Vaulted Ceilings in the Kitchen: Pros and Cons

Photo credit: Dixon Kirby Homes

Vaulted ceilings in a kitchen can make a huge statement when it comes to the interior design of a home. This is why we’re thinking very hard about including this feature in our new house. I would like the vaulted ceiling to run all the way through from the great room into the kitchen. Henry is on board for it in the great room, but not not so much in the kitchen. To help us come to a decision, we thought it would be a good idea to lay out some pros and cons.

Pros of Vaulted Ceilings

Here are my pros for having vaulted ceilings in the kitchen:

Makes the Kitchen Seem Bigger

Everybody wants a bigger kitchen, right? So if we add vaulted ceilings in our new kitchen it will feel much larger and spacious. It will also add an element of grandeur.

Beams Will Look Even Better

Beams are something we are most likely going to do, but anytime you add beams, it visually lowers the ceiling. However, if you have vaulted ceilings, this is not an issue because the extra height. And visually, beams that run at an angle up to a peak are more interesting than beams that simply run straight across.

Photo credit: New Rosslyn Construction

More Light

Having vaulted ceilings in the kitchen will allow us to add extra or bigger windows, thus letting in more light. The more light you have in the kitchen, the better!

More Visual Interest

In my opinion, a vaulted ceiling makes a room more visually interesting. A plain white flat ceiling isn’t going to draw anyone’s eyes upward, but a tall vaulted ceiling most certainly will. It will be another added element in our kitchen that will give it character.

Photo credit: Rufty Homes

Cons of a Vaulted Ceiling

Here are some cons that Henry came up with. While they are valid points, I don’t like any of them.

Extra Maintenance

Since the tops of the cabinets will not have a ceiling to run into, they will be open and exposed and a great place for dust to settle, which does mean extra cleaning.

In our previous house, we had very tall vaulted ceilings in the kitchen. Henry had to use a super long pole with a suction cup on the end to change the recessed light bulbs. I remember it didn’t always go so smoothly, but I don’t think a few broken light bulbs is that big of a deal, right?

Too Much Visual Interest

While one of my pros was added visual interest, a con might be that a kitchen already has enough things going on. After all, in the kitchen we will have a nice vent hood as a focal point, along with open shelving, tile back splash, island, lighting, and all of the appliances. Henry’s argument is that there are so many interesting things already in the kitchen, adding something else might be too much.

Nowhere for the Range Hood to End

Our range hood will be in the end wall, where the ceiling is the highest. This means that the vent hood will have to awkwardly end half way up the wall, as opposed to running into the ceiling. This is probably Henry’s biggest con.

Extra Heating Costs

Hot air rises, or at least that is what I’m told. So with a higher ceiling, we will be spending more money to heat the space above our heads.

Conclusion

Those are all of the pros and cons we’ve come up with so far. Are there any we are missing? Hopefully we can come to a decision soon on this so we don’t slow down the process.