I would open the wood walls over the doorways, but leave the walls in. I might possibly widen the doorways, but otherwise leave the wood up where you were thinking of putting sheetrock. By making the doorways taller, you will have more light and air passing back and forth and you will see your kitchen light fixture better. I like the tall cab and would not remove it. I don't see a great improvement to see the entire run of counters and sink. I'd possibly open the doorway up to the cab/counter depth, but not all the way to the bs. The view you want to be focused on is still to the window, not your kitchen electrics and faucet. I'd do the beam or a T molding like you would transition a floor where the ceilings meet. I love open floor plans, but don't think that opening up in the way you proposed will gain you an advantage.

Its a regional issue but when you want something different it often becomes a matter of skill. Where a higher level of skill is required the subs simply learn how to do it. In the Boston area there is a 400 year old tradition of smooth plaster that can be painted or wallpapered. Today taped drywall is generally a DIY method; professionals use a skim coat finish called "veneer plaster" on an absorbent drywall base called "blueboard". For decades it has been cheaper than taped drywall because it is so much faster to finish (no sanding). Now its about the same cost and if you don't tell the contractor you want taped drywall you will get veneer plaster. The veneer is only 1/16" thick but its very hard. The finish is flawless and fewer coats of paint are needed and they last longer. Unfortunately, you only have to drive 50 miles south west of Boston to find builders who have never heard of it. Nevertheless, its well worth the effort to search for blueboard installers in you area.

Cubes where the room is not wider or longer in at least one direction than the ceiling is high are not particularly comfortable, similar to how large rooms with low ceilings are not particularly comfortable. In a cube, the room tends to start feeling shaft like, where a large room with a low ceiling often seems to sag or press down in the center. Also, cubes are static and rectangles are not. It might be better if the ceiling was 15-16 if 24 is the largest dimension of the room. Peaks are a little different. I lived in an apartment where the original parlor floors were essentially a golden rectangle. They had been lofted at one end (about 1/3 of the space) and it made the high ceiling in the remaining area kind of elevator shaft-like. The apartments that maintained the original proportions were more comfortable spaces. Of the above pictures Mutiny and Rufty seem fine because of the length of the room and the ability to experience the height from the opposite end of the room in some sort of perspective. I actually find the Shades Creek kitchen proportions unpleasant. It makes a good picture but I don't think I would like working in that kitchen. I am curious as to how many people with 8-9 foot ceilings vacuum or clean them on a regular basis. I am not sure the extra height makes rooms extra dirty? That said I had to clean my 14 foot LR with elaborate plaster cornices with an extention pole with brushes on it...I purposely did not have any lighting in that ceiling. I think the people who bought the apartment from my buyer put in recessed cans. (Not right in a 1830s house and very hard to change. A ten foot ladder is much harder to manage than an 8 foot ladder).

I've done more work on this. So here is where we are: 2nd Insualtion Contractor, 35 years experience. Did not like that our 2nd batch of blown in was cellulose blown on top of the original which was fiberglass. That was his biggest hangup. He said we have adequate vapor barrier and the plywood sheeting is in excellent shape with no mold. He was concerned the ridge vent wasn't cut wide enough. Says there is no blockage of proper vents. Is mystified why we have issue but thinks it could be moisture trapped in the fiberglass insulation not able to breathe out thru the cellulose. To have it vacuumed out and reblown could be upwards of 12k. He has never seen anything like this and really didn't have an answer. 2nd builder expert here, doesn't like mesh ridgecap and thinks we should switch to omni vent Original roofer - willing to switch out to omni vent (if I can get ridge to match the shingle, shingle color may be discontinued - building supplier looking into it). Says where he has used it, he has had to shovel snow out of attic space but thinks our location wouldn't be an issue with that, but can't guarantee it. Original roofers other workers (family - generations of builders and very good at what they do) - think we should add an attic fan for ventilation rather than change out to higher omni vent. Also think we should add dehumidifer versus air exchanger. Knows we live in a marshy area near ponds and keep circling back to thinking our air has higher humidity here. Even though one HVAC person says that other homes exist in these same conditions without problems. He also thinks our carpeting and wood floors absorbed moisture and with switching to vinyl plank we changed the indoor conditions and those surfaces hold a lot of household humidty. You know how when it rains, it pours? With all this going on, we are distracted by deciding whether to put in Geothermal by years end. Don't know if upgrading our HVAC of 21 year old units would add more fan/air flow/change how house air operates. Don't want to spend $3600 for air exchange if that doesn't solve it. Right now it is chilly out, 2 days in a row of fall-like weather, leaves are turning. Outside temp 54ºF / 81% humidity outside. Inside one guage says 67º/52% and the other says 68º/47%. I realize every contractor is begging for help, short staffed, and I hate bugging people. I am not sure if I should contact another attic person/roofer? I don't like making more work for people. I was hoping to resolve this with simpler solutions rather than throwing baby out with the bathwater. More ideas?