lovinlife what exactly do you have for heating/cooling now? let me be certain I am clear; part of home is on slab, part has a crawl space? attic over both parts of home? since you have propane,I would most likely go with Heat Pump. the question is whether one unit or two. my suggestion is to call a dealer in your area for recommendations. IMO

We'll need some more info, regal. Is this a true load-bearing beam, with some serious heavy duty lumber, or is a faux (fake) beam. Faux beams are often just simple box beams (hollow) made up of light lumber and finished to look like a single large beam. If it were a real loadbearing beam, it does not seem likely it could drop down from the ceiling. If the beam is supposed to be supporting the ceiling, the ceiling ought to drop with the beam. You may be able to tell if it's a loadbearing beam by looking at what's above it. If the ends of ceiling joists, or second-floor joists, are perpendicular to and resting on top of the beam, it's a loadbearing member, and sagging indicates a problem that needs to be addressed.

Is it correct that these are "decorative only" beams, and serve no structural function? If so, then ask your builder to give you architectural elevation drawings of the space both ways. Then see what you think. I also recommend that you find a copy of the book by Architect Sara Susanka called the not so big house. I say that because there are a lot of contemporary and well designed homes in the book. You can see what you think when you see them. Her book also discusses how spaces that are too large can feel as though they are too formal and lack intimacy. Since it sounds like you don't want to be too formal, I think you would get a lot out of this book.

Thanks so much for all the replies! Redhead, the funny thing is that I do like stopping short of the beams for some of the furniture pieces we have. As you said, it does highlight the ceiling itself. But in the kitchen it drives me crazy because no matter what, junk gets shoved up there and the tops get horribly, filthy dusty. Yuck. Lalitha do you have a picture of your cabinets? I would love to see what going up to the beam would look like! I am leaning towards that solution right now, but still a bit on the fence. Countrygirl thanks for chipping in! Your new kitchen has such a lovely space, and I am hugely jealous of your beautiful window. PS. - I agree with you that staining your cabinets would look gorgeous with your new soapstone. I think the workers reluctance is due to oak grain being so hard to cover unless you take several time-consuming steps. But I would definitely paint the cabinets too. I am flirting with the idea for mine, too, but I love stained alder. Plus it gives me a direction for when we update the kitchen twenty years after this reno! Lavender lass, good to hear from you! The storage issue is a factor, as I can't reach up there too easily, but I plan on having a little step stool anyway so should not be a concern. And if stuff is going to be shoved up there anyway, I might as well make sure it is pretty and protected from dust - or fill up the space with display items. So I am still on the fence... I would LIKE to go to the ceiling, mainly because I would never have to clean the cabinet top. How's that for shallow reasons :)? It gives me enough clearance to use 15" cabinets on top of the upper cabs, which is nice. Also, I do like the look - up close. The problem is that as soon as I walk five feet away, I can't see a whole lot of anything between the beams. So I am scared of paying extra for something that isn't actually seen very much. Going to the bottom of the beams, then adding some molding, sounds like the better idea - but then it would be best to do extra-tall cabinets and just glass in the top part. Hmmm... That may be the way to go then????