and bedroom. My kitchen and adjoining pantry are small but each still have an original schoolhouse windows, however my Uncle dropped the new ceilings so that only the bottom portions show. In other words, the top portions of the windows are above the ceilings. After seeing so many great kitchens here with the tall windows, I'm having regrets. My question though is, how hard would it be to keep the rooms warm with the high ceilings? How do those of you who have the high ceilings and open floor plans heat your home and does it really stay warm in winter?

My library and bedroom do stay cooler than the other parts of the house where the ceilings had been lowered, and I tend to keep their doors shut on really cold days (except the bedroom at night). My next remodel job will be the livingroom. Should I go with my heart and raise the ceiling and again have another tall window exposed? or keep them lowered and stay warm, and save on heating costs?

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Comments (10)

lauriedeee
12 years ago
My husband and I just had our annual winter discussion about whether or not to lower our cathedral ceilings. It gets so cold here in the winter, but the heat is on high. All the heat is up at the top of the ceiling. We talk about lowering them every year when we start getting the winter heating bills, but we haven't done anything about it yet.
I wear sweaters all winter to keep warm.
schoolhouse_gw
Original Author
12 years ago
That's the thing, the heat rises and then everyone will talk me into installing a ceiling fan - which I don't like. They make all kinds of sense and may look good in other's homes, but I don't want them in my rooms. I wouldn't even had put a ceiling fixture in the bedroom except that the contractor reminded me that the next owner may want one and now is the time to put the wiring,ect. in. I like the fixture I chose, but....

Anyhow,thanks lauriedeee for your comments. Obviously my house is old with lots of draft already and I wear sweaters all winter too. I bet in the warmer months though your cathedral ceiling is a pleasure. Is it a big room? Does it make a difference if a room is big or small when it comes to high ceilings?
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Our current living room dimensions are almost exactly the same. I think it looks good, but much of the "visual height" comes from wide openings to foyer and kitchen with transoms above each to 8'. I also have my window treatments started closer to the ceiling to elongate the window. If I can get the toys picked up enough to take a pic I will post one. If you can get 10' I would - that extra foot does alot for the room.
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I wish that I could find the picture where a designer handled a situation like this. She actually installed something like a bamboo Roman shade at the same height as the curtain rood, and had the shade pulled own just to the top of the window glass. Then the curtain panels hung at either side of the window. It made it look like the entire window was that tall, as you couldn't see through the bamboo shade to see that there was wall behind it. FOUND IT! All of the below is from here - https://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2009/08/top-ten-design-elements-4.html"A word about this curtain installation job. What looks like an easy job of hanging curtains was actually quite difficult. Suzanne Kasler’s thought process: The windows are short in this room. In order to camouflage the problem windows – Kasler places the rods as close to the molding as possible – yet the beam prohibits her from bringing them to the very top. The tops of curtains should always, if possible, all be at the same height. Therefore, all the rods are placed about 6 inches from the ceiling to be uniform. Then in order to make the windows appear taller, she brings the blinds to the top of the rods – hiding the wall space between the short windows and the curtain rod – making it appear the windows are taller and more elegant. Kasler thus creates a vertical line to the room by raising the eye up to the higher rods. Perfection! Hanging curtains is never an easy job and a good installer is worth his weight in gold. He is as important as the workroom." BELOW - DON’T: Real house: this is a problem window – the arched transom really adds nothing to the design of the window – I would have ordered just one long blind and put it right under the ceiling rod – and raised it just to the top of the door for access in and out. Instead, there is too much going on in this window. Too many different window sizes, too many little shades, and the curtains are just a tad too short – this should have been fixed during the installation – the drapery pins could have been moved up just a bit. It’s not easy folks! An open question to mass builders of Mac Mansions: Why do you install lots of little windows like these? What’s with the arched windows everywhere? I understand Palladian windows, but these sir, are no Palladian windows. Why bother pretending they are? Wouldn’t just a taller French door been so much prettier here than the short door given the Palladian treatment? Just a question. DON’T: Real house: the same designer as above almost gets it right this time. The blinds and drapes are placed perfectly – but, but, but – if you are going to lower your textured shades – add a lining to them so you don’t get the invisible shade look from the glare! And don’t put the shades down at all different heights. The designer could have bought just one long shade with a blackout lining – why buy three, unless it was to save the money of a custom shade. If possible – one shade is better than three little ones. And one more detail that should drive a good interior designer to distraction – notice how the two middle panels “break” at the floor – yet the right panel just barely meets the floor. Which was the intended length – the breaking length or the just barely touching length? A good installer might have been able to correct this. If not – it should have gone back to the workroom for correcting. I wonder, did the designer not notice this? And just one other detail – notice that the panel widths are not uniform – the width of the middle panels are doubled, yet the right and left are single. Why? The panels really should be the same width if at all possible otherwise it might look unbalanced.
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Sledgehammer to heads. I am not about to lose 20k though I am tempted. Because the space already SUCKS. I never wanted a window and argued against it, but everyone else wanted it. Such a waste of space. The original plan looked acceptable because all the cabinets were lined up. Did not reflect reality. See below. They did not include dimensions either so who can even tell what is going on. My husband had to move the hood up because his head hits it. Note that they did not even use the right appliance dimensions or type. The fridge fits all wrong. I just have to try and line things up at the top. hits it.
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chibimimi
12 years ago
You can install a duct system that extracts the hot air from the peak of the ceiling and blows it out down low. It can even take it from the height of one tall room and redistribute it near the floor of several rooms. These are quite common here (New England) in homes with high ceilings.
aloha2009
12 years ago
You might want to consult with an HVAC person that may be able to add things to make life more comfortable. We've gone from almost an entire 1st floor having vaulted ceilings to 9 & 10 foot ceilings and it's noticably more comfortable. The master bedroom that has a seperate cold air return but is the farthest from the furnace it perhaps the most comfortable in the house.

