A Vaulted Ceiling Makes Your Home Look Bigger

The idea of a great room is, well, great! Frequently, however, they can be difficult to organize and furnish. The problem is that there are usually too many entryways into the room, and the space is vacuous especially if it has a vaulted ceiling. So as you are considering how to decorate your great room, vaulted ceiling and all, here are some ideas that may help.

Fix the Proportion

Generally you will paint the ceiling in a room a light color to give it extra height. However, in the case of a vaulted ceiling, you will want to paint it a little bit darker to make it less noticeable. By using paint with a flat finish, you will also make the ceiling disappear because it will not be reflecting light back into the room.

Another way to bring the room down to human scale is to add drama to the wall at eye level. For example, you may want to use the ceiling color on the bottom half of the wall with a semi-gloss finish. This painting technique will relate the ceiling down to the wall and make the room feel more cohesive. You can minimize contrast between the wall and ceiling by sponging the ceiling color over the lighter wall color. This also gives you a lot of control over how light or dark the walls are.

Another technique that you can use to keep the eye from going on a trip to the ceiling is to hang art groupings at eye level. If you create all of the visual activity in the room at eye level or below and keep the ceiling space clear and quiet, it will not beckon the eye upwards.

Adding a chair rail and wainscoting add more activity and interest to the bottom portion of the wall, and by painting the chair rail in a contrasting color, you continue to keep the eye on the walls and not the ceiling.

Strong Horizontal Lines

In this room you are trying to minimize the appearance of the vertical space, so you also want to emphasize horizontal space. One way to do this is to use mirrors to expand the size of a room. By hanging oval mirrors and rectangular mirrors horizontally, you actually draw the eye around the room rather than up to the ceiling.

You want to do the same thing with artwork. If you are hanging a single piece of art you want it to be rectangular horizontally. If it is not, then you want to flank the artwork with two smaller pieces, so that the grouping creates a strong horizontal line in the room. While you want activity and interest on the wall from eye level and down, you do not want to clutter up your walls. Choose your artwork, mirrors and photographs carefully to enhance the style of the room.

Furniture should be in scale with the room, and if the great room is small, it can be challenge to draw attention away from tall ceilings. In this case, work toward directing attention to the lower portion of the room by selecting overstuffed furniture. However, in a smaller great room it’s important to choose light colored furniture: This will avoid a cluttered feeling while still attracting the eye to the gorgeous furniture and seating arrangement in the lower portion of the space.

Bring the Ceiling Down

Now that you have successfully divided the top and bottom of the room, it is time to purposefully tie them back together. You will want to incorporate at least one tall element into the room to relate the two halves to each other. Try incorporating a tall plant or a decorative screen to balance all of the horizontal elements in the room.

A lot of homes on Long Island were built with open attic space over the living areas of the home. Most of us stuff this space with clutter and storage items that sit for years. This space can be a remodeling gold mine. Consider using this dead area to vault the ceiling area over a kitchen, den, bedroom or even a bathroom area.

Care should be taken to ensure the integrity of the building structure. Most often this home remodeling project is not that difficult when done by a professional general contractor and cost less than a typical dormer addition. Kitchen remodeling jobs really pop when a vaulted ceiling is integrated into the plan, and if you have a modest bedroom addition or a small den the feel of a larger space is worth the money spent. The “lift factor” also enhances resale value.

Make sure that the roof rafters are padded with framing lumber strips to allow for the thicker insulation that will be needed. By making the rafters thicker you allow for more energy efficiency with the increased insulation and also allow for proper venting air flow. Remember always use a licensed contractor and for a great job seek out a Certified Remodeler! It’s your home- protect your investment and enjoy the new space. Think of it as a new home extension that went up instead of out and you pocket the change.

There are many types of homes that have unused attic areas- ranches, cape cods, hi ranches, split-levels and the second floor of typical colonials. As a last note check and central air conditioning issues before you begin.

I’ve never danced in my life, not a bit. However, I’ve started taking ballet classes at the Broadway Dance Center as a part of their Absolute Beginners Workshop. People say that it is great that I’ve started, that I’m male, tall (6′4"), and ready to learn. The thing I’m wondering is: if I start and continue studying dance, how good could I possibly get? Is it too late for me to be as fluent a dancer as those guys that started dancing from 10-15 years old? I have friends and I went to school with dancers as well… people that started around those ages. They’re very flexible, graceful, and fluid. Splits, turns and balance are no where near an issue. I’d love to get to that point some time in the future, but is it still physically possible at this age? (***One thing I wish I could do is balance myself on one foot and point my other foot straight up in the air… making a really nice vertical line with both legs from floor to ceiling — that’s sooo cool!)
I’ve never danced in my life, not a bit. However, I’ve started taking ballet classes at the Broadway Dance Center as a part of their Absolute Beginners Workshop.

