I don't have any ceilings under 10 feet, and if anything it helps smaller rooms feel larger.

If you have small rooms in your home and high ceilings, does it bother you?

Yes.

I have 9' in the Laundry (6'x9'), which is fine, and 10' in the Master Gas Chamber (3'x5'), which is weird. :-/ I wish the ceiling was at 8' in the water closet. I feel like I'm at the bottom of a huge rectangular tube.

If you have small rooms in your home and high ceilings, does it bother you? Thanks!

No because I visually lowered my ceiling height by running a "hat band" around the tops of the doors and windows at the 8' height.

My master bath vanity area:

10' ceilings cause a number of issues. All it takes is money to fix them. The Elevator Shaft effect is just one of the issues. The cost of your cabinets increasing by 50-100% is another. The lack of any spaces that feel psychologically cozy and warm is another.

The added expense of HVAC temperature control and stratified temperature layers is another. People hate ceiling fans and then design homes that require them. Then they don't own a ladder tall enough to change the light bulbs.

A well designed home has as a variety of ceiling heights that suit the rooms uses. And a variety of rooms that are both open and closeable. A giant warehouse with 10' ceilings is unattractive, unwelcoming, and inefficient.

What about 9' ceilings with strategic large trays over areas you want to be taller?

Or with 10' you can do some form of coffers to lower the ceiling

Large trays and coffers simply draw one's eye and attention up to the ceiling, tending to make the ceiling the most important element in a given space.

If the ceiling really isn't the most important element in a space, then it's often better to ignore it, or do something like CPA's "hat band" which brings the eye down and back into the space.

As for what size room is too small for a 10-foot ceiling, I guess it's an individual perception issue. I have 10-foot ceilings everywhere and it doesn't bother me at all.

We did 10 foot ceilings on our new construction home on the entire first floor and I love it. Wouldn't change it for a thing. Makes the space feel bigger.

The lack of any spaces that feel psychologically cozy and warm is another.

That's a blanket statement without any actual reality. No one for example walks into my current house and feels it lacks coziness. In fact one of the first things everyone says is how cozy and warm my house feels.

And my last house had ceilings that were 9'10" tall and the rooms there were quite cozy and warm too. (It was an 1898 Victorian).

As for what size room is too small for a 10-foot ceiling, I guess it's an individual perception issue. I have 10-foot ceilings everywhere and it doesn't bother me at all.

Agreed. Even if I hadn't done the hatband.

We have a "hat band" idea as well, with tiling in a powder room, and paint above. We also used medium-large rectangular tiles, horizontally so the eye is not drawn upwards.

It can be done.

Many such things can be done, if they're done with a measure of care and thoughtful planning.

We did something similar to CP's hatband in our office and master bedroom. I like it so much, I'm going to do it in our powder room and master bathroom. Those two rooms (which are smaller) feel weird to me with the 10' ceilings. They aren't awful, just feel like bringing the ceiling down would be better.

I’m a trendsetter. lol

It was common in Victorian houses to have a cove at the ceiling to wall intersection and a picture rail about a foot below it. The wall paper stopped at the picture rail.

A flat brass hook would be put on the rail and a picture would be hung by a brass rod or wire.

The ceiling height is 10 ft and the wallpaper height is 9 ft.

Another way to treat a tall ceiling was with simulated beams and a perimeter band.

The stair ceiling is 18 ft high.

Victorian houses learnt from CP.

I 100% agree with ODD, but love CP's solutions too.

In full disclosure though, I adore smaller and cozy spaces and don't like the wide open concept with huge vaulted ceilings that is sweeping through this country like a disease. :)

I'm ok with 8' ceilings, and feel 9 is perfect for larger rooms. However the 9' in my small bathrooms makes me feel like I'm at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

Original question: Wondering whether small rooms (powder room, bathrooms, laundry, etc),...

I don't think cozyness is the main factor when using the loo or tumble dryer :)

Green Designs says:

The added expense of HVAC temperature control and stratified temperature layers is another.

