I think keeping the ceiling lower in the dining room is cozier, more intimate and more conducive to conversation as noise won't echo

I guess it all depends on what your design concept and preferences may be. If you want to have a visual separation between kitchen and dining, then you could mimic the separation between kitchen and great room. On the other hand if you want the kitchen and dining to appear visually as a single space, do not add the arch.

In either case, I would not add a vaulted ceiling to the dining room since it would create three types of ceilings in three adjacent rooms and look as if there was no relationship at all among the three spaces. If you want to do anything other than a flat ceiling in the dining area I would mimic the living room ceiling.

By the way, a dining room only 10 feet wide hardly leaves enough room for a table with chairs and access on both sides. You need at least 11 feet and 12 would be much better (table 3' wide + 4' space each side for chairs = 11' minimum), and that's without any storage or serving units in the room.

I agree that you should not go with three different ceiling types in this space.

My first choice: Vault the great room, keep the other two rooms flat ceilings. This would lend importance and volume to the great room. If you go that way, I'd move the fireplace to the center; it seems to me that you'd want the fireplace (focal point) to mesh /match the apex of the ceiling treatment.

Second choice: Vault both the great room and the dining room. Two of the same ceiling treatments would create harmony, and the kitchen in the middle would appear more intimate (and it excuses you from the problem of how to handle cabinets waaaay up high).

Will the DR be formal or primarily for family use? I'd give it a similar stepped ceiling as the Great Room and add casing between Great Room and Kitchen, and Kitchen and DR. Otherwise, with the same 9-foot ceiling as the Kitchen, and with no casing between it and the Kitchen, it will appear to be 'part of the Kitchen'.

Definitely glad there is a consensus on limiting to two different ceiling types.

cpartist,

I was thinking the same way, it just feels like it should be more of an intimate location.

Virgil,

I broke down and widen the dining per suggestions here and struggling a bit with the depth due to cost. We have a small family and will not use the back side of the table, only when we entertain. But none the less I'm considering the bump out.

Mrspete,

I've never been so torn on such a detail and still not 100% decided. I originally had it a vault with central fireplace but couldn't find the inspiration for a fireplace that fit to scale going to the peak of the vault (10' ceiling with 5/12 vault).

If we end up going this direction I'd have the TV above the fireplace. Fireplace would be 7' wide, TV would be 42" wide (left to right) and then I'd need to use a firebox 42" wide at a minimum. This configuration also adds several thousand due to the venting at the roof, the additional stone to the sides and to the peak of the vault, and the niche/mounting/wiring for the TV.

Do you think it could go eitherway or would you stick with corner fireplace?

Would be interesting to hear what others say as well!

chisue,

It would be for family use 95% of the time for dinners but for breakfast and lunches the island will be the primary location. Any reason you'd chose a cased opening vs an arched opening? Do you think a simple rectangular step would still work with the octagon step in the great room? I plan to put two vertical and two horizontal beams in the great room step.