Ceiling heights in houses

[fan-of-fans]

Do you have a particular ceiling height that you prefer? Or what does your home have?

I have noticed older homes built in the 1940s and earlier tended to have higher ceilings, especially in the southern states. I was told it kept the home cooler as the hot air could rise a considerable distance from the floor. Of course colonial era homes in the north would have low ceilings to keep the warm air lower in the winter.

I notice most homes here from the 1940s onward tend to have 8 foot ceilings. Somewhere around 1965-1975 some houses would have 7 or 7.5 foot ceilings. Not sure if this had to do with the energy crisis or if it was a style choice.

As for higher ceilings, I have seen some 1950s-70s era homes with vaulted ceilings. But I have never really seen a home from that era that had tray ceilings or anything higher than 8 feet. I wonder why that is?

In the later 1980s I guess is when ceilings started getting higher again. Today it's not uncommon for homes to have 9 or 10 foot ceilings. Some houses have different wall heights at the front, such as the entry porch being higher than the rest. I don't recall that happening in houses from before about 1990. Most houses before then had the same wall height all around the house, such as ranch houses. I'm not sure what you call the style with the different wall heights.

As for my favorite ceiling height, I don't care for anything less than 8 feet. I like vaulted ceilings in the main areas because it makes the house seem larger and more open. I also like when the cabinets are open above, instead of those boxed in tops.

 

[gusherb]

If I were building from scratch I would do between 9-10' for most rooms. This house has primarily 8.5' ceilings with one room having a cathedral ceiling peaking at 15' and a bedroom with a tray ceiling that's 9.5'.

Older buildings in the city tended to have 10-13' ceilings in the storefronts depending on the building. Floors above the first tended to be between 9-12'. Homes are anywhere between 9-12' as well.

 

[petek]

I'm definitely in the vaulted / cathedral ceiling camp because it makes everything seem much more spacious and airy even if it's not all that grand a room size.  When I was a kid my mother was a rabid looki-loo at homes for sale, particularly "parade of homes" in new subdivisions.. She could spot those flags a flyin 5 miles down the highway whenever we traveled anywhere and of course it meant stopping and traipsing thru all of them.  I enjoyed it and I loved houses with vaulted ceilings.  I don't think my dad or sisters did as much.  

Whenever we viewed a house with vaulted ceilings dad would grumble about the added heating costs.. I can hear him still.

 

The first house my partner and I bought was a two story with regular height ceilings etc.. and it was nice, your first house is always nice cuz it's your first house. 

 

A few years later we're taking a drive just outside of town in the country and see this newly built house sitting on a hill with a soaring roofline and window wall of glass to the peak.. ahhhh.wouldn't that be nice,  but reality,, can't afford it. sort of chatter between us as we pass by.  

 

Well it couldn't have been but a week or two later and my partners long time friend is in town staying for a few days. They went out for a drive and come home.. "Guess how much that big house is selling for" the partner asks me.. They'd gone over to it for a look.   "I dunno"  200 he says and I"m like whoa, really. So we're into the car bustling over there so I could have a look inside.. Walked in the front door, up the foyer stairs to this big open living room with a soaring ceiling and wall of glass overlooking fields and the rockies and that was enough for me.. I'm home,, sold.    The house looked like a monstrous mcmansion from the road but in reality it wasn't. It wasn't much bigger than the house we were living in,, just a contemporary design and sitting on a hill made it look much grander than it really was. 

 

When we left there 10 years ago a vaulted ceiling was a must have now.  The house we're now in looks like a regular 4 level split but has a 18' cathedral ceiling over the living/dining/kitchen, with just 8'ft divider wall seperating the kitchen area.  And it doesn't really cost any more to heat and is a boon because we have a mini split up there that broadcasts cool air over the entire area (hot water heating, no ductwork for central ac) 

 

[abcomatic]

Our house built in 1897- 10' ceilings downstairs and 8 up. 20' from the attic floor to the peak in the center part of the roof.