People say that it is great that I’ve started, that I’m male, 19 years old, tall (6′4"), and ready to learn. The thing I’m wondering is: if I start and continue studying dance, how good could I possibly get? Is it too late for me to be as fluent a dancer as those guys that started dancing from 10-15 years old?

I have friends and I went to school with dancers as well… people that started around those ages. They’re very flexible, graceful, and fluid. Splits, turns and balance are no where near an issue. I’d love to get to that point some time in the future, but is it still physically possible at this age?

(***One thing I wish I could do is balance myself on one foot and point my other foot straight up in the air… making a really nice vertical line with both legs from floor to ceiling — that’s sooo cool!)
I’m 19, 6′4", slim-170lbs at the moment, male. (I’m kinda new to yahoo answers… so I re-added the details by accident lol sorry)

I have a new loft with high ceilings – if feels quite cavernous so I need ideas to fill the space.

What do you think of large trees such as ficus trees in high ceiling-ed rooms.

Reason I ask is cos a friend is an interior designer and she was against it but although I have little or no design talent I love the idea.

I am on a ow budget and have to decorate and furnish over a relatively long period using a small monthly budget

So: tall trees. Good idea? My loft is sunny and tall with mezzanine bedroom overlooking living and kitchen

20 foot ceilings; floor to ceiling windows on front and side walls.

so my dad was a marine during WW2 and i asked him a couple questions about his training. I understand things have changed and training is more intense now …But he told me the wall i would have to climb is no taller than the ceiling in my room. Is this true or has it changed? I heard the log drill breaks alot of men is it really that hard? Why is marine training harder than the army but the marines don’t even have a signing bonus?(i dont care about the benefits im just curious) I heard its hard for a marine to rank up and i also heard they dont rank up is that true?
MMA fighter everyone knows your a troll
can someone actually answer the question

First question is about getting the dress. I’m gettiner married June 19, 2010.. So should I go ahead and get the dress even though I’m trying to lose about 2 sizes.. someone said you could always take up the dress.. just making sure thats true..

Second is I can’t pick out colors at all.. For one thing we’re getting married in a church and then having a reception in a neutral colored building.. The church has tall cathedral wooden ceilings and I believe its like a reddish kinda carpet.. My mom already had these little vases hand painted each with a different color flower on them (pink flower on one vase, yellow on another, organge, green, blue, purple). I had originally thought of a rainbow colored theme but ha everyone says thats gonna be more complicated than its worth so :-\ I’m at a loss now.. what colors could I do with what I have so far.. and I have to use the vases.. my mom’s controlling like that so try and tell me how I can incorporate those..

We recently built a home and finished off our basement. Just a week ago I noticed the top of my new cotton/poly curtain had a 8" wide by 4" tall hole chewed in it. Our ceiling in the basement is not yet finished so there is a 3" gap were the top of the wall ends to were the ceiling is. I thought maybe a moth but this hole is huge and shredded looking. Then I thought a mouse is maybe some how sneaking in a tiny hole in the concrete foundation and standing on the ledge at the top of the wall and chewing the top of the curtain that way. I put 3 mice traps with peanut butter on them every night for 5 nights and the peanut butter is always gone and the trap goes off but nothing in it the next day. I have not seen any mouse droppings or chew marks on anything else. Could it be something else???

My wife and I are arguing about how to finish the bedroom walls we are remodeling. I figure we are planning to put baseboard on the walls either way so why not just put larger base boards to cover the gap from the unfinished drywall. She wants to buy more drywall and finish the drywall to the floor then put the baseboard back on top of the drywall. This house was built in 1900 so the ceilings are extra tall. When we took the old plaster walls down the walls were only finished to the baseboard also. I want to save money and time, but she wants me to cut mini pieces of drywall all the way around the room to finish it! Am I wrong or right…suggestions?!

