Houses are not Legos. You do not raise the ceiling in one little box while ignoring the rest, or the implications for the second floor space .

Costs for something like that could be 20K, or 200K, depending on the whole home complexity and the difficulty of integrating such a vertical bump into the rest of the design.

Only the specific builder building your specific home can give you the cost. No one here can estimate it (see posts above).

If it's new construction and nothing is built yet, I'd consider sinking the floor before raising the ceiling. You'd get the effect you want without major implications elsewhere

It is new construction and I don't want to finalize my plan

Normally a feature like that is incorporated into the design from the start which isn't hard to do and if done and correctly then it can be fairly inexpensive, the largest expense being either taller windows or transoms in the first floor.

Why not meet in the middle and do 10' ceilings throughout?

That might work but I like to use the ceiling break as a space definer, especially in an open plan.

Is your house 1-story or 2-story? Sorta makes a difference. A tray ceiling is so HGTV...why not simply consider a raised ceiling?

IMO those high ceilings eat money for heating and cooling and honestly anything over 9’ is just wasted space.Maybe just look at a coffered ceiling

Or...mebbe 10-feet. I likeum 10-feet! But I'm not arguing Patricia! :-)

Agree with Patricia and Virgil. I have both and like both. 10' is certainly high enough especially in what is not a huge room

"Also cost to do a trey?"

Tray ceilings are dated, like 10-15 years gone.

Regarding raising the ceiling to 11-12', in addition to what everyone else has said, think about lighting from such a high ceiling. That will need some expertise, and could be a PITA to live with.

Consider compromising at 10' throughout the downstairs.

I would like to think about other aspects of a family room. Sound bounce. The feeling of coziness that a human height ceiling provides... I am not one who loves extra high ceilings in a family spce with a tv....

"It is new construction and I don't want to finalize my plan without even an idea of the cost..."

So why are you wasting time here instead of asking the builder? (or A builder, if you don't already have a contract with one)

And the cost varies by location. You didn't even say where you are--West Virginia? Connecticut? Los Angeles? Don't bother actually answering that, since there are a jillion other issues involved. Ask the builder.

And what Sophie said.

I like to give some idea of costs even if it is a guess. We were quoted $1000 a foot a few years ago for ceiling height increases. On a 2000 sqft per floor house. Relatively low cost of building area.

Framing is cheap upcharge. Cladding varies - brick more expensive than siding. Drywall and paint aren't much. Windows need to be bigger which is variable based on window quality. Cheap windows might be $50 more each or it might be $200 more each. So the number of windows and quality matter a decent amount.

Now - you are talking varying ceiling heights. Ranch? We had it with a 2 story so then we had an extra few steps upstairs. That costs some money but it wasn't bad.

HVAC load increases a bit. Insulation costs a bit.

Here is the thing - most cheap new construction has high ceilings which shows you it doesn't cost that much. Or people really like it. Take your pick. Personally - in that size room - don't go over 10. 10 feet from 9 everywhere else is a subtle change and may not get really noticed. We had 11 in great room and 10 in others. It was subtle and I doubt people noticed but it gave the room a grander feeling. It was 20x24 or something in that area. This time we are doing a type of vault - flat peaked I would call it. The ceiling is split in 3 equal parts. 2 are sloped and the middle is flat. 13-14 feet at the flat part. Nothing above it. Not seen that often around here which we liked.

"If it's new construction and nothing is built yet, I'd consider sinking the floor before raising the ceiling."

Pro advice to create steps DOWN into one room?

I would never, never do a sunken family room.

No sunken floors.

Really worst design element ever not to mention a falling hazard.

10 feet from 9 everywhere else is a subtle change and may not get really noticed. We had 11 in great room and 10 in others. It was subtle and I doubt people noticed but it gave the room a grander feeling

You are correct that it won't physically get noticed in that people will not say to you, "Oh I like that these ceilings are higher than the ceilings in the rest of the rooms"

However, you are correct in that it will get noticed in how people "feel" when they enter the room.

I did 10' ceilings throughout my first floor but dropped my ceilings to 9' in my hallways. However I did another trick in all the rooms to make it feel more "cozy" in that I put a hatband running around the room at the 8' height and then anything above 8' was painted the same color as the ceiling. It helps bring the room down to human scale while still making it all feel open and airy.

Sunken floors are broken bones waiting to happen.