IMO nothing over 10 ' A 12" ceiling eats heating and cooling and I do not think adds one iota of better design to a home. That height also plays with sound and lighting becomes a real hassle. If this is aforever home just think logistics of even changing a ight buls when you get older. The amount od extra drywall, paint etc for eally no benefit. With the cost of heating and cooling going up all the time who wants to waste that money. I nalso do not understand bonus rooms, you either build for a purpose or not. So what exactly do you plan for the above garage bonus room? If nothing then leave it out of the plan. Spend that money somewhere else. This will be in most cases a smaller home and well designed it will see you through the rest of your life. BTW I love my MCM ranch with 8' ceilings and have never wished they were higher .I think a well designed home is far more about function thta adding cost to have a higher ceiling.

I find 12' ceilings a bit excessive and awkward. Your kitchen cabinets will end way below the ceilings as will any other wall furniture (book cases etc) unless you go custom, and cabinets/shelves that go 12' up the wall will be impossible to access without a full on ladder. Changing lightbulbs etc will always require a huge ladder. And I just think it lacks coziness and is a lot of extra cost for space you can't actually use. I'd definitely choose having a finished basement sooner over doing this!

Patricia, our HVAC guy said electric bill may go up at most $50/month during peak Summer/Winter months. Rest of the year weather is pleasurable. The bonus room is over the garage and will probably be office/library. I'm not too worried about light bulbs at one of our businesses we have 16 foot ceilings and have a bulb changer on extension pole in the closet that's fairly easy. That's why we went with 3 bedroom 2300 SF open floor plan versus larger knowing one day we won't have two kids, three dogs and a cat. Our house now is 1675sf it just feels super flat and condensed.

denkyem thanks for your feedback. Since this is an open floor plan I don't want it to feel flat, I'd rather look at walls then ceiling LOL. The basement was put on hold after deciding to go with massive back deck with folding four doors and covered gable! The basement was/is going to have guest room, gym, then just a second tv room.

Floor plan didn't post.

I think height changes like Sabrina said will make the house more interesting than having 10' or 12' ceilings everywhere. Good design is not as simple as just having a lot of space. I have a double height living room and I could really live without it. But everything else on the first floor is 9' and the second floor is 8'. Remember that when you have rooms that aren't human scaled it has the potential to just make people feel vaguely uncomfortable without knowing why. The ceiling height needs to be in proportion to the size of the room as well. I know someone who also has a double height ceiling room like my living room, but that room is narrower and it ends up looking disproportionate and doesn't work. My room has almost the same dimensions width and length as the height of the ceiling. Hopefully you have an architect. Discuss this decision with them.

Oh! Well whaddya know? The architect already did the 12' ceiling in the great room and 10' everywhere else. Great minds think alike. :-)

With 10' ceilings in the kitchen, I'd seriously consider a stacked cabinet arrangement. Like this:

Kitchen · More Info

Intracoastal Beach Home · More Info

I think you have other problems besides the height.

Like your having to walk through the kitchen work zone to get to the master bedroom.

Or having the pantry on what should be a window wall.

Or where you'll put your bed in the master.

Or why you need double doors into the master bath.

Below is something I post all the time. Anything in BOLD you might want to rethink. Remember it's a lot less expensive to get it right on paper before starting to build.

The best houses orient the public rooms towards the south for the best passive solar heating and cooling

The best houses are L, U, T, H, or I shaped.

The best houses are only one to two rooms deep. And covered lanai, porches, garages, etc count as rooms in this case.

The best houses make sure kitchens have natural light, meaning windows so one doesn't have to have lighting 24/7 to use the kitchen. (And no, dining areas with windows 10' or more from the kitchen will not allow for natural light.)

The best houses make sure all public rooms and bedrooms have windows on at least two walls.

The best houses do not if possible put mechanical rooms, pantries or closets on outside walls

The best houses do not have diagonal interior walls making for odd spaces.

The best houses keep public and private spaces separate.

The best houses do not have you walk through the work zone of the kitchen to bring laundry to the laundry room.

The best houses do not have the mudroom go through any of the work zones of the kitchen.

