9 ft is probably the most common. It looks like you have big overhangs - that will be your light problem that 10 ft will not fix.

10' ceilings make a living space seem a lot more spacious than 8' but you do run into other hidden costs (e.g. 8' doors, taller baseboards, crown, etc). That being said, I don't know if I'd go anything lower than 9' on the main level.

Does anyone build or design a new home with 8’ ceilings now? I can’t remember the last time I have seen a floor plan or new build with 8’ ceilings. Our previous house had 9’ and our current house has 10’. The volume does make it airier...plus we have a lot of 8’ French doors which let in a ton of light. However, if you want to stick with 8’ ceilings, I’d just make sure you put a LOT of windows in, no matter what.

If it’s a two-story home, you could do 9’ or 10’ on the first floor and 8’ on the second floor. But I agree with everyone else that 9’ is the minimum for the main level.

Ten foot ceilings. No eight foot ceilings.

Also the elevations need to be factored into the discussion.

I would do at least 9 on the main level. We have 10 on our main level, 9 on the other levels. 10 is very spacious feeling. It’s also colder than the other levels this time of year. Do keep your room size in mind. 10 can be cavernous in narrow spaces.

I don't understand where the ceilings in question will be. You say the living & kitchen spaces will have a vaulted ceiling/cathedral ceiling but you don't show the plan of the other spaces.

I usually use 9 ft ceilings. I find 10 ft ceilings uncomfortable in smaller spaces and there's just no reason for 8 ft ceilings in an owner-built home.

I loved our house with 9 ft ceilings; my present house has 8 ft on the ground floor and 9 ft on the second (where we added a full dormer and I insisted they do 9 ft ceilings). Our house in LA had a 12 ft ceiling in the enormous LR - it was 18 x 40.

I agree that it's a matter of proportion. While I would prefer 9 ft ceilings on my first floor, the room sizes of all the rooms are good (DR is too small for my very wide table - ceiling height wouldn't make a difference). Due to no "open concept" my well-sized rooms make the house "live well" so that extra foot of ceiling is probably more noticed by me (a designer) than most people.

The fad for these very tall ceilings has come from the open concept movement which involves rooms that look big on paper, but are in fact, rather small due to the lack of walls and floating furniture for traffic patterns. So the builders just made the ceilings higher - far less expensive than adding square footage to the house. And everyone thought he was getting something very grand and very special.

Mark makes the definitive response for ceiling heights. Study Mr. Wright:

I know you didn't ask for comments on the layout, but I'm trying to understand how this house works. Is the door on the lower right the front door? What does it open to? I see the edges of rooms on that side of the plan.

Is that a sliding door to the left of the kitchen sink? Do you expect that there will be a kitchen table in that space? Is there a dining room somewhere?

I really don't care for the master bedroom door directly off the main living area. You can almost see into the master bath from the living room; you can see directly into the bedroom from the kitchen.

How will you arrange furniture in the great room?

The corner pantry completely screws up the work flow in the kitchen. Putting a prep sink on the island would help.

As an appraiser and realtor, it has been my experience that it is more difficult to sell a home with all 8' ceilings than one with all 10'. I've seen the 8 footer languish on the market when the higher ceiling homes are selling well. This market reaction can be the result of location. In the South, taller ceilings are required to deal with venting heat. In the North, it costs a lot to heat a space. Up North, the 8' ceiling is more common and better accepted. But, they tend to be older homes and harder to sell.

The designers and architects are correct that ceiling height variations can create special impact. But, this is a carefully considered design choice.

What I typically see are homes with 10' ceilings on the ground floor and 9' ceilings on the second floor. My personal home has 12' ceilings throughout. IMO, 12' is overkill.

In the South, taller ceilings are required to deal with venting heat.

Not anymore thanks to air conditioning!

8’ can feel more cozy / comfortable. 9’ or 10’ can feel less comfortable or institutional, especially in smaller rooms.

It really depends on the neighborhood. Most of the houses in my neighborhood were built right after WWII and they all have 8' ceilings. No trouble selling in this desirable neighborhood at all. I'm sure if it were a comparison of two subdivision houses, the 8' ft ceilings might languish.

And the ceiling height thing is quite regional - independent of climate I think. Mostly dependent on typical age of construction. In my area, 8 foot has been gone since the mid 90s. And there is a lot of inventory built since then. But - of course - older home in desirable location can do fine with 8 foot ceilings.

Go with the tall ceilings. You can always drop them down fairly easily if you decide (years) later that you want short ceilings.

My neighbor (8ft ceilings) is obsessed with houses with tall ceilings and seems truly unhappy that she effectively has to move to get her dream taller ceilings as lifting up a ceiling is prohibitively expensive.

I find that most folks prefer 9 ft ceilings.

A change to 10 ft ceilings on the first floor would imply at least 9 ft on the second floor-a 2 ft ceiling height difference from floor to floor is objectionable to most people.

If you make the change to 10 ft ceilings, have the elevations redrawn to ensure the exterior look and feel is still compatible with your vision of home and have your builder give you an idea of the price differential. Also, consider the effect of taller ceilings in smaller spaces as Mark Bischak notes in his post. Taller ceilings can give a "silo" feel to small spaces like powder rooms.

Best wishes for a successful project.