I am the dissenter! I like a 9-10 foot ceiling. Vaulted ceilings decrease the ability to hear in people (like me)
with hearing issues. If there is a vault and hardwood it is really difficult to hear.
That said I would consider a low vault or shed in some areas for the light.
A new option instead a skylight could be a SolaTube, they are 8-10-14" in diameter and have lens inside which magnify the light, some even store light to provide a night light. Pretty cool
I have to say, I had 2 SolaTubes installed based on rave reviews from people I knew and after going to see one in a neighbor’s house.
In my own home it was completely underwhelming. Could have been due to angle or direction of roof, how many feet it had to extend, whatever; that I wouldn’t do again. But I also had 2 regular skylights & loved them. One was near the most interior point of the vaulted ceiling.
My husband will never forgive me for picking a house plan without a vaulted ceiling in the family room or living room. No place to put a HUGE Christmas tree.
I live in a northern climate. Having the vaulted ceilings and large windows makes such a difference in the winter. I have very nice Anderson windows and my house is well insulated. I sit right next to my windows and feel no draft.
But all the light and airy feeling is so wonderful when SAD is in full force. I didn’t know how much until I moved here.
Wow, it is almost unanimous! It is not in a cold climate. It can get hot in summer. It has a gorgeous view and every room will have big windows. Fortunately, views are mostly to the north. How big is your home with vaulted ceilings? Would vaulted ceiling work better for a bigger home? I am afraid vaulted ceiling in a smaller space may look like a chimney or trying too hard to look big like Hampton Inn. The cellng will be high 10-12’ either flat or vaulted.
@igloo, we bought a smallish home in D2’s college town while she was in school. It had a vaulted ceiling and it looked fine. It’s proportional to the size of the home and much nicer than a low flat ceiling, for all the reasons you’ve been given today.
How would that compare if the flat ceiling was higher? 10-12’ high?
We have a small lake cottage…about 1300 sq ft. The previous owner vaulted all the rooms except the two spare bedrooms and spare bath. It looks and feels so much bigger than the size. Do it!
Interesting @alooknac we have a west side of the roof bathroom with no window, but plenty of light from a solatube. There is one going into my east facing bathroom where the window over the shower does not translate to light in the bathroom, I’ll have to see how much light we get there! It may very well be the angle of the roof or the direction.
Oh, and I have a very tall vaulted ceiling with an A frame end over my bedroom, the windows go to the top and I absolutely love it, especially at night.
We’ve leaned towards high flat ceilings. We just prefer the look. Last two houses have both had 12’ ceilings throughout.
My house is 2400 sq ft. But my mom has a small 3 bedroom house which is 1200 sq ft, maybe a bit smaller. She has a vaulted ceiling in her great room. It really makes her small house feel bigger. Neither my house nor my mom’s feels cold or is loud or echoes. My sil didn’t vault the ceilings in her cottage because she didn’t want echoing but I think she has 15’ ceilings so pretty high.
What I don’t have is ceilings that are 2 stories high with an opening to the second flooor. My sister does and that feels really big and not cozy. She also doesn’t have as good as windows as I have and that room is really cold. But her big Christmas tree looks good.
My house with vaulted great room was total 1600 sq feet. I’m thinking maybe the peak was 16 feet? Rest of house had standard 8 foot walls. I was originally going to have hip roof and it was my builder who suggested switching to gabled roof with vaulted ceiling. I personally prefer the look of hip roof externally (my house was basically a square) but I never regretted the switch.
FWIW I had carpet in the living room portion and vinyl sheet flooring in dining/kitchen area and no echoing.
For awhile in my area, that kind of thing was popular in new homes. I HATE those two story family rooms. They do seem cold and vast, and it makes the furniture in the family room look like doll house furniture. I notice now that those homes look particularly dated on the real estate sites, and it seems they sit on the market longer than others with more cozy rooms. I also dislike really low ceilings. However, there is definitely a happy medium.
How do you deal with a tall xmas tree? I would think you have to hire someone on top of everything that goes on round that time. I am quite happy with my 6-7’ tree. I cam almost put a start on top without help.
Another reason I hesitate, it seems rather trendy. You see that a lot. It may be a trend that will stay or it may look outdated in 30 years. Is there any space between the roof and vaulted ceiling?
Vaulted ceilings are not trendy. I have seen them in homes built in the 50s.
Our first house was built in mid-nineties. Vaulted ceilings! Our second house was a y2k product. Vaulted ceilings! Our current house was built in the early 80s. Vaulted ceilings and all. 
We walked through a lot of new construction with vaulted ceilings last year. Definitely not a trend that would go away.
Speaking of the two-story grand family rooms and kitchens with walkways or balconies above them, those are popular with the Chinese buyers in certain areas around here.
@Igloo, this house has several different types of ceilings: a cove ceiling, tray ceilings, vaulted ceilings, flat ceilings, and a few I don’t know the names for. In the rooms with vaulted ceilings, note that because the pitch of the vault is not too high, it doesn’t make the rooms look like vast echo chambers. Your architect can give you an airy feeling without creating a huge vault.
https://www.ebby.com/property/219599133/5822-berkshire-lane-dallas-tx-75209/
I don’t particularly like the style of this home, but I thought it provided a lot of good examples of different ceilings.
In this home, (generally way too “fancy” for my taste), both the formal living and family rooms are two stories high. Deal breaker for me, and I have seen family rooms with even more cavernous ceilings than this vaulted one.
https://www.ebby.com/property/219686093/1212-saint-emilion-court-southlake-tx-76092/
@Igloo, this home has a family room with a vaulted ceiling that allows placement of beautiful windows that let the light in, like many people have described their homes having.
https://www.ebby.com/property/219651573/6625-overlook-court-plano-tx-75024/