We have 10' ceilings in our living room, 11' in the entry and formal dining, and then 8' everywhere else (except for a 9' tray in the master). We are planning a new build, and I most definitely want 10' in the living room again. I would like to have 9' ceilings in the kids' rooms so that my boys have a little more headroom above their bunkbed. I'm thinking about framing down some areas to 8' (like the laundry and powder room), but if that adds too much cost, I may not worry about it. Though, it would possibly give a little extra room for the HVAC to run between floors as we will build on a slab (we're in the south). A friend of mine has a 2-story house with 9' ceilings everywhere on the lower level. It feels good in her kitchen and dining room, but it feels too high in the laundry room and too low in the living room. One of the plans I'm considering is the Stone Creek by Mitch Ginn, and it has 9' ceilings throughout (I will look into getting them changed to 10' if we go with it). There's a good thread here for people building that plan. I believe most have kept the 9' ceilings, and I know for sure that at least one has put transoms over the interior doors. Here's a link to that thread: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/has-anyone-built-the-mitch-ginn-southern-living-stone-creek-dsvw-vd~3183196

You may want to look at the CR6 and CR4 specification sheets available from cree.com. The application reference shows the illumination results for a 10' ceiling height in foot candles. Here is a link that might be useful: CR6 and CR4 specification sheets

Wow! Love that layout. When chosing your range, read the instalation manuals online. This will take lots of time, but is so worth it. Some ranges have 0" clearance, so you can butt the range up to your corner cabinet and put the filler to the left of your drawer bank so if the wall is not perfectly perpendicular to the drawer bank you can still open drawers fully. Also, can use a 36" sink base, and use half the base for garbage, and half for recycling, instead of the dedicated 18" recycle base. This will give you more space for a wider drawer bank between the sink and the corner cabinet. looks like you have from right to left: 24" sink base 18" recycling base 24" drawer bank corner cab. Can do: 36" sink base - carefully planned out underneath with garbage and recycling with something like this http://www.frankeconsumerproducts.com/productdetail.php?prodid=71&node=201&group=53&lvl=3 or Whitehaus WH3618 30" drawer base will save space cuz each extra box/cabinet has some loss in the side panels, and you'll get a more generous sink. A 24" next to a 12" does not have as much storage as one 36". Consider sight lines... it looks like your kitchen sink is the first thing someone will see from the front door - you can do something really interesting with this cabinet, another wood type on the inset if that's interesting to you, or, lots of people here have interesting "farmhouse style" sinks. I have seen customized clay sinks with hand painted front that is baked in.

Thanks, everyone. Some comments and answers: Re: windows. I probably should not have referred to the main window as 60", as that is the rough opening size. I think it will be more like 56". Right now, that window has a casement window with two halves (although it is a pull-in). It seems quite comfortable and looks fine from the outside. Re: microwave. My initial thought was essentially that of Marcolo, namely, a shelf unit with no doors, but closed on the side, with a dedicated MW nook. I suggested the open shelves just to open up that area near the window and block less light than the box with sides would. Maybe a dedicated MW nook with true open shelves above? Or would that be too weird... Re: the blind wall corner cabinet. Funnily enough, in my sketchup drawing, the lower wall units of the stack do contain a blind corner. (It is just visible in the top view.) My KD said to axe it, saying the space is not usable enough. I agree with florantha: I don't see what harm it is to have the space, even if you wind up not using it. Re: Marcolo's shelf idea. I am a little confused. Do you truly mean above the sink? I can barely reach that area. I suppose it could be nice for some display items (dust catchers?) Re: trash and recycling. Yeah, I am planning to put it under the sink. In my original layout, I called for a very narrow sink cabinet (24") to allow a dedicated recycling base unit (18"). Generous GW contributors pointed out that we would be better off with a wider sink base and finding a way to fit recycling under it. I have a pretty clear idea of how I want the recycling to look, but I still have to "back engineer" it. I plan to use a sink with the drain in the rear corner (Thanks, Detroit_burb!) and a base with no center stile. (A recent thread is linked below.) This should give me enough room. Thanks again for the suggestions. Even if I don't take them all, (c.f., The Thread That Shall Not Be Linked ;-), I'll gratefully use them in some manner. Here is a link that might be useful: corner-drain sink thread