If contemplating a change, go for flat 12' ceilings, don't lower the walls, these are already framed; ceiling framing is easier at this stage of your build.

On house hunters everybody gets excited about vaulted ceilings. Just leave them that way.

Everybody gets excited about them until they live with all of the with their heat sitting up there at that peak and none down where the humans are. And then there is all of the sound echoes amplified by all of that hard space overhead. It's also not to a human scale, so it never ever feels cozy and homey. That's why the hang out spot becomes the breakfast space or bedrooms.

Super Tall ceilings are to impress neighbors with the cathedral like space when they walk in. Nothing else.

IMO 12’ ceilings are just plain wasted money all the way around. Your heating and cooling costs will make you crazy .I think 9-10 ‘ flat ceilings are a much better choice and if you are going 10’ your doors should be higher.

"Super Tall ceilings are to impress neighbors with the cathedral like space when they walk in. Nothing else."

I couldn't disagree more. In our current home our foyer floorspace isn't all that large but its ceiling is vaulted with an overlook from the second floor. We've loved it since the day we first toured it as potential buyers. And not because we care what our neighbors think about it.

In our new build we couldn't vault the foyer easily without losing something with a higher priority, but we do have a vaulted keeping room with a dormer up high that lets in a ton of light and really opens up what could otherwise be a small-seeming space.

In addition, one of the kids' bedrooms upstairs is smaller than the others, but his ceiling is the only one that's vaulted and it's amazing how much larger and brighter his room feels as a result (his windows were able to be larger/higher due to the vault as well).

And while I'm at it, both the house I grew up in and one of my grandparents' houses had enormous rooms with vaulted ceilings and those rooms were always where the family migrated during holiday events and such.

So yes, there are plenty of us out here that love cathedral-like spaces and enjoy them in our homes.

As you can see it's a personal decision. If the height makes you uncomfortable, then close it in, but I don't think I'd lower the ceiling.

There is something to be said for how your space makes you feel.

I mean we all spend money on things that make us feel good in our space. Otherwise we would all have cheap cabinets, sheet vinyl floors, and laminate counters. Those are all functionally fine. But people think it's worth the expense to live in a place that makes them feel good.

Couldn't the same be said about other aspects of our lives? Cars, clothing, etc.

It will be just fine. Lots of folks go through the construction jitters. It will be fine.

If you need to talk to someone, talk to your architect who designed it this way! :-)

Thanks everyone for their advice, I'm a little relieved to see differing opinions and not everyone thinking I am wrong :)

And we will have beams on the ceiling, they were to be only on the vault but maybe we bring some cross pieces down. And a chandelier or fan will bring the eye down some also. I feel like the fireplace wall will need something impressive - I'm wanting either painted white brick FP to the ceiling, or brick at the bottom and shiplap to the top...or the whole wall in shiplap....a walls and ceiling will be white except the beams (probably keeping cedar). Other ideas?

I'm not sure if hubby will go for a change the framing, which is why I'm brainstorming others and trying to reassure myself that it will be fine - thanks again for that, Virgil Carter Fine Art :)

@mark1993 absolutely!

I think with all the features you will have that stops the eye - you'll be FINE and it won't feel like a phone booth - to the contrary - I think it can be light, airy and breathtaking.

heating/cooling... it will only matter for heating.

our vacation home has high ceilings... 18' vaulted in the great room, 15' vaulted in the master bedroom. its wonderful in the summer, which is when we are there. cool air drops, so all of the cool stays exactly where we are.

winter is another matter. heat rises and we don't. i hate the place in winter and try to do just day trips when we have to go for some reason. we have ceiling fans that reverse but i'm not impressed with any improvement they make.

We have an 18' ceiling in our great room and foyer. A 16' in our office and and 12' in our master. Love all of them! I also never had an issue with noise or coziness. Probably helps that we are three person family.

Heating challenges? Install one or more ceiling fans...! They are great in the summer as well! :-)

So if we do one ceiling fan, should it be centered in the whole room or centered over the sitting area?

Too big of a room for just one fan. And fans don't really work all that great for heat. Plus, you gotta have scaffolding to climb up and clean them.

So I'm wondering about adding another fan - do I need two in the room, so one is more centered over the sitting area? It will require changing/adding another beam. Or keep just one in the middle of the room? Pics of the two options attached, (current plan except floor outlets have been edited, and revised idea) advice appreciated again! Thanks for all input so far.

You either need two fans, one giant honking fan that would be pretty imposing.

Fans come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and designs. Check out Big Ass Fans or google large ceiling fans:

With a large fan, one will do the trick! :-)

All I can say is that I am jealous of your tall ceilings! I am living with 8 foot high ceilings in my midcentury home (which I love , dont get me wrong). I think once you get drywall and paint up, it will look fabulous.

I think it's awesome! 12' vaulted ceilings are very common where I live, and they look and feel great. Especially with the design elements you have planned, it should be just fine!

Thank you! and rockybird, mid-century is my other favorite style for sure so i'm jealous of that! We felt like that would have taken another level of expertise to build something like that.

So my builder did say they could lower the vault but need to decide quickly...but now I'm thinking we might leave it. I saw it again in person yesterday and it didn't look quite as huge as the photo makes it appear. And it did feel like 1 ceiling fan would be enough.

I so appreciate everyone's input and letting me bounce off ideas!

UGiven the dimensions of the room you should be able to get by with one good sized fan.

Big Ass Fans - $6K+..... for one you'd want in your house. $3500 for one from Home Depot that you could put in the workshop.

One fan. The room is not that huge.

Yes we'll be using one fan, it doesn't feel so massive as I stand in it again in person.

Cased openings, horizontal beams, or fabulous wide-spread light fixtures, fans, or sculptures -- all of these will help bring the perceived ceiling height down, without sacrificing the cathedral ceilings that you envisioned when you originally planned the space.

I personally HATE being in rooms with super high ceilings, while my husband loves BIG walls of windows. We found several compromises: (1) alternating shed roofs, which create interior spaces of both ilks -- cozy vs. majestic and (2) in the majestic 12' spaces, we have low-hanging oversized light fixtures that evoke a little more of that "sheltered" feeling, without sacrificing the wall-o-windows expanding up to that 12' mark!

Yesterday I toured a Southern Living home that was stunning. It was decorated by designers who staged it to raise money for two charities. The architectural details were very cool. What struck me were the 10 foot ceiling heights throughout the 6500 square foot home. It felt very airy and spacious. There were windows on two walls in nearly every room. Our current home has a vaulted ceiling in the foyer/ center hallway and great room, and 10 to 13 feet in all the other rooms. I am thinking that in our future build, I would be very happy with 10 foot ceilings in all rooms. I would appreciate everyone's thoughts on this.

Though a lot has to do with personal taste, I'd vote for different ceiling heights to suit the home's design, architecture, roof style and region of contruction.

While architecting our home with hip roofs with, we (I) had crazy ideas about superhigh ceilings for our large home, currently under construction, however decided to have a blend of ceiling heights for entryway, bedrooms, living areas and even garages, which made more sense and glad we did. We used a blend of 9, 10, 12 and 16' ceilings with 16' for the two rear garages only. Instead of using ceiling heights which do nothing for the physical space, we opted for very open spaces, very wide hallways and corridors which can be experienced and felt every day.