 

[mattl]

I have an real issue with this.  Now days it seems builders are focusing on high ceilings even where they don't make sense.  I a great room, sure, a large master suite ok, but small rooms ? No.  Narrow hallways? No.

 

As a builder I've done a lot of differing spaces, but there is no way to easily create an warm intimate environment with 12 foot ceilings over your head.

 

[travis]

At least 9 foot.  There's no way to easily assemble a monitor top in a cramped room.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

I prefer 13 foot ceilings. My parents old vacation house was built in 1890. I LOVED those high ceiling. Made chandeliers appear more stately. The CO-OP where I live presently has 8 foot ceilings. It was built in 1965. My husband can touch the ceiling with his finger tips. I find 8 feet too low. If it were up to me, I'd make minimum ceiling heights no less than 9 feet.

 

[askolover]

My 1956 house has 8ft ceilings.  My grandmother's house had 9ft ceilings.  I remember my great-grandfather's house having 10 or 12ft ceilings.  I wish mine were 9 or 10 because there are some grandfather clocks and china cabinets that won't fit in my house.

 

[twintubdexter]

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">My house has 9' ceilings throughout which are fine with me. Having grown up in a home with typical 8' ceilings they don't seem all that different until I'm visiting someone with standard 8-foots. Then I feel somewhat cramped. Many homes here in the desert have living/great rooms with dramatic 12 or 15 foot ceilings. They're attractive until the power bill arrives. People fail to realize you heat and air condition <span style="text-decoration: underline;">cubic</span> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">feet</span>, not square feet. With triple-digit temperatures the norm from now until late September that's important, especially if your're a cheapskate like me.</span>

 

[fan-of-fans]

My parent's old house had 8 foot ceilings throughout and the house they live in now has 8 foot throughout but a vaulted living room. I loved that vault as a kid and it totally opens up the house.

If I were to ever build a house I would definitely do a vaulted living/dining/kitchen if it were open concept. I really like how a kitchen looks with staggered cabinets and a vaulted ceiling. If money were not an issue I would do 9 foot throughout with the vault in main area. I don't know how much more it costs to do a vault vs flat or 9 foot vs 8 foot but of course you can't go back and change it after it's built like you can if say, you used cheap faucets or fixtures.

I agree though about the post with ceilings being too high. I think certain rooms can feel odd with high ceilings, such as a small room having a 12 foot ceiling, could feel weird. Awhile back I looked at some houses for sale, and one had a vaulted living room and dining room and the master bedroom was also vaulted. But not only, they vaulted the master bath and walk in closet too. Now that was a weird feeling, a walk in closet with a vaulted ceiling!

I think the same can be conversely if a house has low ceilings and larger rooms. A large living room would feel claustrophobic to me if it only had a 7 foot ceiling.

 

[petek]

Raise the ceiling or lower the floor.  Years ago when we were house hunting in Vancouver we visited an open house. The house was a typical 50's 3 bedroom bungalow with basement, about 1400 sq ft total.  However when you walked in the front door you were greeted by a narrow walkway sort of catwalk extending along the wall to the kitchen at the back  and a spiral staircase.  They had removed the entire living room floor. The walls of this new living room pit was covered in green shag carpeting as was the floor and bench seating along one of the walls.. it's hard to imagine. Looked like something someone had done in their  hippy days back in the 60's. 

 

[davey7]

1927 Elevator Building

8'10" Ceilings for the most part, an inch or so taller in the living room due to different structural system.

 

[dartman]

My manufactured home was built in 96 so they were doing vaulted ceilings with a open floor plan for the living room, kitchen, and dining room. Ceiling is about 71/2 to 91/2. They were building pretty nice houses for the money and I like it just fine except for some of the corners cut to save weight and make it easier and cheaper to build.
My old rental had probably conventional 7 foot ceilings and was small with only 864sf and two bedrooms 1 bath.
New place is 1400sf 4br and 2 bathrooms so seems like a mansion to us. I like the ceiling and it isn't expensive to heat either but it had new double pane windows and everything else which helps a lot.