Vaulted all the way. Have your builder put in good insulation and you dont have to worry about the cost of utilities. Also 8 foot walls with vaulted ceilings would be cheaper on your pocketbook, when it comes to building.

This is one option, I love beams that are exposed like this.

Good luck on project and post pics if you can :-)

I love the 9' ceilings myself. We went with 9' on the first floor, and 8' on the second. The first floor is open with a vaulted living room. The only potential downside is the kitchen with 9' ceilings depending on what your preferences are for cabinets. We ended up with stacked cabs to the ceiling....which wasn't cheap. But we really didn't like any other look.

Depending on your layout the vaulted in the great room and flat 9' ceiling in the kitchen area can be nice. a change in ceiling creates some interest and I think a kitchen works better with a flat ceiling. In the master is a matter of choice, but if the room is on the smaller side I might go with the flat ceiling unless it is a shallow vault.

I Tryagree Trywith Tryvsr61. Try not to have a high vaulted ceiling over small rooms - it would throw off the proportions and feel strange. The classic book A Pattern Language talks about this - small rooms need lower ceilings, bigger ones need taller ceilings.

I'd vault the great room for sure - I love tall living/family/great rooms. However, a standard/lower ceiling does give you a feeling of coziness. And you don't want to vault every single ceiling or it looses its effect.

I guess it also depends on the layout so posting a floor plan would help everyone give their opinion. In the end, there's no wrong way though!