I’m confused & I don’t know what to do!!
Here’s a little background info….
My husband has an older sister who is 27 years old & has 2 kids, ages 2 & 3. She doesn’t know who the father are of either child so she’s not able to get child support. She doesn’t work or have a car. We have the youngest about every other weekend while the oldest is with another family member every weekend. She has a bad past that involves violence & drug use. When her oldest was 1 she was taken away from her & placed in another family members care until she could get her act together. After about a year the judge gave her custody back only if she agreed to random drug testing & drop-in’s from the county children’s service’s. It was not only the drugs that her child was taken away, it was also the environment the child lived in. Which was with my husbands parents. Their house has aways been on the dirty side, but once the child was born it went to the dogs. No heating, no air, no washer or dryer, right when you walked into the house the first thing you seen was a pile of clothes as tall as the ceiling, there was a path to get in the house & on the sides there was crap piled up as tall as I am. These are just a few examples…I could go on for hours. They were told to clean it up in order to get custody back of the child.
They did clean it. They rented a dumpster & threw a bunch of stuff away & that in it’s self made it look better!
Here’s my issue…The house has slowly gotten back to the way it use to be, well worse now that she has had another child. She brags that it has been 2 years & she’s never been giving a drug test or have anyone drop in. I’ve noticed they don’t like us going inside anymore. Their excuse is "it’s to hot in the house". Well, we dropped by the other day to give the kids their Easter baskets. They weren’t expecting us. I couldn’t believe my eyes!! I have never in my life seen a house that looked (and smelled) like it did the other day! There was cat poop all over the floor, dishes were piled up in the sink (which isn’t unusual) but they had maggots crawling all over them. They don’t have a trash can, they use Walmart bags to put trash in which is in the middle of the dining room floor & they just throw dirty diapers in the floor around the bags. When I walked in I was almost knocked down by the smell of a urine oder. It was so bad it was making me sick to my stomach. I was about to pee in my pants, so I went to the bathroom. I didn’t think it could get any worse but I was wrong! The bathroom is where the urine smell was coming from. The smell was outrageous!! There were clothes piled up so high in the bathroom I could barely get the door open. It was just unbelievable! Crap is piled up everywhere that they have paths made to get through the house. I’m worried for the sake of those children. I could care less how they lived if the kids didn’t live there. My heart tells me I need to say something, but my mind says to just stay out of it. Those kids stay sick, & I’m positive it has something to do with the environment they have to live in.
Should I say something (which would be anonymously) OR should I just not worry about it?
Any advice would be much appreciated. Please no rude comments.
Thanks in advance!

1.
Flying buttresses, an architectural innovation, served what purpose?
A) They were decorative towers outside of a building, designed to help people locate the structure.
B) They were positioned toward the top of buildings, to assist in draining water from their roofs.
C) They supported building walls from the outside, allowing for higher ceilings and more spacious structures.
D) They were large arches inside a structure that allowed ceilings to be built higher.
2.
The characteristics of the Gothic architecture style include
A) buildings with columns on the interior to support the structure, and frescoes on the exterior walls.
B) tall buildings with larger windows allowing in more light.
C) exterior walls with Grecian style columns and parapets around a building.
D) structures with low ceilings and long, narrow interior hallways.
3.
Which of the following would not likely be something portrayed in a medieval tapestry?
A) A historical scene
B) People doing their daily chores working in the fields
C) Mystical beings like unicorns or dragons
D) A map of the world
4.
Illuminated books produced during the Middle Ages would include which of the following characteristics?
A) Block letters printed from the first printing presses
B) Large, flowing calligraphy script in the text
C) Pictures painted from the stories described in the text
D) Precious cut gems attached to the pages to make them glow
5.
What is one characteristic of the Middle Age epic form of literature?
A) Its subject matter includes wars and heroic soldiers.
B) It follows the pattern of five stanzas, with four lines in each stanza.
C) It includes stories of peasants and the events in their daily lives.
D) It tends to be a short passage, no longer than a paragraph.
6.
Which of the following describes a characteristic of the romance poems in the Middle Ages?
A) The concept of divine right to marry a person
B) The idea of a code of honor for knights, known as chivalry
C) The flowing language of the poems recorded in Latin
D) The conflicts within the story between a knight and his lord
7.
What was one important effect of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales on the Middle Ages?
A) Its illuminated script inspired others throughout Europe to begin practicing this art.
B) It encouraged other writers of the day to write stories of love and romance.
C) It helped expand the use of English as a written language in England.
D) It changed the way people in the Middle Ages viewed religion and the afterlife.
8.
In what way did alchemists in the Middle Ages influence science?
A) Through heating different kinds of materials they discovered different chemical reactions.
B) Through the creation of precious metals, the status of alchemists increased.
C) The practices of alchemists did not encourage other people to want to study science.
D) They were able to assemble one of the first versions of the periodic table.
9.
What new approach did Thomas Aquinas advocate for understanding truth in the world?
A) He felt that faith was the main path to understanding truth.
B) He argued that both faith and reason were needed to understand truth.
C) He thought that truth could be discovered through a consensus of university lecturers.
D) He believed that logic was the way to discover truth.
10.
What was one result that came from universities in the Middle Ages?
A) Skilled debaters who contributed to the governments of the time
B) People who better understand local economics because of their business studies
C) A new class of educated people that shared common experiences
D) An increase in the number of monks joining local monasteries