It depends on the scale of the room and of the beams used. For example, this very large kitchen appears to have squares that are 3+ feet across:

but in these two I'd say the outer ones were 18-24 inches:

The smallest I could find was the corner box in this one:

You might want to go with a simpler design, like shown here, or just make sure to use shallow beams (if that's the right term) so that it doesn't look like a honeycomb.

Thanks acm but I'm not sure what you mean by "depends on the scale of the room". As I said it's 11 x 14.5 feet. I was thinking about doing the coffers 8 or maybe 9 inches deep. To me the last two pictures look like they are only an 8 foot ceiling.

I mean that larger rooms seem to have larger squares, while smaller rooms seem to have smaller ones. But all of these glamor houses have big rooms, and 11x14 is not so huge -- so maybe 8" is proportional, what do I know! Is all. :) Wasn't really thinking about ceiling height -- if it gets too low, you wouldn't want to bring it down.

That's a lot of coffers for a room that size...usually have four.

38,1/2x49,1/4

8"deep is good enough

i agree with several others...that ceiling is too busy for the size of the space. You need to simplify the coffers, maybe 4 or 6 blocks. 8" is fine for the depth with 10' ceilings. It also depends on how you paint it...how much contrast is between the ceiling and the boxed down coffers.

acm, judging by the chandelier in the first picture you posted, it looks like this extends into the dining room. I have an open concept as well with the great room, then dining room next to the kitchen for a total of 40 feet. That photo of the kitchen looks pretty close to the measurement (14 x 14.5) of my kitchen. I'm guessing it's an 8' island, then 4' between the island and countertop and a 2' countertop for 14 feet. From the window side, a 2' countertop, 4' between the counter and island and then probably a 5' wide island for 11 feet and another 3' to the fridge wall for 14 feet....of course with room behind. The coffers in that picture are a bit too deep (too much in my face). They look like they are around 12" deep. Just doing a quick calculation, the countertops at 36", backsplash at 12", window at 48", 12" above the window and 12" deep coffer makes it 10'. So I guess overall, the number of coffers I have are too many as pointed out. I still wish I had a 3D mockup to be sure.

So get some foam core and an architects scale and glue and mock it up.

Celia, the layout in Decos room is more appropriate for your space. Doing a mock-up is a wonderful idea for those who have trouble visualizing. You don't need to overdo it to have it look beautiful, less is more in this size space!

I'm sorry Cleoa auto correct:(

Sorry Sophie, I live in a small city (100,000 people)....what is foam core and an architect's scale?

imho, that number of coffers is fine, As there are many ways to build coffered ceilings, you'll want to mock up the final design so you can check the proportions of all the details before you commit. Sorry I can't find a better picture of this coffered ceiling I had done a few years back in a family room of approx. the same dimensions as your dining room, and 10 foot ceiling. IIRC, the size was approx 36 x 36 and 8" wide grid, and approx 8" deep with 3"crown. There were 3 x 4 sections, and it looked fine. This room had 10 foot ceilings, but because the windows were very tall, it looks lower.

You could tape it to see how it may look

Is this a duplicated post from way back under a new name?

In reference to [THIS POST[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3d-rendering-of-coffered-ceiling-dsvw-vd~3467761)

Apparently it is a duplicate from last month, and good input was given at that time.

Foam core is a craft material available at any Michaels or Hobby Lobby. It has a foam material covered with poster board for the exterior. You can cut it and shape it to create 3D objects like a room. To get it to the right size, you use the architect's scale which is a triangular ruler marked with different size scales on it for creating scaled drawings or models. That lets you create an object that has the proportion of your a room and create various models of the coffers that will be under consideration.

With a smaller room, too much complexity, as in too many coffers with too much depth will not be in scale with the size and will, be too visually complex for the eye to absorb. It's like someone 5'2" wearing all of Mr. T's gold chains. He barely gets away with it because he is large.

And if you want to get down to brass tacks, it is overwrought and inappropriate to most. Just like coffers. While popular, they are overwrought and not suited to most current homestyles. They look especially silly on NeoEcclectic mishmashes. Be very very suspicious of popular trends in home construction. They tend to age a home the worst over time. Especially if they are thrown at a home with no regard as to style or design appropriateness.

Here is a room I did that was a 12x16 (center of walls) with 10' ceiling. The 8x8 beams are solid timberframe, but coffered, divided into 9 blocks. I know the styling is different than what you are doing, but the proportions are similar.

wow, I was having a totally different conversation than everybody else -- weren't we talking about the area of the squares? that's what was marked on the drawing. if we're talking about the depth of the coffer beams, then I have no opinions, other than that with small squares, deep indents are going to start looking like shoeboxes.

In the statement of the problem it talked about the depth at 8 or 9", and the 8" width, not about the size of the squares. The depth does matter with the look that it will have, the shadows that are cast, etc. as well as the amount of contrast of the paint (or stain as in the picture I posted). We are just trying to give some pictures that show it in 3D which is what was requested, and some pointers to think about in decision making. Hope we've been helpful.

Thanks GN. My mother lost the link and in searching houzz couldn't find it, so I reposted for her. She's got it bookmarked now.

decoenthusiaste, I've been hunting for that amazing houzz pic and can't find it! Keywords, filters, and nothing... Please advise on how to find, thanks!

Which one? Found these under "all white rooms".

Number of coffers is fine. How deep depends on effect you want to achieve. 8" seems a bit deep but I'm sure if in the right room, could be lovely. My dining room is very similar in dimension (12 x 15) and I am considering 9 coffers so I definitely don't think 8 is too many.

Thank you lynartist!!!