The best houses do not use the kitchen as a hallway to any other rooms.

The best houses do not put toilets or toilet rooms up against bedroom walls or dining areas.

The best houses do not have walk in closets too small to stand inside.

The best houses do not have roofs that are overly large, and dominate the exterior of the house.

The best houses do not have stick on exterior materials only on the front façade.

The best houses have an organizing “spine” so it’s easy to determine how to get from room to room in the house and what makes sense. Meaning they don’t have meandering circulation paths.

As for height, I have 10' high in my main rooms and 9' in my hallways. 10' is plenty high enough to feel spacious.

Farmhouses often evolve over time. The barn (garage) might have been detached off to the side, then converted to a garage, then an addition built between the house and garage, and finally the master bedroom added.

Natural light and cross ventilation was important so rooms would have windows on all possible walls.

This is really rough, but should give you an idea how the right side could be spread out, helping to make the house stand apart from the mass of the garage.

10' ceilings are plenty high. When you mix ceiling heights you need to deal with door and window head heights.

Your mind is obviously made up. The pit fall have been listed. You are determined to do it your way anyway. It's only money!!

10' is more than enough for your main space. You don't have the dimensions to make a conventional 12' seem proportional. Features that could change that include a cathedral ceiling, large beams across the ceiling or clerestory windows on one wall for added light when you have a covered space outside that blocks some light.

I do not see the storage garage for the ten foot ladder.

I love a high ceiling but would want it in just the main space only, not the smaller rooms. A good designer should help you figure out how to keep it comfortable in a responsible way. Really good insulation, and skylights or vent fans that could release hot air in the summer. In the winter, well placed ceiling fans can help circulate warm air down. Good shades for the summer sun. LoE glass helps insulate during both summer and winter.

I 100% recommend a split heat pump system so you can have zones and heat/cool your great room separately. if you're weary about heat pumps, there are new models that area amazing and don't need backup heat in temps down to -13° F.

My ceiling kind of "eats" light, but it's not a problem for me. I use pendant lamps, floor lamps, sconces, etc. I prefer most of my lighting to be right around or just above eye level, honestly. I do have spotlights and under cabinet lights in the kitchen, and it is definitely bright enough!

We built last year in FL and have 10 to 12 ft ceilings. Living/public areas and master bedroom have 12 ft ceilings. Other spaces have 10 or 11 ft ceilings. Our house is quite a bit larger than yours, so all our rooms are large, which balances out the 12 ft ceilings.

I have a tall step ladder and have no issues reaching my 12 ft ceilings ... I even painted those rooms recently and I'm not young. I keep the tall step ladder in a storage closet. Some of you here have a very narrow view of the world and make mountains out of mole hills!

For your size house and rooms, I think the 10 ft ceilings will work well, with a higher or vaulted ceiling in the great room.

Just remember to scale your windows and doors appropriately for the taller ceilings.

We have 11 ft ceilings in the main living space, which now feels normal. It really depends how you want to use the space. We have some furniture (well, sort of-- a pipe organ) that's a little over 9 ft tall. It would be cramped in a 10 ft room. We also use the high wall space for really big floor to ceiling windows that really let enjoy our meadowl view, and to hang larger art. The living room in the old part of the house has the traditional New England 7-1/2 ft ceilings. We pretty much never go in there because it feels cramped and opressive.

Yes, the kitchen cabinets don't go to the ceiling. Doesn't seem to be a big deal. Because we paid a lot of attention to insulation and air sealing our utility bills are a fraction of what they were in a 2000 built house with 8 ft ceilings.

12’ requires a larger ladder to get to the smoke detectors or vacuum/dust the ceiling fans/chandeliers. The older you get the higher that 12’ feels. IMO, 10’ is quite a bit more comfortable but still high. 8’ doors are a pain, no over the door hangers, can’t reach the top to clean, would not do it again.

Isn't it great that we can make these different choices that fit our individual needs and wants!

I love my 36" x 8' interior doors throughout the house. Also love my 42" x 10 ft wood front door with wide sidelites and my 10 ft high sliders throughout the house in the rooms with 12 ft ceilings. I'll mention again that we are in FL, so high ceilings make sense here.