I appreciate your green focus, but this statement doesn't ring true, with me. Relatively small home (2400 sq ft, on my lot, was all that was allowed, but really pushes the boundaries of "open concept", with windows everywhere)- 10' down and 9' up. None of it energy inefficient. Quite literally, our energy costs are much less than many apartments with 8'-9' ceilings, and yes! It's all due to a well-designed home, HVAC system that's zoned and an energy-efficient temp control system. But I do know how on-top-of it one must be, to make the HVAC system good, before walls are put in. Hardest thing I ever had to learn.

And?

People hate ceiling fans and then design homes that require them. Then they don't own a ladder tall enough to change the light bulbs.

First, not all people hate ceiling fans.They are there for a reason. I certainly don't. I bought gorgeous stainless- but no bulbs. That is a feature I don't like. But down- 10'- they serve to bring the ceilings "down", and they are part of our energy-conserving plan. Not hard to clean, and I'm 5'2". Just have the right telescoping equipment.

Up: 9', still fans.

And all those fans work together to prevent stagnant air. They also work well with the simple concept of a thermal chimney.

As a result, we have very, very low utility bills. Quite honestly, we pay less than people with homes half our size/

One thing we really agree on is the need for great design. My architect lit the way.

Another? Sure. Cabinetry can cost a bit more. I have cabs in the kitchen that go all the way up. But the upper cabs are storage, for seasonal etc, and complete the clean lines I was going for. No need for extraneous furniture that I really didn't want- currently in a minimalist phase.

But planned correctly? The relatively small charge for the cabs, all the way up, cost me far less than whatever the heck I would have needed to store it all, and keep the look of the house. And well- they are so much easier to clean- no dust on top.

OP here, thank you all for your comments, and the photos were great, too. We live in a hot, steamy climate, so high ceilings provide energy efficiency and are historical. We're also using cabinetry to the ceiling for storage purposes. The hat/band ceiling treatments are a great idea for the small spaces. Otherwise we may leave the ceilings very white/ airy. I am worried about the "bottom of the well" feeling on the smallest rooms, but am hopeful it'll be okay with your suggestions and . I toured a home recently with 10' throughout, but larger rooms than ours, and loved the lightness. Our previous home had 8', and we got used to those -- they were fine -- but would feel sort of smothered after spending time on vacation or at friends' houses with higher ceilings.

Having just finished our house with 10' ceilings, it does take a little pre-planning to make sure that the areas seem appropriate from a spatial perspective. There are a lot of details that shouldn't be skimped on because with an element or two out of proportion and the space will feel "wrong". I'd recommend carefully considering trim (splurge on larger mouldings), placement of pictures or like CP pointed out hat bands, or wainscot height, 8' doors, etc. Even simple things like where you are going to place shower head heights, vanity lights, and shower door heights have to be considered.

It's not just 9' adding a foot.

We are in hot, humid weather and planned our high ceilings for just that reason. We might get down to 32 three or four times in the winter, and on those days, we just put on a sweater or turn up the heat. We will have at least sixty days in summer that are 99 and above, so high ceilings and ceiling fans are assets.

I was concerned about the high ceiling in the shower room, but I am going to ask the tile guy about making a border around 8 or 8-1/2 foot high. Thanks cpartist!

In my shower, I had them drop the ceiling to 9' and over my tub, I actually had them drop it to 8'.

Tub with dropped ceiling. In this case the hatband goes around the outside of the alcove.

Thank you for sharing your photos. Very helpful! P.S. I like the built-in shelves behind your tub!

Happy to help and thank you.

cpartist, is your shower ceiling tiled also? It looks like it may be white, but I can't tell. Ours is going to be like a closet without a door, if that makes sense. Right now, the doorway is the same height as the ceiling, but I think I want to make it a standard height doorway in case we ever want to put a shower door there. It's planned as a roll-in now.

No our shower ceiling is not tiled. The tile goes up the walls to the ceiling. Ceiling is the same color as the ceiling in the bathroom. The door height to the shower is 8' with a 6'8" glass door.