I hate being cold, so I sympathize with your plight of form over function.
cheerpeople
12 years ago
We moved into a home with an open plan and 17 foot ceilings.
I can tell you that turning onmy industrial ceiling fans even on low does not heat the main floor,it makes a person feel cold while raising the temp by 1 or 2 degrees. The wind makes me feel colder while the thermometer showed a minimal warming.

We had geothermal installed. Which will cool and heat the house.
We might add another duct to a colder room,if it also a hotter room come summer. Another more expensive option is zoned heating.
I keep a sweater handy for when I go to the basement. The main floor and loft are now pleasantly within 3 degrees of each other.

I also leave the curtains open to capture all that warm sunlight during the day which can raise the temp 5-6 degrees in the high ceiling open room.
lauriedeee
12 years ago
Schoolhouse, the area with the high ceilings is pretty big. Summers aren't any better because I've got large windows and the sun comes beating in them making the main living area really hot and stuffy. We have central air, but it doesn't help much in that area.
So, it's down to the family room I go and I stick my little window air conditioning unit in the window and blast it.. :)
mary_lu_gw
12 years ago
Schoolhouse, we have 12 foot ceilings throughout our house. Yes it does make it cooler in the winter, but we had a 1907 Glenwood parlor wood stove which has now been retired. In it's place is a pellet stove. Couldn't be toastier! Depending on your heat source(s), we love our 12 foot ceilings. And yes, our home is drafty too as we have all original 140 yr old windows!
schoolhouse_gw
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the good and honest comments. I've got some thinking to do.
avesmor
12 years ago
Another thing you can do to help is upgrade the insulation in the high ceiling areas. We actually went with R60 (standard for our zone is about R49), and the price difference was extremely negligible.

I know you said you don't like them, but ceiling fans make a difference. There are some decent ones out there.

In the house where DH grew up, they had their fireplace installed with a blower that routed to vents. The ambience of the fireplace, and they only ran their furnace when no one was home. We thought about doing this in our current home, but the fireplace is on the same level as the thermostat - across the room actually, and we didn't want the other rooms to get overly cold as a result.
bulldinkie
12 years ago
I have 10' ceilings,on like corner cupboards etc I have dried flower bouquets looks pretty,sit items up there,my house is old so crocks,jugs etc look pretty too.

High ceilings, how do you...

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