I had 11 in the main area in last house (10 otherwise downstairs). In our current house, we did 10 down and a portion at 14 but with no windows on that 14 and no lights either other than a chandelier which is easy to get to.

Light bulbs are such a rare thing to change nowadays that you shouldn't worry too much about that. That being said, I go to my MIL's house to change her bulbs (color choice not failure) on an 8 ft ceiling because she doesn't like being on a ladder.

Windows high up are a concern for window coverings and I refused to have anything over 10 in this house (and they still are an issue). Our one tall ceiling was my wife's preference.

I would not trust an HVAC guy to give me an estimate on monthly heating bills - that is not in their wheelhouse. Almost anywhere in VA will have way higher heat than a/c bills especially in that house with the completely covered windows. I live in central NC and heat is typically 3X a/c. People just get frustrated with a/c bills but heat is way higher. I have a really tight house and we like to sleep in the low 60s and heat is still twice a/c. My point is the $50 a month for heat and a/c doesn't make sense. An bigger over estimate for cooling than heating. That being said, in a well insulated house, taller walls are not that big of a deal. Wall gain in a/c season is up to 20% of total and closer to 50% for heating. So A/C bill would be up 4%, but heat would be up 10%. This is based on 20% more wall space for 12 ft vs 10. Obviously, done in only 1 room would decrease those numbers. Most of the time taller walls = taller windows which is another component.

Unrelated - this is an ... internet plan. DON"T DO IT!!!

You have 16 acres, build something that makes sense on the site. Oriented to maximize southern light for more sun in the winter and less in the summer (with appropriate overhangs). This one has terrible light - every single window in the public space has an overhang.

The percentage increase in build cost is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. Ceiling height doesn't matter for your flooring, appliances, grading, utilities, foundation, roof etc etc. The primary cost is to the exterior and this doesn't look to be brick/stone. The inspiration pic looks like pretty inexpensive siding.

You should be able to take drywall, paint, siding budget up 20% and framing up 10%. When lumber is expensive, framing eats up a lot. But, my crystal ball says lumber will be down when you build with high interest rates. (Obviously I don't have one....). This is based on building several personal houses as cost-plus meaning I saw all the receipts. All had 10 ft ceilings. One was a serious budget build with vinyl siding and $3k in appliances.

Flawed..........sorry.You are focused on the wrong things. Many of which will be one gigantic pain post BUILD. Hope you don't have kids headed in from garage to kitchen and their ROOMS.

Want your guests peeking into your master bedroom when they use the loo in that powder room.....? ( have a client with this unfortunate set up and she detests it as well.

Refine before you build is my advice. Again..sorry but not yet great. No matter the ceiling heights

Agree with the others— this plan is poor and doesn’t do justice to your site. On the ceiling business— I also find 8 feet uncomfortably low, but 10 feet is just right. While you will need to scale your windows/doors for 10 feet,the scaling for 12 feet makes your kitchen cabinets, furnishings, window treatments, art, all more challenging. It’s like a domino effect. While super high ceilings can look grand, if any of the scaling details are off, it just looks cheap and sloppy. I’d go with 10 feet everywhere.

My second home has 12’ ceilings in the open living, dining & kitchen, I don’t like it for some of the reasons stated above. The bedrooms, baths, halls, etc. are all 10’ …. I much prefer that height. But in my primary MCM home all of the ceilings are 8’ & I love it, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I’ve had 2 places with 15-16’ ceilings. They were lofts and wonderful. Could have massive scaled art, spectacular light fixtures. Hosted the best parties!

12' ceilings throughout is a significant cost so its not usually seen except in higher end. Assuming your builder also included more glass, 8' doors etc or its not as grand.

Placement of the master with a walk past the kitchen sink & powder will make this a hard resale.

sounds chillier in the winter

Interesting comments from everyone. Before moving to my current home, I only lived in homes with 8' ceilings. As a kid, we'd visit various relatives who lived in the city in 1920's two or three flats. They all had 10' ceilings (along with 1 foot thick, solid masonry exterior walls, but that's a different discussion). Thought the ceilings were pretty cool at the time and gave a spacious feel to the rooms, although it did seem kind of awkward in the bedrooms which were pretty tiny. I wouldn't say it gave an elevator shaft feel, but seemed kind of off.

