May 29 2008 8:12AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (4) |
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Great rooms with two-story ceilings have been a staple of large suburban dwellings for 15 years now, but will we start seeing less of them in new homes? Certainly they make a grand statement in a model presentation. Once the awe wears off, though, homeowners discover such rooms can be hard to live with.

High-ceilinged rooms are costly to heat and cool, difficult to clean and paint and often noisy, acting as an echo chamber. (Let's not even talk about washing the second-story windows.) It's no surprise that, given the current state of the housing and mortgage markets, buyers -- especially those with young children -- are more concerned about maximizing their square footage than impressing their friends. Where better to add a bedroom, playroom, exercise room or other functional space than the upper regions of a 21-foot ceiling? Also, consumers are looking to save energy and a two-story ceiling is at cross purposes with that effort.

I wonder how many builders use two-story ceilings for visual effect in their models but offer room options as an alternative. And how many others are moving away from such ceilings in favor of dining or living rooms with more intimate 10- or 11-foot ceilings?