I work with a lot of clients that are building a new home, that is, a nest intended to be the last home that a person or couple buys.
My team start with the builder, both when they have a contract with a homeowner or if they are building what is called a “spec” home that will be built and put on the market to sell.
For many years, ceilings were eight feet tall for the most part. Then, builders jumped on the trend of making the first level of the home’s ceilings nine feet. Then, both floors went to nine feet ceilings. Now, as I am sure you have seen, we have even taller ceilings, sometimes volume ceiling that go up to twenty feet or higher!
There are many things to consider when you are dealing with taller ceilings. For the most part, you have to consider everything in the room to be of a larger scale so that balance and scale can be perfect.
Let’s start with windows. You have to consider what a window will look like both on the inside of the home and the outside. Hopefully, you can use wider and taller windows in rooms with volume ceilings and they still be balanced with the exterior of the home. Consider arched windows to create an even taller window effect, or perhaps consider a transom window above a larger window.
When you consider doors in a room with a tall ceiling, take a look at taller doors. A standard door is six foot and eight inches tall. Consider using an eight foot door.
Sometimes there are trimmed out openings from one room to another. Use chunkier moldings both on the sides and top of the opening.
Adding moldings to the wall can help take care of large expanses of walls. There is nothing worse than a bare wall that towers up to twenty feet or more. Foyers can sometimes have this issue if the staircase area is open to both the lower and upper level.
This is precisely the time to get creative!
Consider larger furniture in the these spaces. Small furniture can look diminutive and too small if not in proportion.
Another option is to use tall fake trees in these spaces. Again, anything to take your eye up and feel in proportion.
The right size artwork is key. I have seen what I call, “postage stamps” on walls, small art that just hangs out there in space. Always group smaller artwork together to make a bigger statement, or simply hang larger artwork, maybe even companion pieces in twos or threes.
If in a living room with a fireplace, take the brick, stone or paneling of the fireplace all the way up to the ceiling and take advantage of the space.
Use beams, whether structural or decorative to help fill some air space in a room with a volume ceiling.
In other words, go big or stay home, preferably in a home with eight foot ceilings!