My current home, which was built in the early 80's, has a cathedral ceiling in the great room that goes to 14' and a living room with a shed ceiling that's 14' at the high end. The bedrooms also have shed type ceilings that are only 12' at the high end. I really like the increased height, but the sloped ceilings, which all go down to a 9' starting point, also don't make it seem too high either. The bathrooms (which are small compared to current standards), closets and bedroom hallway all have 8' ceilings. High ceilings for small spaces give an elevator shaft feel to the room.

Given that, my impression is that flat ceilings 10' high would be perfect for all the reasons mentioned. Of course, 12' high would be grand, but I'd have a hard time reconciling that with a "farmhouse" style, which implies, to me at least, "warm and cozy", not really "grand" or "making a statement." But, that's me.

Best of luck with your new home.

I’d be more focused on amending the plan you have then the ceiling height. There seems to be a lot of issues with it. Walking through the kitchen to the master, jack and jill bathroom, closets on exterior sides of the house, etc. I think there’s a lot you can fix on the current plan which might be money better spent then on super tall ceilings.

Our builder quoted 18.5% increase for the construction and finish of higher walls and to scale trim, doors, windows, garage doors, etc.

That's a huge house that'll come with a high pricetag ... and you're talking about adding nearly 20% more just for extra-high ceilings. There's a reason more people aren't building this high. It isn't that people haven't thought of it, and it isn't that people aren't willing to throw money at it.

Seriously, rather than building these super-high ceilings throughout the whole house, consider doing a high cathedral vault ONLY in the living room. This'll give you the wow-factor you desire, and the difference between the living room and the adjacent rooms will have more impact than extra-high ceilings throughout. You can do some fantastic things with cathedral ceilings -- take a look at the various beams, etc. that are possible.

Your kitchen cabinets will end way below the ceilings as will any other wall furniture (book cases etc) unless you go custom, and cabinets/shelves that go 12' up the wall will be impossible to access without a full on ladder. Changing lightbulbs etc will always require a huge ladder.

These are practical considerations.

And I just think it lacks coziness and is a lot of extra cost for space you can't actually use.

Yes, the only thing you'll get from this huge price increase is a wow factor.

Remember that when you have rooms that aren't human scaled it has the potential to just make people feel vaguely uncomfortable without knowing why. The ceiling height needs to be in proportion to the size of the room as well. I know someone who also has a double height ceiling room like my living room, but that room is narrower and it ends up looking disproportionate and doesn't work.

Yes. Do your best to go see some houses with these proportions. I really think you're unhappy in your current small space (I remember those days), and you're swinging the pendulum too far in the other direction.
With 10' ceilings in the kitchen, I'd seriously consider a stacked cabinet arrangement. Like this:

Do look at the prices of stacked cabinets.
Like your having to walk through the kitchen work zone to get to the master bedroom.
Or having the pantry on what should be a window wall.
Or where you'll put your bed in the master.
Or why you need double doors into the master bath.

Yes, this house's layout has some problems.

I would not trust an HVAC guy to give me an estimate on monthly heating bills - that is not in their wheelhouse.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Your heating /cooling bills will depend upon the quality of your insulation and windows + a number of other things, which your HVAC guy can't predict about a house that doesn't yet exist.
Want your guests peeking into your master bedroom when they use the loo in that powder room.....?

I think this powder room was placed for back-yard convenience, but it'll be a pain for other use.

In closing, definitely consider doing a cathedral ceiling in the living room only.

Only commenting on personal experience of high ceilings. We have 13’ downstairs and 10’ upstairs. We do not have an open floor plan, our rooms flow but aside from the kitchen/family room all spaces are separate. No issues with sound. Love the high ceilings, certainly makes it more grand and large. I just came from a 10’ downstairs and 9’ upstairs home, not much of a difference in total square feet but a world of a difference in overall feel.