That's a GREAT point!! I have a 5 yr old and 4 year old - both very rowdy boys. I could totally see things coming over the catwalk. lol

Well...this approach will be very visually dramatic! It's also a very extravagant use of finished space. The long corridors to access the various rooms are also a tip-off of how the second floor wasn't considered when the first floor was designed. Frankly, the playroom area looks very oversized, as if no one knew what to do there.

From what I can see of the outline of your first floor, it is very rambling and irregular, which translates into an expanded budget, so perhaps efficiencies and cost-saving are less important than the spatial drama. In that case, go for it, unless you have little children. Then listen to the folks above! Good luck!

Having 3 young kids myself, I also don't like two story spaces for a combination of the reasons above plus noise and heating/cooling expenses.

When my husband and I first moved to Texas, we lived in an apartment with three small kids. My second (autistic toddler, boy) tossed a hammer over the third floor balcony, and it landed in bushes. By God's grace, no one was hurt or killed. He continued to toss various things, mostly toys, causing me to hate multiple story living.

The house we're renting now is a two-story, and things are constantly streaming down the stairs, driving me absolutely batty, lol. I have 4 boys, and it always seems to be the 2-5 year olds who have this peculiar fascination with gravity, although once in awhile, even my 11 year old can't seem to help herself (experimenting with various materials to discover the next parachute advancement, using Lego figures).

I am not a fan of 2-story rooms, so I would reject it on those grounds alone. My objections are noise, wasted space/inefficiency (heating/cooling, as well as lost living space under the roof), and the terrifying thought of painting walls or washing windows in such a space.

But if cost is not a factor in building this house, you can probably afford to hire folks to clean and paint.

No catwalk.

Do you have a basement? If so, do you really need the attic storage space? If not, I would go for the storage space.

I agree with the others. I'm not a fan of huge open spaces.

Many times (in some cases, always) all the floors (and building massing) are designed at the same time. If something changes on one floor it will most likely affect the other floors (and the massing). Let your architect know you do not want two story spaces and send them back to the drawing board.

I don't think anyone complained of the look - it's the living with them part (sound transmission, heating/cooling, flying objects).

My cousin used to tie my raggedy Ann doll to the open stairwell (and it was not a cat walk - just about 4' of space at the top of the stairs) by her long braids and let her 'hang' there. It always produced the shrieking effect he was hoping for. Remember that well and we moved from that house when I was 5...and I'm 44 now. Oh the nostalgia. LOL

Sound travels up. Heat rises. Of course we're all different but to me it feels like the lobby of a small hotel. I personally like a house to feel more like a home with more intimate scale, but again that's personal and I would never fault someone for preferring the open look like you show.

How would you use the room with such a high ceiling? It would not be a good room for watching TV or playing board games as a family, but if you want to put in a 20 foot Christmas tree every year it would work well.

We sort of have one overlooking our great room as in the photo you showed, but ours is wider and just awkward. While we actually do like the high ceiling room below and use it all the time, mostly we get annoyed by the waste of space on the landing/catwalk and the fact that it seems to catch things we don't know quite what to do with immediately. We have one daughter, and she absolutely does throw things over, but is pretty good about only throwing clothes and papers - the one time she threw something harder she got in big trouble, so there hasn't been a repeat. For us the upshot is we're currently designing a new house, and our architect has specific instructions NOT to create similar space.

We have a tall ceiling open to the upstairs and I am trying to figure out a way to wall it off. The noise alone is driving me crazy as there is not ONE place in the house to escape the sound of the TV. For now, everyone's getting tv/bluetooth headphones for Christmas! LOL

little late to the game but I personally love the catwalk - we have lived in one for 19 years and I am building another house with one. can't wait to see your new plan! What area of the country are you building in?

I agree with CPA on the photo: it would make a wonderful hotel lobby for folks coming and going, and sitting and watching. For a comfortable and relaxing home, not so much!