How do you make a home feel larger without using valuable land space? Think -- up!

As homes have been gaining in square footage, ceilings have been growing farther out of reach. The standard eight-foot ceiling is making way for nine and ten-foot ceilings and grand two-story foyers and family rooms.

Dave Bradstreet, Director of Architecture for Pulte Homes Midwest region, says increasing the height of a ceiling makes a home "feel larger without increasing the footprint." At Pulte, Bradstreet says "even in smaller homes, we've gone to nine-foot ceilings."

The folks at Winchester Homes in the national capital area agree. Jim Polhaus, Design Manager of the "Your Home Your Way Team," says "in the 80's it was very common to have eight-foot ceilings on the first and second floor. A family room that was two stories high was real dramatic." Now, Polhaus says, "we don't even build a townhome that doesn't have nine-foot ceilings on the first floor. In today's market, you can't compete with eight-foot ceilings on the first floor."

The National Association of Home Builders found in a recent study that two-thirds of home buyers are looking for ceiling heights of at least nine feet on the first floor. However, not all builders have jumped on the high-ceiling bandwagon. The annual Builder Practices Survey conducted by the NAHB Research Center found that only one-third of new homes currently include ceilings that reach nine feet or more.

Why the move to higher ceilings? Bradstreet offers that we are "a tad taller than we were." Polhaus says he thinks "people are just trying to outdo the Joneses." He says he finds people "just want to do something no one else has done" -- or do it bigger.

Of course, if you want a higher ceiling, you might want to do something special to draw attention to it -- such as a crown molding. Polhaus says "a lot of times people ask for upgraded moldings or trim boxes." He says they really enjoy the "finishing touches."

Whether this trend will continue is hard to predict. As Bradstreet points out, "volume costs money in construction and heating. The trend could fall out of favor with higher and higher energy costs."

It's something to consider. Since heat rises, some of your heating dollars will be going toward warming a space that no one will ever occupy, even if you count some NBA players among your closest friends. Those costs need to be weighed against the aesthetic or psychological boost that more open space may provide.

While the cost is hard to quantify, Brad Easterson of American Public Information on the Environment, or American P.I.E., says "the rising use of high ceilings is very evident across the country. There is no question this is calling on more energy resources." As he says, "it's rather slam-dunk." More space means more energy to heat and cool it.

When it comes to energy efficiency, the NAHB finds it is not a top concern of homebuyers. In its report, the organization states that the recent jump in energy prices has fueled speculation that energy costs will have a major impact on the type and location of homes to be built in the next decade.

However, the NAHB predicts that though "energy costs will play some role in homebuyers' decisions, it isn't likely to be a major role, or to be more important than in the recent past."

Carol Ochs is a Washington-based reporter who covers new home trends.

Published: May 22, 2001

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