Here’s an interesting question I got the other day. It seems this person had a very tall ceiling in a small room. This produces the “elevator shaft” effect and can make a small room, like a bathroom, feel out of proportion.

“Curious what you might recommend for a tall (10 ft) loft bathroom to make the room feel a bit less huge and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I can’t frame down the ceiling because of a building sprinkler system.  Thanks! Steven”

In the years before air conditioning, especially in warmer climates, rooms often had high ceilings to let the heat rise and make the rooms feel more comfortable in the summer months. These days, high end houses often have high ceilings.

We often deal with the “too high” ceiling in small rooms by simply framing down a lower ceiling just in those spaces. But Steven can’t do that because of the sprinkler. So I suggested that he employ an architectural trick from days gone by. (more…)

It wasn’t long ago that the standard ceiling height for a house in America was eight feet. This was the height of standard wood studs and gypsum board (also known as drywall or sheetrock) came in four foot wide sheets, so abiding by the standard height meant less material waste when building. (By the way, drywall is installed sideways on the studs with the four foot dimension being vertical and the eight or twelve foot dimension running horizontally). But times have changed and the trend is toward higher ceilings. It’s rare to find even a mid-priced new house with ceilings less than nine feet high. And most high-end houses have ten foot or higher ceilings. (more…)